Many people are throwing around the ‘R’ word lately, at least in relation to the US (Canada in general, and BC specifically seem to be doing pretty well lately). Yes, I mean recession. Whether or not there is a recession is something for accountants and other financial types to decide, not me. I’m just a geek.

However I would like to talk about how you, as a business manager, can get the most bang for your IT buck during tougher financial times. Whether you’re directly affected by economic developments, or if you’re simply caught in the crossfire, here’s a few ideas on handling the tech side of things.

So your business is being affected by recession. Things are a bit tighter, and the red pen is being used with disturbing frequency. But your hardware refresh cycle is coming due this year, or maybe it’s software license renewal time. Whatever the scenario, you need to drop a few bucks on technology, but times are tight.

If you’re buying software, maybe you should look at alternative licensing models. In an earlier article I wrote about different options for software licenses, and this might be a good time to look at these options. Open licenses can save you some decent cash, while still letting you maintain your need for modern up to date software tools.

Or maybe you need to look at alternative software choices. Certain software packages can be expensive, and low or no-cost alternatives abound. A few hours worth of research can possibly help you find a software package that does what you need, with no capital outlay to your business. A good example of this would be something like Open Office, which can save files in the MS Office format, but costs nothing.

Maybe you need new hardware. One key to recession IT spending is to remember that the hardware manufacturers are going through some of the same problems you are. So negotiate with them. If you have business acquaintances who are also buying hardware, see if you can pool your resources to get a better volume discount. For example, if you’re buying Dell computers, resellers are often more willing to be very aggressive with discounts. And the real discounts start to kick in around the 10-machine mark. Find out if you can split an order for that many with someone else, and share the savings.

Next, maybe you need to look at alternative service delivery models. One of the buzz-words in IT for the past while has been Software as a Service, or SaaS (pronounced like sass). This is something that can also help companies save a few bucks, although it also introduces other considerations. We’ll look at this in more detail in next week’s article.

Finally, the last tip is… have a plan. In IT, when you spend your time reacting to events then you almost always find yourself spending where you didn’t expect to. Your business plan helps you eliminate some of the guesswork in running your business, and your marketing plan helps you decide where to spend your marketing dollars, as well as determining if it’s been worth it. A proper IT plan can help you determine whether or not a given project, product, or service is really the right one to help your business survive tough economic times.

So talk to your vendors, as well as your tech support provider about what’s in the pipeline. And with the right help, you won’t find yourself playing catch up… you’ll be running ahead of the pack.