February 23, 2009
Investing money in IT solutions for your business can boost productivity, save money, increase customer satisfaction and more. On the other hand, you might invest $50,000 in new computer equipment and find your return on investment is zero, or worse – you actually LOST money on the investment because it didn’t work properly or wasn’t the right technology for your particular needs.
CDW has put together some money-saving IT tips for small businesses, which we’ll share in a series of 5 parts. Here is the first set of tips:
Purchase and support:
- Negotiate prices and look for bulk purchase rates on systems, software and support contracts.
- Consider replacing all PCs in the same year; you’ll see deeper discounts.
- Sticking primarily with one IT vendor can often result in better overall deals.
- Find the lowest available posted prices, then ask for even lower prices.
Power, cooling and space:
- Upgrading Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) to newer energy-efficient units can cut energy use and save money.
- To save power, have the staff turn off their monitors, task lights, etc. on nights and weekends, while leaving the CPU running.
- Use blanking panels in server racks and “air locking” grommets in raised-floor panels to minimize cold air loss.
- House servers in a “cooling closet” or other area where they can be “spot cooled” instead of using general office air conditioning.
Smallbiztechnology.com, published by