4 Ways to Free up your Money for I.T Initiatives
Freeing up money for IT initiatives doesn’t have to be hard. You need to be your own strongest budget critic. The Enterprise Project asked some top IT executives their most creative ways to save money and spend it where it matters. Here is what they said:
- OUTSOURCE TO FREE UP TIME & MONEY FOR INNOVATION
Dan Miller CIO of Massage Envy conveyed that growth is inevitable. Outsourcing IT functions can help keep on top of IT initiatives and manage other department priorities while infrastructure partners manage capacity and grow your systems as needed. Adding more storage or new servers as needed are elements that can be time consuming and costly to an organisation. Outsourcing this allows scale and the use of outside providers’ existing technology at a cost that fits within a budget. - SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR LEGACY SYSTEMS
Getting rid of legacy systems always turn into long winded arguments. There are always two very opposing sides when discussing whether to get rid of organisational legacy systems. But getting rid of legacy systems that are no longer well-suited to purpose is important. On a relative basis, that old technology just doesn’t get less expensive over time. In fact, just the opposite can occur. So as you look to become more agile and responsive for your business, you’ve got to begin with the legacy systems, as quantified by Arbella Insurance CIO Paul Brady. - SAY HELLO TO STRATEGIC PLANNING
Paul Brady also conveys that you need to begin with a strategic plan. When strategic planning is being conducted, ensure that IT components are baked into the plan. By putting these expenditures into the plan, you’re able to have a more detailed budgeting conversation from the beginning. This is especially helpful when you find that most of your IT budget is wrapped up in maintaining your legacy systems and not building new ones. - SAVE WITH BASIC IT SERVICES SUCH AS OPEN SOURCE
Red Hat CIO Lee Congdon states that you can take advantage of enterprise software enabled by open source. It’s important to put plans and programs in place to take advantage of IT services that are becoming easy-to-purchase commodities. If you put these basic elements into your plan, you can free up IT money to spend on other projects.
