The new year is fast approaching, which means it’s time to review your IT Business strategies and budgets. Analysing the current state of your tech, and its performance, helps to improve profits and identify ways to reduce business costs.

Here’s 5 ways you can save money as you use your IT technology. And if you’d like help with any of them, we at Intellect IT would be more than happy to assist;

1. Upgrade Your Computers and Other IT Assets

This sounds contradictory, but it’s not. Upgrading your desktops, laptops, or other IT assets can help your bottom line. Slow computers, or older style small screens that are too hard to read negatively impacts employee productivity and your profitability. And if employees are already frustrated they might have started using their own devices for work, which creates a risk to your business security.

And upgrading IT doesn’t have to mean you’re replacing. An upgrade to certain components such as faster RAM (Memory) could make applications load faster. Larger screens (or even dual screens) allow employees to more easily view and work with what’s on their screens.

2. Consider the Cloud

Courtesy of high-speed internet connections, virtualisation technology, and subscription based services, there’s huge amounts of IT cloud-based services available. Depending on the choices you and your business consider, you might be able to reduce or eliminate most your CAPEX, maintenance costs, perhaps even licensing costs. Choose to run one cloud-based application, or run your entire IT infrastructure from up there. Either way there’s cost savings to be had.

3. Phone or VoiP?

How much is your business spending on telephony costs? Phone technologies are constantly being improved, there’s a good chance a less expensive service will meet your business needs. Perhaps you might be able use Voice over IP (VoIP) instead of landlines for your phone service? Or is it cheaper to switch over to an entire suite of mobile phones? Competition is huge in the telephony market right now, take a look and see what’s options are available for your business.

4. Service Contracts

Some IT equipment requires an accompanying service contract. Do you know what you’re spending on these? Can you get better value by renewing for longer terms? Is your current IT department or IT service provider doing work on your equipment that these contracts might cover? Reviewing your service contracts at their renewal times could save your business from spending dollars unnecessarily

5. Store files digitally

Remember the Paperless Office, when everyone said, “go digital”? It’s the simple concept of using or storing digital files, rather than paper, where possible. Paper costs money, and requires massive amounts of space to store and/or manage. For example, mailing paper invoices could be replaced by emailing PDF versions. Receiving cheques as payment could be replaced by a direct bank deposit. Storing wads and folders of paper based files could be swapped for scanning to digital and archiving in the cloud.

A paperless office saves employee’s time, since digital files are easier to organize and search. This will improve productivity and increase profitability. And you’ll be helping to save the environment, which can boost your business’s reputation in the community and amongst its customers.