Nimble Logo Professional I.T. Services HoustonBusiness.com
about nimble  •  services  •  case studies  •  Cost Effective IT  •  careers  •  investors  •  Home Pagehome
Cost-Effective IT: Cost Saving Strategies

Cost-Effective IT: Cost Saving Strategies, by Richard Sonnier

Houston Business Show "Advisor" Richard Sonnier, of the Information Technology Services firm Nimble Services, Inc., provides weekly information on our show about business technology issues. He can be reached at 281-445-4800 x250 or rsonnier@nimbleservices.com.

Last week, I reviewed IT policies and procedures. This week I will discuss some cost saving strategies.

Replace PC's, Don't Fix

Being thrifty, I always want to fix things rather than buying replacements. However, once a PC is a few years old it really makes more sense to replace it rather than fix it. First, the PC hardware is obsolete after 2 years. Due the incredible pace of technology innovation, the cost of the replacement part for the PC is often more expensive than an enhanced new version. For example, I recently upgraded some memory in an older PC. The PC required the older, slower memory common a few years ago. This older, slower memory cost twice what the latest, faster memory does. Another example: latest software often runs poorly or not at all on older PC's. This is especially true of operating systems like Windows. Trying to upgrade a PC designed for Windows 98 to Windows XP Professional is a very painful experience and often fails completely. Lastly, the people cost of repairing and upgrading is very high compared to replacing the PC with a new one. When you replace with a new PC, the PC vendor has already taken care of lots of potential problems. The installer of a new PC is going down a well-defined path. The process of fixing or upgrading a PC is filled with unknown potholes.

My advice is:
  1. Purchase the PC with a little extra hardware capability than the vendor's minimum. Consider doubling the memory and disk drive. Buy the software you need with the PC so that everything is of the same vintage.
  2. Stay with this original hardware and software on a PC as long as possible. Resist the urge to upgrade.
  3. After two years, if the PC seriously breaks, then replace it.
  4. Whenever you feel you need to upgrade to new software, consider replacing the PC as well. New software usually requires the hardware capabilities of the current standard PC and runs poorly on older PC's.

Upgrade Your Network

The cost of networking gear is dropping all the time and new applications need the best network performance. The cost of having people wait on the network is far more expensive than the cost of the upgrade. Even better, network upgrades are generally transparent to the current applications and users so there are no hidden costs. For example, a new network server will be 2 or 3 times faster then a 3-year-old server and the entire company will benefit. Typically, this new server costs only 25% of the old server.

I recommend:
  1. Upgrade all your network hubs to fast switches.
  2. Replace a network server over 3 years old with a new one.
  3. Upgrade your Internet connection.
Next week, I will review the some of the latest Internet advancements including Voice over IP and the future of dialup.
©2005 Nimble Services Inc. About Us • Contact Us
 Home PageHome • Services • Case Studies • Whitepapers • Forum