September is a critical budget month for a lot of organizations, and IT groups are scrambling to save every dollar possible. Some IT veterans say you need look no further than your own network's aging technologies and manual processes to cobble together some last-minute savings or get a jump on the next budget year.

 

They recommend ripping and replacing any older technology and manual procedures that drain help desk resources, waste valuable storage space and cost ongoing licensing fees. For many of these network dinosaurs, there are viable replacements that allow you to streamline management and support, consolidate resources and free up expensive real estate. Here are a few of their recommendations.

 

 

 

"I would encourage businesses to rid themselves of filing cabinets," says Rusty Bruns, CIO at Charleston Southern University in South Carolina. Bruns has been on a mission for the past three years to rid his school of the 250-pound behemoths. He touts the many benefits of document scanning as a business-boosting replacement to sprawling paper storage.

 

"First is the space savings. One department has created two offices by eliminating nearly 200 feet of paper and the filing cabinets that littered their spaces," he says. Second, he says productivity immediately goes up when users are able to work with digital versions of documents. "Need a receipt and processed check from last year? A few keystrokes and the documents are ready for viewing and printing." Bruns says before document scanning, he would have to send an IT staffer off to another building to search through boxes for a paper trail.

 

Accuracy is another benefit that document scanning brings to the table. Errors are reduced because data is scanned directly into the system rather than being manually input. "Our auditors have expressed their pleasure in the ability to audit our records from on-site and off-site. This would previously have been impossible and now they can complete their audits faster."

 

Finally, he says that users are able to be more productive as they can rapidly access all documents via e-mail or storage servers rather than having to fax and hand-deliver paperwork across campus. Bruns has loft goals for the switchover from paper to digital: "To date, we only have two departments scanning, but that will increase to seven by the end of the year."

 

 

 

In the past, IT groups created "sneakernets" that allowed them to go desktop to desktop to patch and upgrade computers. This required floppy drives at every workstation. But in today's era of centralized tools that push software upgrades and patches out to users, individual floppy drives and CD spindles are out of date.

 

That said, some users are clinging to floppies, making IT pay the price in terms of help desk resources. "End users' refusal to give up this familiar technology requires us all to continue to support them," says Tom Gonzales, senior network administrator at the Colorado State Employees Credit Union in Denver.

 

Gonzales says he agrees that users need some sort of local external, portable storage, but that storage should be secured and easy to manage. He encourages those on his network to use USB thumb drives and DVDs. Thumb drives feature security such as password protection and encryption for heightened security and the DVDs have larger capacity than CDs.

 

 

 

Go to any organization and you're bound to see offices each equipped with desktop printers. Users retain individual printers for two reasons -- convenience and confidentiality. However, as IT groups become more centralized and help desk resources constrained, the upkeep required for personal printers is too great, according to Dawn Sawyer, IS operations manager at GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas. She recommends consolidating printers so that multiple users can share them and the help desk has less burden in terms of hardware and software upkeep.

 

While users may complain that they don't want to print out private documents in front of colleagues, Sawyer says "more printers are getting security features that allow them to print confidential documents." She adds that consolidation "not only reduces the number of printers, but keeps maintenance costs down as well." Think of the money you'll save in toner alone.

 

 

 

For years, companies have relied on modem pools to offer reliable access for remote users. However, this aging approach to users tunneling into the network is out of synch with the enterprise's move to enhanced security, according to Joanne Kossuth, CIO at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Kossuth says that rather than relying on this insecure technology, companies should invest in virtual private networks (VPN) and Single Socket Layer (SSL) technologies to offer users a safe and reliable way to access critical applications and documents.

 

VPNs also offer greater speeds and SSL provides the security necessary to protect the enterprise from hackers and other vulnerabilities. "With the ubiquity of VPNs and SSL technologies today for remote access as well as the cost and security threat they present, modem pools should be gone," she says. While Kossuth is a fan of totally eliminating the technology, some IT veterans say having a very limited number of modems could be part of a backup/disaster recovery remote access strategy.

 

 

 

Open the computer storage closet for many companies and you're bound to see piles of CRT monitors spilling out. They also still represent the heavyweight of most desktop setups. However, as companies try to slim down the profile of the desktop and make it more condensed, flexible and portable, IT managers say thinner LCD monitors are the better choice. "CRT monitors are big, heavy and bulky; not the best combination for a desk or workspace," Sawyer says. She adds that flat-panel LCD monitors are improving every day. "LCDs are getting better and more reliable and costs are coming way down. This makes them affordable to any business and their lifespan is greater so their overall cost is lower."

 

 

 

"Many of us have that one remaining NT server, or old UNIX application running. Generally it's something that has worked for years and doesn't impact too many customers so we've never upgraded it," Sawyer says. But even technologies that need little to no attention still can be costly in terms of licensing and they impede efforts to streamline the network. "Most likely these technologies are no longer supported nor are they compatible with newer technologies so it's time to say good-bye," she says.

 

She recommends bringing all technology up to speed and in line with your enterprise strategy -- such as an upgrade to a newer version of Windows Server if you're a Windows shop. This allows IT to do volume licensing, streamline support and consolidate resources -- all of which can result in significant cost savings.

 

Other technologies that IT pros have on their radar screens for annihilation: FTP in favor of virtual private networking and ubiquitous e-mail encryption, and tape-based dictation machines in favor of digital recording programs. IT managers say you should walk around your organization, look in each office and storage closet, identify aging technologies, and you'll quickly see opportunities to save hard dollars.

 

If you had the opportunity to rip and replace parts of your network, what would they be? Is there any gear that users are clinging to that is draining you in terms of upkeep? Let me know at sgittlen@charter.net.

 

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