Beyond cost savings: How your IT department can transform your business

Featured article by Debbie Fletcher, Independent Technology Author

When a business is looking to reduce costs – when isn’t it? – it is often the IT department in the picture. Technological development has brought about sweeping change in every industry, drastically altering the way some businesses work and vastly increasing profits while delivering new efficiencies. But information and communications technology has far more potential than merely cutting costs. Thus a smart CEO works closely with the CIO to align IT and business strategy, as it can have a positive effect on business objectives. Here’s some ways in which the IT department delivers business benefits beyond reducing overheads…

‘Going Green’

It’s long established view that introducing sustainability measures can cut costs, but this also has a major impact on how the customer views the organizations. Green issues are rarely out of the headlines and people have come to expect, at a minimum, that the companies they do business with are in step with the prevailing feeling that the environment matters. One of the first moves that a large organization can make is to ensure computers are in power-saving mode whenever they are not in use for long periods.

If you’re talking hundreds of PCs in one office then that, naturally, could amount to several thousands of pounds saved annually in energy use and also a far lower carbon footprint. Using software, such as the Nightwatchman solution from 1E.com, enables a business, for example, to power up computers remotely whenever patches need to be made overnight and return them to power-saving mode instantly afterwards.

The Cloud

One of the big benefits promised by Cloud providers is the potential cost-savings involved but there are also many other advantages. Removing the headache of server management is one, as is the knowledge that the latest versions of applications will be available, and increased the flexibility offered means the company is able to scale its usage up or down as the business environment dictates. Furthermore, despite some views to the contrary, moving data into the Cloud tends to be far more secure, with professional teams focused on detecting and protecting against threats, some of which may be beyond the capabilities of an in-house team.

Remote Working

Again often seen as a cost-saving device, remote working has been shown to deliver many other positives for staff, such as making them more flexible in their working habits, more self-reliant, and also more productive. If an employee has the facility, through a laptop and/or smart device, to access company applications and all the relevant data, they can potentially be working on the commute, in hotel rooms, or anywhere else they happen to find themselves. There are challenges, of course, the security of Wifi networks being one of the largest, but many businesses are now seeing the concept of remote working as beneficial past the point of cost savings.

Analytics

Big Data, the Internet of Things, and hugely powerful analytical software, means businesses can now gain a far greater understanding of their customers’ wants and needs, and meet them accordingly. Marketers are able to use vast quantities of historical behaviour, whether collected from the website, through e-marketing, or at point of sale in stores, segmenting and profiling customers, and predicting future behaviour, while also identifying channels and content that works or doesn’t. Analytic software is becoming ever more sophisticated which is a major boost to conversion, and those companies with the ability to collect, store and analyse great quantities of data stand an immeasurable advantage. The result, besides increased sales, is greater customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

Social Benefits

The benefits of using social media to reach customers will hardly raise any eyebrows. But more and more companies are using social platforms in other aspects of business and seeing results, from increased satisfaction among suppliers and partners, to reduced communication and travel costs and faster access to important knowledge. It’s also thought that major companies that have an internal social platform will see greater democratisation in decision-making, with employees finding it easier to have their ideas heard.

Debbie Fletcher is an enthusiastic, experienced writer who has written for a range of different magazines and news publications over the years.