So I have been tasked with creating a new cost saving model to be
used across the enterprise.
I wanted to share
with my readers a few thoughts
Some of the items
this initiative should encompass will be electricity usage, cooling,
virtualization, server refresh cycles, bandwidth costs, multiple data center
replications, WAN optimization, SLA's, training staff, equipment
depreciation, asset tracking.
These are just a
few of the metrics that can go into a well rounded presentation for
upper management. However before you dive in to creating a large
formula heavy spreadsheet you might want to look at what’s currently available
for starting point templates and references.
I recently ran
across a fellow whom was tasked with this exact project. While he was diligent
and had many items well laid out in his spreadsheet I asked how long he had
been working on this initiative. To my surprise his answer was a
whopping 3 months!!!! Of almost 3 days per week gathering information and
making new columns and cells with each discovered item.
In today's IT
world the IT manager can be tasked with a multitude of projects and initiatives
that need to get done. These are often important projects to keep the
business making money with a low overhead. It’s up to all IT managers to
turn their IT departments from a cost center into a profit center.
However before we get off track lets discuss what this fellow could have
done.
#1. Google
is your friend, if you know how to use it. Many folks don’t know you can
type in the search box the following text. Information Technology ROI
Spreadsheet Filetype:xls
This search will
yield many great results with proven formulas and graphs that really present
well.
#2. Look
over your heating / cooling / electricity / ISP bills. Do you really
understand how to calculate the loaded cost for these items?
Presenting just what the bill states as a cost is really not the answer
here.
Understand how
each cost affects the company’s bottom line.
#3. Calculate the
IT cost per employee. Knowing how much IT costs the company for each
employee is a real eye-opener!!!. Many times we see employees whom are
struggling thru spreadsheets and other systems because their knowledge was
handed down from employee to employee. More times than not the new
employee was taught the wrong way. An anonymous survey is a great
way to learn whose struggling.
A training class
goes a long way to increasing performance and ROI.
#4. Do you
understand how to calculate the depreciation of IT assets? What’s the
1,2,3,4 yr depreciation rate?
#5. Another great
area is printers. Many times when I enter a firm I see HP printers in
almost every cube. Printer overrun is so costly to a company many are
unaware of the hidden costs. Looking into leasing a high capacity
printer and enforcing double sided printing can lower costs dramatically.
While there are
many ways to create your ROI presentation to Sr Management, you need to look
outside and what’s around you as every environment will be different and have
its own distinct characteristics.
These are just a
few of the many tips one should consider when creating your presentation. There are lots of great ways for IT managers to save on costs daily.
Dont just sit back but walk around the office daily looking for waste, it wont be far from your eyes to spot..........................
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