COVID-19 has impacted organizations in multiple ways in their ability to serve customers while ensuring the well-being of its employees and will continue to do so in 2021. In response, most IT leaders made rapid cost reductions while addressing a new reality for both its employees and customers.
As the economy slowly starts to rebound and businesses not considered essential start to cautiously reopen, Linx Networks Ltd has learned more about the impact on IT organizations.
As we go into 2021, Linx Networks Ltd would like to share ways to reduce or keep your IT infrastructure costs under control amid a COVID-19 response.
- Speed up Transformation with Cloud Migrations
Many organizations had planned cloud migrations in 2020 or beyond and these remained in the budget. This is a great time to speed these transformation projects up in order to receive the cost-benefit from an accelerated implementation plan.
2. Limit New Assets or Extend Lifecycle of Current Assets.
Hardware refreshes should be limited to needed hardware to assist in changes to the working environment such as working remotely or implementing new products/services. Third-party maintenance options can extend the lifecycle of server, network, and storage hardware post OEM warranty/support. You can also consider purchasing pre-owned used hardware, when additional capacity is required or even gain additional revenue from ITAD programs if necessary too.
3. Utilize On-Demand Resources
Many organizations had to make changes to existing staffing levels – particularly in non-critical roles or areas outside major headquarters or key technology hubs. However, this did not change the need to support critical hardware in other areas around the globe. Instead of hiring additional staff later, it may be a good idea to look at project or ad hoc staffing options for break/fix, remote hands or IMAC projects that are still necessary.
4. Prioritize Optimization Programs.
Organizations has tovensure that they have optimization programs in place to make sure that they are not wasting resources and time.
Always, major programs are put into place and little or nothing is done to ensure that they are running optimally and are as cost-effective as possible. Cloud Spend Optimization is a great example of how organizations can save up to 30% on their monthly cloud costs. Storage performance assessments can help optimize and improve performance and reliability and create options to extend the life of existing storage assets by deferring hardware purchases.
5. Partner with Notable Vendors, Control Costs and Gain Flexibility.
When you are making cost control adjustments, it’s crucial to ensure the health of key vendors and utilize partnerships in order to create win-win opportunities. For example, perhaps a managed service provider or third-party maintenance provider will allow greater flexibility in terms of service level agreements. You may be able to even alter the SLAs by location when an OEM may not be able to do so. Partnering can often provide new cost-saving opportunities when both parties tackle a challenge or goal with a win-win mentality.
The impact of COVID-19 will be felt throughout 2021. Businesses still have customers and employees to serve – although it may be different than in the past. In many cases, this has accelerated digital transformation. However, the business reality is that IT Leaders will have to adjust while also being diligent about cost control.
Linx Networks Ltd is happy to help you succeed, contact us today to learn how.