
Having a managed service provider (MSP) take care of your company’s IT operations full time is the gold standard, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses....
Like many other small businesses across the world, we’re willing to bet that you're likely using Microsoft in some capacity. In fact, Microsoft Office 365 (now M365) witnessed a 21% rise in usage to 258 million users in 2020. Microsoft Teams, in particular, surpassed 270 million monthly active users in January 2022.
The tools in the Microsoft tech stack are essential to nearly all organizations, large and small. But in a small business, every dollar counts. Small business owners have to figure out how to minimize the costs of their current tools while improving adoption and getting the most out of every tool they pay for.
At MicroTech, we talk to so many SMBs who are double-dipping in tech spending because they have access to more than one SaaS tool that provides the same features and functionality as something already available in their Microsoft license.
If you're paying for another video conferencing tool like Zoom, WebEx, or GoToMeeting, you're likely paying another per user/per month cost that you already pay for as part of your Microsoft 365 Business License. The same holds true for file-sharing tools like Dropbox or Box that OneDrive covers and Intranet programs that SharePoint offers as part of your package.
Cost cutting is more than just slashing prices from the current IT spend. You can also cut costs by eliminating spending on one or more applications completely, renegotiating with vendors, or figuring out how to rationalize multiple expenses into one investment.
One temptation with cost-cutting is to prioritize the low-hanging fruit, such as retiring niche products or canceling contracts with smaller vendors. However, this might not provide the scale of savings you ultimately need.
Instead, focus on your most significant expenditures first and exhausting cost-cutting measures in those specific areas.
There are key differences between cost cutting and cost optimization. Contractual commitments may not let you cut costs, so you need other options.
If cost-cutting is prioritized on removing cost entirely (ex: eliminating a subscription), then cost optimization could mean:
Sometimes the benefits can be quantified in other ways. It may even mean moving from on-premises solutions to the cloud to reduce hardware and data center costs.
Your goals with cost optimization should be to:
Where costs can’t be cut or optimized, a key aspect of cost management is ensuring they are fully justified—that is, that every ounce of value is being squeezed out of the investment.
How many of your apps remain dormant while racking up fees? At MicroTech, we’re dedicated to helping you stave off unnecessary costs and derive maximum value from the applications you have.
Having a managed service provider (MSP) take care of your company’s IT operations full time is the gold standard, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses....
In today’s modern work culture, collaboration is more important than ever. As an increasing number of companies move to remote-based work models, the ability to...