For the vast majority of new businesses, money is tight – yet tech is expensive – and for most startups, it’s a vital part of the picture.
So, what do you do? Cut corners on the IT equipment you need and let your business suffer? Or stretch your budget for tech and see other important costs go by the wayside?
Fortunately, forward thinking tech companies acknowledge that we’re seeing more new business startups than ever before – and they’re adapting their products and services to suit those with limited cash flow. Here, we’ll highlight the best money saving tech tips for your startup, from how to buy software with terms that suit you – to finding the best and most effective internet circuit providers.
How to Save Money for Your Tech Startup | Pro Tips
Go opensource
There’s a world of software you’re likely to need for your new business, from book-keeping and accounting to customer relationship management and presentation building.
You can be forgiven for thinking it comes with a hefty price tag – after all, the companies who charge are the ones who are able to pay for those impressive advertisements that are all over the startup and entrepreneur sites you use.
Don’t be mistaken though, there’s a world of incredible software out there that’s created and maintained on a ‘opensource’ basis, that is, free of charge – with adaptations and support offered by a dedicated team of people and fans around it. Before you spend a chunk of your budget on software, check out a resource like SourceForge to see what’s available at no cost.
Use a managed service provider
If you’re going to need a fair amount of IT tech – whether that’s software or hardware, then you’re going to need people as part of your business who know how to maintain it and fix issues as they occur.
If you’re planning on recruiting, you might want to have a look at using a managed service provider instead – especially if you’re keen to keep costs under control.
The wage you’ll pay a dedicated IT team member is usually very high when compared to how much you’d spend buying that service in from a managed provider. Not only that, but an employee is likely to have days off, holidays, sickness – and a variety of other reasons they just can’t be at your side 24/7. While this is totally understandable – it usually means companies with dedicated IT teams need at least 2 people… which means you’ve just doubled your wage bill.
A managed service provider can be at the end of the phone 24 hours a day. You’ll usually talk to someone who knows you, your company and your system inside out – and it’ll all come at a fraction of the cost compared to your own IT department.
Futureproof
This one might seem counter-intuitive – spending more now to save in the long run – but those savings can be huge.
When you futureproof your IT equipment and software you’re doing two things – firstly, ensuring that your business needs are catered for beyond simply what you need currently to get you up and running – and also ensuring that your IT can keep up with developments in worldwide IT technology.
You’ll be surprised at how cost effective it can be to ensure your IT equipment is suitable for the months and years to come – often just a small percentage more than equipment that will become outdated more quickly. By smart now, your future self will thank you for it!
Buy software (and more) as a service
Tech companies are becoming more and more switched on to the fact that large chunks of expenditure just aren’t feasible for companies who are starting out small.
There was once a time when a license for Microsoft Windows and Office would cost you a small fortune before you’d even created a single .doc – but now, a different pricing system means you can embrace the full Office suite at a cost that virtually any business could afford, from day one.
This price revolution is down to companies offering their products ‘as a service’ (you’ll commonly see SaaS – standing for ‘Software as a Service’) – so, rather than buying a product outright, you simply pay to access it on the cloud. You can still download and use offline – but you’re paying on a subscription basis, rather than for expensive licences.
It’s not just software that works in this way either, more and more companies are offering IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service – so if you’re looking at the cost of servers and panicking, now’s a good time to see if what you need can be accessed monthly via the cloud.
Find the right connection deal
When you’re a business, your internet connection can be extremely costly – but without it, you’re cut off from virtually every other money saving tip on this list – so it’s essential.
Again, there’s a lot to be said for digging a little deeper into the deals that are out there for you, rather than just going for the first option from the most popular provider. If you’re looking for a high-speed MPLS connection, this guide will help you compare providers and ensure you’re getting the most for you money.
While the implications of your domestic connection not staying up or being slightly slower than anticipated won’t have a huge impact – the implications of your business connection not performing could be huge. Ensure you’ve got a solid service agreement in place from your chosen provider to make sure you don’t have any costly downtime.
- Lease your equipment
If you want to wipe a huge a very expensive line from your capital expenditure report you could do a lot worse than considering leasing your IT equipment.
Although more costly in the long run – leasing IT equipment slices your startup costs down to an absolute minimum – and you’ll get the latest tech, usually protected by manufacturer or provider warranties throughout the lease period.
Leasing also allows you to scale without huge cost – so, need more desktops, laptops or tablets? No problem, add them to your deal. Need to downsize for a period? Again, no problem, talk to your lease provider about returning the unused items. It might cost a little – but it’s a lot less costly than having unused IT equipment collecting dust and devaluing every day.
So there were 6 pro tips we figured out while talking about saving money on tech startup and optimizing the use in a most efficient way. If you are looking forward to build your own business or running your own startup or thinking to do so, I recommend you to write down these money saving tips and while purchasing anything, ask below questions to yourself:
- Is it important to invest in this software/ services/ products etc?
- Do we have alternatives? If yes, what are the difference in terms of costing and services?
- How that specific service or the alternative of that specific service going to impact your business?
- Is alternative enough to you or you need that specific service to grow your business?
- Do you have anything which will impact your business for sure but you are not going for it? If yes, see your savings and then go for it.
Be calculative while purchasing stuff for your startup and if it’s based on monthly subscription, then it’s important to understand the monthly outcome of that specific thing. I hope you will like these save money technique for startup and small level businesses. If not, please let us know your opinion. Even, you can tell me your experience with such things and we will be happy to see your feedback and get back to you asap.
