It’s rare to find a workplace that doesn't use IT to ensure all runs smoothly. A reliable IT system is, for many, a top business priority and whether everything is ticking over nicely, or it’s time to tighten the purse strings, saving precious IT budget is usually high on the business agenda too.

There are ways of limiting expenditure in IT without overhauling the entire system - a considerate and methodical approach over time can have a big impact.

Implement a SAM strategy

Rolling out a successful Software Asset Management strategy will help the IT department reach their IT investment’s full value. With a centralized software inventory, detailing the ins and outs of all licensing terms, and reconciling entitlement against use, the IT department will verify whether additional licensing needs to be purchased or whether the organization is over-licensed.

Stop spending on unused assets

By understanding where and how each IT asset is being used, the IT department can eliminate redundant assets, reassign unused software licenses, and reissue idle devices.  Gartner estimates that as much as 20% of software licensing and hardware maintenance charges are incurred for assets that aren’t actually in use - that’s a lot of wasted IT budget!

Avoid audits and keep compliant

As the risk of receiving a software audit continues to rise, organizations are under more pressure to ensure they are not under-licensed when the software vendors come knocking.

Depending on the size of the organization, the IT Department may be able to rally and gather software usage data, and marry it up with user data, and establish an effective license position (ELP), however, the man-hours required will certainly impact “business as usual”, and data collection costs can be high. A SAM program preempts these audit requests, making the organization’s ELP available at any time.

Track your contracts

Having your IT department know when contracts are due for renewal presents the opportunity to negotiate as the date looms. If they also understand consumption levels and historical use of assets, they may be able to reduce the percentage of the price list renewal fee, or request an increase in maintenance services be built in.

Consider the cloud

Larger organizations may opt for a private cloud solution in order to enjoy increased efficiency in the management of their IT, while smaller organizations using a public cloud solution will see many IT functions move to a provider.

Automating services will reduce the cost of labour, and this means IT is freed up to take on the tasks that require manual input. A virtualized environment has a much smaller carbon footprint compared to running a data centre and multiple servers too, and so energy costs can also be cut.

Reducing business expenses, but not at the expense of doing business

Changes in IT come thick and fast, and organizations can find themselves overwhelmed with the ubiquity of new software and hardware. Left unchecked, IT can end up paying much higher prices for the same or similar products and services, while closer monitoring and a review of internal policies may be all it takes to reduce overheads, and keep them down.