Michael Welsh

Sep. 28,2021 | Software, Cognitive Transformation, Supplier Management, SSM - Strategic Supplier Management, Telecommunications, Operations, Negotiation, CFO, Digital Transformation, Hardware, Infrastructure, Savings Cloud

Like a party no one wanted to go to, the COVID pandemic dragged many IT Executives into (over) spending on technology that was not planned for. In the frenetic pace to ‘keep the lights on’, expenditures were made without the scrutiny they may have normally received pre-COVID. Supporting all the work from anywhere (WFA) initiatives including conferencing, PCs, and remote access software and hardware were all added to the mission critical initiatives already underway, like digital transformation and cloud migrations siphoning money away from those other priorities.

As you start planning for your 2022 budgets, you may just now be realizing and or remembering the magnitude of that spend and its continued impact. From our almost twenty years of experience, we know that once things get turned on, they rarely get turned off. Now the real headache begins as you try to hammer out 2022 budgets based on bloated spend and start having to make hard decisions on how to align your budget to the business.

Cutting things out after they have already been in place may be one of the hardest things to do as an IT Executive (or any Executive for that matter). This is especially true for those being asked to cut their budgets for fiscal 2022 because, the world has in fact, changed.

The new operating model supporting WFA is here to stay. However, this presents a GREAT opportunity to revisit the legacy spend in the IT portfolio and claim the dividend from all of the Covid era spending. Here are questions and areas we recommend asking to start cutting things back down to size, while fully funding (and even accelerating) the business:

Hardware

• Still have a data center even though you moved or are moving to the Cloud? Massive costs can be taken out on both sides of that spend. Often missed, is even if the room(s) are almost empty and the hardware is (almost) gone, it doesn’t necessarily mean the costs are.
• Used to have desktops in offices or call centers , but now have laptops deployed to more remote workers? While the initial cost is almost 3x, now that it has been incurred, there are strategies across the hardware and software stack to enable costs to be taken out.

There are a multitude of strategies we’ve seen work with Clients to drastically reduce cost and waste in hardware spend.

Telecom

• Do you still have big data pipes going to locations with few employees and or an empty data center?

Renegotiating existing agreements and or renewals as they come due can be a key component to funding your 2022 strategy, but you must know what to look for, and how to negotiate a drawdown in spend, while maintaining flexibility, performance, and discounts.

Security

• Securing and fortifying central offices relies on a lot of legacy technology – but how much of that is now outdated in a “zero trust” world required to support a remote workforce?

Software Modernization

• Are you still paying for legacy solutions such as ERP or backup software?
• How many hundreds or thousands of new SaaS licenses did you add over the last year and a half?

We see tremendous value gains in a review of license environments, as each supplier employs specific contractual terms and conditions that always maximize their revenue at your expense. Some can be downright predatory, enabling gross to overspend on both license volume and types deployed.

Cloud

• Have your cloud costs escalated well past what you thought it would be?

Cloud waste is pervasive. The enterprise rush to the Cloud has far outpaced the ability to track, manage and optimize its usage and spend. Tools alone are not stemming the tide of millions being wasted every year. Over time, you would think the trend would be getting better, but in fact the waste is getting worse. Check out our infographic here.  The issue is so prevalent, we have spent a good deal of time and energy creating resources to help Clients:

• eBook: 12 for ’21, Cloud Savings Tips
• Cloud Cost Calculator for AWS/Azure/GCP: See how much you could save
• Case Study: AWS
• Case Study: Azure

If you answered yes to any of these or related questions, now is the time to get us engaged to review your strategic portfolio.

With a self-funding model that returns up to 95% of the savings back to your bottom line, why wouldn’t you do that? With guaranteed savings, a self-funding model, and an ROI that should make any CFO smile, there is really no reason not to give us a call to chat about your challenges. We are the specialist you need to cure this budgetary hangover, whether resulting from COVID or just finding ways to fund digital transformation and cut legacy IT costs.

About NET(net)

Founded in 2002, NET(net) is the world’s leading IT Investment Optimization firm, helping clients find, get and keep more economic and strategic value. With over 2,500 clients around the world in nearly all industries and geographies, and with the experience of over 25,000 field engagements with over 250 technology suppliers in XaaS, Cloud, Hardware, Software, Services, Healthcare, Outsourcing, Infrastructure, Telecommunications, and other areas of IT spend, resulting in incremental client captured value in excess of $250 billion since 2002. NET(net) has the expertise you need, the experience you want, and the performance you demand. Contact us today at info@netnetweb.com, visit us online at www.netnetweb.com, or call us at +1-866-2-NET-net to see if we can help you capture more value in your IT investments, agreements, and relationships.

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