In the months since the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a “public health emergency of international concern” in January, the virus has affected millions of people, killed hundreds of thousands and spurred a global economic crisis. Widespread shutdowns and skyrocketing unemployment rates have put pressure on businesses in the U.S. and beyond.
“Estimates so far indicate the virus could trim global economic growth by as much as 2.0 percent per month if current conditions persist and raise the risks of a global economic recession similar in magnitude to that experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s,” the Congressional Research Service states in a report issued June 1.
As a result, businesses everywhere are grappling with considerable financial stress and searching for ways to rein in spending. If your organization is seeking strategies for operating expenditure reduction, here are a few key ways to cut your IT costs.
1. Embrace more cloud solutions.
As businesses have sought to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the past couple of months, the portion of American employees working from home has skyrocketed. In line with that development, many companies have also increased their reliance on cloud-based products like Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platforms, since one of the most notable advantages of the cloud is its accessibility from anywhere: 59 percent of enterprises expect their cloud usage to exceed what they previously anticipated because of the pandemic, according to the Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report.
In addition to accommodating remote workers, moving from on-premise solutions to cloud-based offerings can also serve as a cost-containment strategy. The financial benefits of cloud solutions can include the following, according to Webroot:
- Reduced energy costs, since cloud solutions typically use less electricity.
- Less spending on hardware
- Lower IT support expenses, since cloud providers typically have their own support staff
For more information, check out our previous blog entry, “Will I Save Money by Moving to the Cloud?”
2. Re-evaluate your approach to cloud cost management.
If you already rely on cloud solutions or are in the process of adopting more cloud-based tools, taking a close look at how you’re handling cost management could result in considerable savings for your company. The following factors can potentially lead to overspending on cloud solutions, according to the white paper “Essential Strategies for Managing Cloud Costs” from Flexera.
- Buying more storage than you need.
- Lack of automated workloads.
- Poor visibility into resource costs.
Take a look at our previous blog entry “4 Tips for Better Cloud Cost Management” to learn more.
3. Outsource your IT support.
The main advantage of having an in-house IT department is that they’re in the same physical office space with the rest of your team. With many people now logging in from home, that doesn’t matter as much. Outsourcing your IT support to a third-party provider can help you cut your IT costs while still maintaining access to high-level technological expertise. The majority (59 percent) of companies that outsource report doing so as a cost-cutting tool, according to Deloitte.
4. Explore automation.
Automating processes can free up your staff to tackle more important matters, increase efficiency and overall optimize operations and spending for your business. We provide automation as part of our Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering. The Stratosphere Automate component of our PaaS platform can perform these functions across multiple devices simultaneously:
- Supported software updates
- Supported software installation
- Windows updates
- Microsoft security updates
- And more
Ultimately, with the right strategic approach, you can cut your IT costs while still keeping your infrastructure running smoothly and maintaining high levels of data security. If you’d like more information or guidance on crafting a cost-conscious road map for your IT, our team of trusted technology advisors would be happy to assist you. Get it touch with us today by calling 877-599-3999 or emailing sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
