Fostering Innovation: How to Build an Amazing IT Team by Andrew Laudato

Author:Andrew Laudato [Laudato, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119853114
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2022-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

Software

The first area to explore for savings opportunities is software. Software includes IT-specific tools, productivity tools, and enterprise business software. Follow this mantra: eliminate, consolidate, negotiate. Do you still need the tool? If not, cancel the contract and reap all the savings. If you still need it, is there an opportunity to consolidate? You may be paying for tools that are now included with your Microsoft or Google productivity bundle. Do you have Teams and Zoom? Do you have Teams and Slack? Do you have Teams and Box? Zoom, Slack, and Box are all terrific products, but are they really necessary add-ons in your situation? Education goes a long way in this process. Microsoft Visio is $15/user/month. It's common for users to request Visio when they only require the free Visio viewer. Make sure you fully understand the features of the tools you already own before you buy or keep another add-on product.

Understand your metrics and your contract. If you pay per user / per month, true up the user counts every month and only pay for what you need. If you're deep into cost-cutting, it may be because your business is experiencing a downturn. If you're using fewer services, be sure to only pay for fewer services.

Read and re-read those contracts. I once found a gem in a legacy support contract from the 1990s. In a threatening manner, this clause stated, “If you drop support, you'll be required to pay for actual support hours used at $200/hour.” Since we only called this vendor two or three times each year, the once expensive-sounding hourly rate was a bargain compared to the annual maintenance fees we were paying. Can you move from platinum support to gold support? It's usually an option; weigh the pros and the cons, and make a business decision. If it's a smaller vendor, move to a lower support model and build a business relationship with the VP of support. You'll get much better service through the relationship than you ever did through the contract.

If your situation is more desperate, riskier options can reduce costs even further. You may choose to move to third-party support or go self-supported. Third-party support advocates claim they're both cheaper and better—but do your own research. If you head down either path, first get full buy-in from your executive partners. Carefully document the decision so you aren't being admonished in perpetuity by your successors.

Take all of these steps before you negotiate. A deep discount on something you don't need is still a waste of money. Once you've eliminated unneeded software, consolidated duplicate software, and right-sized support, it's finally time to negotiate a better price for the software you're keeping. At this stage, my recommendation is to get help from a professional. Either partner with your internal strategic sourcing team or hire a third party to negotiate on your behalf.

It's not hard to find a company that will negotiate software agreements on a commission basis. You pay a percentage of the savings. CIOs are

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