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		Bits and Bytes December 18, 2008 By Gregory M. Peiguss The Amazing Shrinking IT Budget It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that in these trying economic times companies are looking to squeeze everything out of their budgets.  Many companies have already cut their budgets for 2009.  Every facet of a company’s expenses are being scrutinized closer than ever.  Adjusting your IT budgets may mean putting off new capital expenditures such as new servers or workstations.  However, those adjustments with respect to new products may cost you more in the long run.  Let’s face it, it’s inevitable, you’re IT infrastructure is going to need to be upgraded at some point; computers are like cars their utility decreases over time.  Advancements in software drive hardware upgrades.  Software, as it advances, requires more processing power, more memory, and greater disk storage.  We don’t see the “killer apps” out there anymore as the hardware manufacturers are pretty much on par with mainstream applications however some minor software upgrades will push the PC over the edge.  You will see exceptions to the rule if you are using a very specialized piece of software with very demanding system requirements. If you don’t expect to upgrade software anytime in the near future, you may think you’re in the “green” with your IT hardware as it stands today.  Think again.  Believe it or not, there are moving parts inside a computer, the hard drive (the device that stores all of your data), the CD/ROM, or DVD/ROM drive, fans, power supplies, etc… all have moving parts.  They wear out!  Sometimes replacing a fan is a simple process that only takes a couple of minutes.  Other items, such as a hard drive may be more time consuming and heart breaking if you lose your data.  You, as a user also have a responsibility to use your computer in a responsible manner.  Downloading spyware, viruses, poorly written applications, will also impact the performance of your computer and can contribute to its lifespan.  With all of these variables in mind, there’s nothing like a new piece of hardware to make your employee much more productive and less frustrated at work. Here are some very good cost-cutting ideas that will keep your infrastructure running while in difficult times and are overall “best practices”. 1.    Consolidate printing services 2.    Look into volume licenses for software 3.    Get yourself on a yearly cycle of retiring old machines 4.    Setup VPN access for remote users 5.    Consider virtualization The first item will really save your organization money by getting out of those “desktop” printers and moving forward with a shared network printer.  Desktop printers, which are typically inkjet, may look attractive as the upfront cost of the item is considerably lower than a laser printer.  Just be aware the yield on the inkjet cartridges is typically significantly lower and sometimes priced higher than toner cartridges used in laser printers.  Another tip is, don’t print in color if you don’t have to.  Try to print in black and white; it will save you money in consumables.  Finding a network printer that will meet your printing needs will save you money over time.  Second, looking into volume licenses for software will save you money over time as well.  Typically, volume licensing is somewhat cheaper than buying the software from a retail chain or a la carte when ordering new PC’s.  This is true for your favorite office productivity software (i.e. Microsoft Office or Corel WordPerfect).  Don’t assume that you are getting the best deal when you order the software with the PC. Third, like I said before, it’s inevitable; you’re going to have to replace those old PC’s.  Instead of purchasing new for the entire organization at one time, try to spread out the investment over time.  Get yourself on a plan to replace 1/4 to 1/3 of your of the PC’s per year.  By the time you’re done, every 3 to 4 years you’ll have updated workstations.  As well, you will yield the benefits of having the same model of PC, which makes it easier to maintain them in the event of a problem. Next, setup VPN or remote access for users that don’t necessarily have to come into the office is a great cost savings idea.  Saving on gas, which isn’t too much of an issue right now, power consumption, and travel times are a great way to reap benefits and save some money.  Lowering the mileage costs, power bills and cutting down on travel times are some great unintended benefits for working from a remote location. Lastly, consider virtualization.  There’s a saying that “Everything old becomes new” and it seems that the IT world is heading down that road again.  Back in the earlier days of network computing, the users connected to the network with their “dummy” terminals and interfaced with a mainframe computer.  The mainframe was the brains of the network, it dealt with all of the tasks that the network and users demanded.  The terminals were just a conduit to the mainframe.  Today with virtualization, many companies are moving towards this type of relationship again.  Upfront costs for the server, or mainframe, may be larger, but the computers that the end users need can cost much less because the server is handling all or a majority of the processing capabilities of the network.  You can share resources, applications and tasks all on one or multiple servers.  So, if in these trying economic times you feel the need to firm up the old IT budget, consider these cost cutting ideas.  There are more out there and some of them may be very specific to your needs.  If you feel you would like to consider some of these options, I can always be contacted.  You can e-mail me at anytime at g@219.com   Gregory M. Peiguss