Revitalizing Hospitality: Harness IT Cost-Cutting Strategies for Resilience and Success
The coronavirus pandemic has left businesses in many sectors, particularly the hospitality industry, facing huge reductions in revenue. What’s really driving the closures in the UK is the cost of doing business.
Hospitality businesses In the UK are experiencing higher energy costs, reduced staffing resources and facing food price inflation, which is fuelling the closures.
Over 13,000 hospitality businesses closed since 2020 and More than 10% of the UK’s hospitality businesses have permanently closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
In these challenging times, operations need to look for ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality.
One area where savings can be made is through Managed IT Services & IT cost-cutting strategies Restaurant IT Support.
By leveraging technology to reduce costs, hospitality businesses can survive the crisis and emerge stronger.
One way to control business costs is to eliminate hidden IT Support in London expenses such as expensive software subscriptions and performing audits on company devices.
Use our tips to reduce your hospitality business’s IT expenses.
IT Cost-Cutting – Harness the Power of NAS Devices for Secure and Affordable Data Storage
NAS devices are affordable and provide secure storage for your business data. Storing data in the cloud may seem like a popular solution, but it doesn’t always absolve you from responsibility. While a professionally managed data centre may be more reliable than an underperforming desktop computer, the fact remains that your data is still stored on someone else’s computer.
Cloud services can be useful for storing large amounts of data offline. However, using a pair of NAS boxes could be more beneficial. One could be used as primary storage and the other as secondary, placed as far apart as possible, preferably in a separate building. By utilizing the built-in replication tools, you can create snapshots of your data and transfer them over the network to the second unit. In addition, you could opt for cheap cloud storage and upload your updated data to that encrypted storage daily.
Unless you opt for high-end versions, these boxes should not be too expensive. However, be wary of hidden costs and make sure that you have sufficient drive slots and properly set up the disk arrays to ensure fault tolerance. With careful consideration, you should be able to use each of these boxes for a minimum of six years.
IT Cost-Cutting: Optimize Software Subscriptions and Embrace Budget-Friendly Alternatives
Microsoft 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions can be quite expensive for each user when the monthly costs are converted to annual plans. Consider whether you require all the features and capabilities of Excel or Photoshop. Identify the individuals in your organization who need these tools and determine if the rest can use less expensive third-party alternatives that are sufficient for their needs.
LibreOffice is free software that offers almost the same features as a ten-year-old version of Microsoft Office. On the other hand, Affinity graphics tools require a one-time payment of a few tens of pounds per seat, without any additional monthly licensing fees.
If you think you need Microsoft Office 365, make sure you are on the right plan. There could be features that you don’t need, particularly if you don’t require advanced functions. Carefully review your plan as you could save a lot of money this way. Output Language Code: EN-GB
Is it possible that software services are being paid for through personal credit cards and being claimed as expenses?
This seems to be a prevalent issue, even in large organizations where there should be more effective monitoring. To gain clarity on what is being paid for and who is using it, it’s important to track the financial transactions. Once you have a clear understanding, you can determine if these expenses are still necessary or if they are simply a residual result of past practices.
Streamline Cloud Expenses: Audit and Optimize Your Subscription Services – IT Cost-Cutting
Cloud subscription services can be complicated because they are easy to subscribe to and some subscriptions may no longer be useful but continue to be charged each month. To prevent this, it is recommended to turn off auto-renewal for all software subscriptions. Although companies send reminders before the subscription ends, be careful of being charged too early to continue receiving the service.
The cloud can be useful for certain tasks, such as back-office applications that require multiple logins and shared data environments. It’s important to evaluate whether the cloud is appropriate for your specific needs before dismissing it altogether.
Enhance Efficiency and IT Cost-Cutting : Conduct a Comprehensive Device Audit
Do you have a list of devices on your network that has been audited? Are there any old computers on your network that are not being used efficiently? For instance, there might be an outdated Dell desktop computer that is running a printing queue for a laser printer while being backed up by a small uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This computer could be consuming more electricity than needed. Would it be necessary to keep it running for such a minor function?
To effectively manage devices on your network, reserve DHCP addresses for all infrastructure. This way, you’ll have the flexibility to manage the device while also ensuring that you can identify and track it. Devices with floating IP addresses should only be those that frequently connect and disconnect from the network, such as user laptops.
Print Smarter, Spend Less: Implement Cost-Control Measures for Printer Expenses
Professional-grade printers of large sizes have a long lifespan. Even after 15 years, printers like the HP 5550-1, which has five paper trays and prints double-sided A3 in colour, can still function well. However, it may be expensive to refill them with toner cartridges.
Have you thought about using a cost-effective office-grade inkjet printer that offers either a rolling ink subscription or refillable ink tanks for all other tasks? Do you need to print in colour or will black and white suffice? Managing your printing expenses can help you save a significant amount of money.
Efficiency and Savings Unleashed: Harness Power IT Cost-Cutting Strategies
If you’re concerned about contributing to e-waste, you might be tempted to keep using old hardware. However, it’s worth considering that newer devices can use significantly less electricity and be more cost-effective in the long run. For instance, a small Intel NUC Pro that only uses 5W when it’s idle or an Arm-based device could be good options. It’s important to calculate the return on investment and make a decision based on those results.
Are you being diligent about turning off these devices at the end of the day, or are you simply relying on their power-save mode? It’s important to manage their power-on time to maximize efficiency.
Streamline and Optimize: Modernize Your Server Infrastructure for Efficiency, IT Cost-Cutting & Savings
It is recommended to replace a few old servers with a modern unit that runs to simplify the system. Old rack mount servers consume a lot of air conditioning to stay cool, making them inefficient. It is possible to run a server closet at a temperature that is suitable for the servers but may be uncomfortable for users. So, it’s best to upgrade the system to save energy and maintenance costs.
Unlock Energy Savings & IT Cost-Cutting : Optimize Server Efficiency through Consolidation and Virtualization
If you currently have multiple older servers, it’s recommended to consolidate them into a single modern unit that can run virtual machines (VMs). Although old rack mount servers may look impressive in a rack, they consume a lot of energy and often require air conditioning to maintain a cool temperature. It’s possible to run your server closet at a higher temperature that’s suitable for the servers, but may not be as comfortable for users. Would you consider upgrading to a more efficient solution?
Unlock Currency Advantage: Explore IT Cost-Cutting by Diversifying Payment Methods
Is the currency for the services you’re paying for US dollars? This year, some cloud platforms increased their prices due to changes in exchange rates. Are there service providers based in the UK or EU that offer similar services at a better exchange rate?
The hospitality industry must contend with these challenges. In this tough climate, businesses must find innovative and creative ways to cut costs. IT cost-cutting strategies offer a valuable solution to businesses, shown to increase productivity and improve service quality.
Taking the time to review and revise your plan can help you save money in the long run.
By following these strategies, you should have a clear understanding of what expenses are necessary and which ones aren’t worth keeping. This way, you will be able to identify cost-saving opportunities while also making sure that your organisation’s IT infrastructure is running as efficiently as possible. This will help you improve the financial stability of your business and ensure that it is well-prepared to respond quickly to any changes in the market.
By taking a proactive approach, you can get ahead of potential issues and create an effective strategy that helps reduce costs while also allowing your organisation to remain competitive.
Feel free to contact Speedster IT if you require assistance with any of the cost-reducing techniques we suggested.
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