To stay competitive in 2025, you have to spend money to upgrade, maintain, and optimize your business's IT; but this doesn’t mean you have to break the bank. The business IT industry is huge, and there are many options out there that can provide the same or better benefit for your business at a lower price.
Here are seven ways to save money on your IT purchases this year so you can stay ahead of the curve while maintaining an effective IT budget.
Perform a full IT audit
Before you set out to spend money on new IT tools or upgrades, you should first take the time to do a full inventory of your IT assets. This will have two primary benefits:
- You will discover where your IT capabilities are lacking and where to funnel your budget to have maximum impact.
- You can find redundant software subscriptions or underused hardware draining your resources for little or no benefit. Axe these, and you’ll have more money for other tools or services.
Leverage open-source software
Open-source software offers powerful, cost-effective alternatives to many name-brand solutions and provides similar benefits. Applications such as LibreOffice, GIMP, or OpenProject can replace expensive productivity tools, photo editors, or project management systems.
If you have more advanced needs, open-source solutions like Linux for operating systems or Apache for web servers provide robust performance while eliminating licensing fees. However, it’s crucial to evaluate the support and compatibility of open-source options to ensure they meet your business requirements.
Take advantage of vendor discounts and bundles
IT vendors frequently offer discounts for small or medium-sized businesses (SMBs), nonprofits, or first-time buyers. Also, if you are partnered with a managed IT services provider (MSP), they will likely have partnerships with vendors that enable you to buy software and hardware at special prices.
Bundles are another way to save. By purchasing multiple tools or services from the same vendor, you can often access discounted rates. For instance, buying cloud storage, collaboration tools, and security services as part of a package may be more economical than sourcing them separately.
Work with your ISP to lower your telecom prices
Internet service providers (ISPs) are focused on retaining long-term clients, so they often offer reduced rates to loyal customers. Their reasoning is that even though you are paying less, you are still paying, and will likely do so for years to come, so they don’t want to risk you leaving for the competition.
This year, especially if your contract is up, contact your ISP and ask about what can be done to lower your monthly rate for internet or another telecom service. You might get a reduced rate, a temporary discount, or maybe a special deal on related services. You won’t know unless you ask, and the worst they can do is say no.
Optimize your cloud usage
The cloud cuts costs for your business, but it can also be a drain if you aren’t careful. For most cloud resources, you pay a monthly fee for how much is made available to you. Your cloud provider is not checking how much you use and scaling your payment to match; you pay for a set amount whether you use it or not.
To optimize your cloud usage and spending:
- Reassess your storage needs
- Eliminate redundant programs or services
- Check the number of users you are paying for
- Audit your cloud needs to determine if you can scale down resources in times of low demand
If you are paying for more than you use, you are throwing money down the drain.
Leverage automation and AI to reduce resource requirements
IT and operations can both be significantly streamlined by using AI tools to automate routine tasks and optimize system performance. Doing so can help eliminate the need for both extra software and extra employees. The use of AI reduces the need for extensive manual intervention, improves efficiency, and cuts labor costs so you can keep more of your budget.
Outsource your IT needs
One of the best ways to streamline IT spending is to partner with an MSP like outsourceIT. Not only can we provide enterprise-grade IT services at SMB-friendly prices, but our consulting team can also provide personalized guidance on how to minimize your IT spend and maximize its benefits.
Contact us today to get started!