Maximize the Value of Your Technology
Let’s face it, the economy is tough right now. Companies are looking to reduce costs in a variety of ways and unfortunately some of these have a hidden cost.
Generally IT including, hardware, software, printers, staff, etc. are considered an expense for an organization. When times are tight, it is one of the first places that have their budgets cut. This could be a big mistake.
When times are tough, it is important to maximize the efficiencies of the company. Poor software, hardware, or networking can have a big impact to the overall production of your staff. This cost can be the hidden killer.
If you don’t have a full-time IT person, then consider using a certified professional to do an internal audit of your systems. The cost of this will be easily made up by improvements in your technology.
A friend of mine just completed such an audit for a company that does not have inhouse IT staff. They were running on a NT system which was not only slow, but not supported any more. Had that server or network gone down, the cost to the company would have been huge.
I also recommend meeting with your staff to see if there are pain points that are in the way. This blog posting is focusing on technology, but sometimes there are other issues (refer to my TPS Reports post).