The Age of Austerity
When country and, indeed, global finances take a turn for the worse, the emphasis is on cutting back and making an organisation more lean and efficient in order to survive. Naturally this has an impact on budgets and expenditure which, generally speaking, decrease. However, budget reductions don't need to mean that you have to do less. Needs still need to be satisfied and, with the right tools, you can genuinely do much more, with less.
Multi-Purpose Tools
Increasingly IT tools for business are converging into multi-functional platforms. An excellent example of this is SharePoint which can been used for Websites, Intranets, Extranets, document management portals, collaboration areas etc. By using a single platform for a number of different requirements, not only do you extract more value from the initial cost, but in doing so, you also reduce the cost of training.
Business Intelligence
One good example of this is the need, which becomes even more apparent in economically difficult times, to measure, monitor and manage Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs act as a barometer for how a business is performing and, critically, provide an instant view of where the key issues that need resolving are.
Until fairly recently these barometers were out of the reach of all but the largest of organisations. However, now that PerformancePoint has become a standard element of the Microsoft Enterprise Core Access Licence for SharePoint - it is possible to implement a solution for approximately one tenth of the price of many business intelligence solutions. Alongside this, the introduction of a solution like this also ensures that your valuable resources are busy on acting on the results of the measures in place, not doing the measuring.
For more information on how you can make Business Intelligence an option for your organisation, or to request a demonstration, contact us
Outsourcing
Outsourcing, particularly for IT, is another popular way to better control costs. Operational and Applications support can be managed extremely effectively externally and, with the right supplier and managed by a stringent SLA, service levels and performance can actually improve as a result - and increase customer satisfaction.
Small is Beautiful
Small and Medium businesses traditionally have less overheads and a leaner structure than their larger counterparts, which means that services cost less and that more of your budget can be spent on the requirement itself, and less on the paperwork.