When all the technology in your company is humming along smoothly, it can be easy to think you can save money on business IT. Often business owners think “what am I even paying for with my IT?” when everything works properly. However, this is probably the worst time to think about cutting your IT budget, as it could be the calm before the storm. There are ways you CAN save money on IT, without sacrificing stability and support though.
Going paperless is probably the best and easiest way to save your company money on business IT. While this may seem like it would increase your company’s IT budget, there are many ways that going paperless can actually save your company money. However, there may be an initial cost hike, over the course of the year you will more than make up the cost.
Printers
One way that going paperless can help your IT budget, is eliminating the expenses of printing. With printer maintenance costs, the cost of supplies like ink and paper, and the support costs of printers, they are a huge financial drain on a company. The help desk for any managed IT support company is typically inundated with calls about printers and printing. Printers are a huge pain point for many companies, as they get jammed, get disconnected from the network, or just decide not to print. While these support calls are generally quick and easy to fix, the sheer volume of them is a huge time commitment both from the users and the IT professionals trying to help.
Document Workflow
When an employee prints out an expense report and then routes the expense report through different departments for approval and payment, it can waste time and printer resources. Paperless offices can improve document workflow, by not only eliminating the need to physically move paperwork through the office but by reducing the time it takes to process that paperwork. This not only improves efficiency within the office but will help save on printing supplies for paperwork that never leaves the office and will be thrown away or filed once completed.
Reduce the Printers
If you have several printers throughout your office to make sure employees don’t have to walk very far to retrieve their print jobs, you could definitely benefit from going paperless. Many of the offices that have a plethora of printers need to fix or replace these printers frequently. While moving to a paperless office will reduce the need for so many printers, you might now be able to get away with one large multi-function printer instead.
Compliance and Digital Storage
Another huge benefit of going to a paperless solution is the ability to store thousands of documents without taking up any space inside your office. If your company is required by law to keep certain documents for a specific amount of time, using a paperless solution can help you remain compliant automatically, without the guesswork of going through stacks and stacks of filing cabinets every year.
It may take some getting used to by employees and management, but a paperless office can run much more efficiently than a traditional office. In the long run, your IT budget will decrease by eliminating one of the major pain points of any IT setup.
If you have questions about questions about how to save money with your business IT, contact Protek at 801.999.4767.