Helping IT Save Money ... and Jobs?

An anonymous reader asks: "I work in a small, overworked and understaffed IT department at a profitable business. We recently got the news that we needed to cut costs. While every penny counts, simply turning off the computers at night and saving pennies on processor cycles isn't exactly a noticeable savings. I'm curious what measures other Slashdot readers have taken to save money within their IT departments."

Comments

Just a few ways to save money...

[Mr.Fork]

You need to do a few checks:
- Review current software licences and maintenance agreements. Ensure each agreement is necessary and that you are actually using them. Check and see if instead of a blanket cost, a charge per incident might be more economica. I just reviewed mine and found over $100'000 in unused maintenance for software that has been retired alone.
- If you were planning workstation upgrades, could increasing the memory delay purchasing new hardware. This has saved my department over $200'000.
- Are there problematic machines and equipment that you could retire?
- Are you leasing your printers, or do you own? If you own, why aren't you leasing them? (that will save you thousands alone)
- Could you run VMWare servers instead of buying new equipment?
- Check your ISP contract. Are you really using what you need? Could you downsize your internet connection?
- How much overtime are you paying your staff?
- Do you hire college students during summertimes or contractors. You do realize hiring summer students is a cheap and effective temporary workforce.
- Have you considered brining in co-op students? Do any colleges need people to work for free just to gain experience? ...and this is just the top of the list...

Re:A good idea..

[gniv]

You work for HP, right?

Two words

[!Squalus]

Use Linux.