Weeks into the new normal, many businesses’ budgets have tightened. The scramble to make the shift to remote work has finally settled, and business priorities have changed – including in the area of technology spending.
With the future largely uncertain, keeping a close eye on your finances is more important than ever. There are a few things you can do to ensure you don’t come out of quarantine in financial trouble:
Get a Realistic Picture of Your Technology Expenses
When’s the last time you took a step back and evaluated your technology spend? There’s no time like the present, when every dollar counts. The unfortunate catch is the moment you open up a telecom invoice, it appears to be written in a foreign language, and it’s almost impossible to interpret where all your money is going.
Getting an expert audit of your technology expenses is a wise first step toward better understanding – and finding surprise cost savings. A comprehensive audit involves an examination of your bills, which very likely have errors. An audit will uncover any charges for unused services and can lead to credits and refunds.
An audit expert will also examine your technology spending as a whole, looking at your entire technology ecosystem and reviewing existing contracts. If there are services you should cancel or pricing arrangements that need to be negotiated, an audit will uncover that.
Make Educated Technology Decisions
While it might feel like the “safe” response in the current business climate is to just hang onto the savings from your audit for dear life, the next smart move would be to consult with an expert about how those newly discovered dollars could be allocated.
There may be technologies to invest in that actually create additional savings, improve productivity, or increase efficiency. While this won’t always be the case, it’s worth seeking expert guidance to determine if there are cloud solutions or other technologies that could lead to long-term savings.
Don’t Just Set It and Forget It
Like technology itself, your technology costs will be fluid. While an audit will usually get you savings you didn’t expect, you can’t plan to continually unearth savings without managing your technology expenses.
A third party can handle telecom expense management and ensure you’re always spending what you should for technologies you’re actually using. If a contract is up for renewal, a telecom expense management professional can handle RFP administration and contract negotiation so that you’re always getting the best possible pricing. Right now is a good time to consider the RFP process – RFP pricing will always beat renewal pricing, and the RFP process might help you drive your costs down even more.
Minimize the negative impact of today’s business climate on your company’s bottom line by being smart about managing your technology expenses. PAG’s experts are here to help you save money – and we do it at no cost to you, unless we find savings. From the procurement process through audits and providing guidance in uncertain times, we’re here to help you weather the storm. Contact us and find the savings you need right now.
