Finding 3

Finding 3
20 Ways to Save Money on IT (Slideshow)
We examined 20 different ways companies try to save money and asked whether they resulted in large or minimal savings. Only five of these approaches (the approaches with a Savings Ratio greater than 1) provide large savings for more than half the companies that use them. And for small and midsize businesses, virtualization (especially when combined with hardware consolidation and storage) is clearly the best way to take a bite out of your budget. But one of the least used approaches, establishing or joining an existing group buying arrangement with other companies, also should be considered; it's a way SMBs can compensate for their relatively poor negotiating status. But even without the power of a buying group behind you, it's worthwhile trying to negotiate for better deals from your vendors.