Technology Savings Most Businesses Overlook

In this episode of Smart Tech Spending, Nicole discusses how businesses can save money on hosted subscriptions and licenses. She explains that companies are paying for subscriptions they may no longer need, and highlights the cost-saving importance of regularly reviewing and auditing hosted subscription accounts and licenses.

Key Takeaways:
- How to save money on hosted subscriptions and software licenses to reduce technology costs
- Recommendations for maintaining and reviewing subscription accounts to in your company to prevent wasted resources

As always - no tech talk!

Contact Nicole:  nicole@jerseyitgroup.com
Connect with Nicole Lefsky: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolelefsky
Jersey IT Group’s Website: https://www.jerseyitgroup.com

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Chapters

• 0:55 Saving Money on Hosted Subscriptions
• 1:21 Transition to Hosted Apps and Services
• 1:49 Recurring Fees Getting Overlooked
• 2:49 The Managed Service Provider's Role in Subscription Management
• 3:13 Reviewing and Auditing Subscription Accounts

Transcript

[00:00:00] Nicole Lefsky: Software programs that are unique to your industry are paid for on a monthly or yearly basis and are often calculated based on how many people will need access to them. What if the number of people needing access changes or decreases? Who's looking at this on a regular basis so your company's not overpaying for tech tools or licenses you don't use or need.

[00:00:22] Jersey IT Group: You're listening to Smart Tech Spending, a podcast designed to help businesses gauge the success of their technology investments. If you're looking to overcome the challenge of measuring the ROI of technology tools and services, avoid unplanned expenses and uncover hidden costs, you've come to the right place. Let's get into the episode.

[00:00:45] Nicole Lefsky: Hello and welcome to Episode 10 of Smart Tech Spending. I'm Nicole Lefsky. And for those that are new to Smart Tech Spending, welcome. Today we're going to talk about where you can save money when it comes to hosted subscriptions.

[00:01:02] Have you ever seen the ads or heard about Rocket Money? It's an interesting tool because it helps people identify subscriptions that they have and are paying for, but they may not need. And I really like this because it brings to the forefront money that is just wasted.

[00:01:20] Just like individuals, businesses transitioned to using more hosted apps and services over the last four or five years as I'm sure you saw in your company. And with the ease of access and remote working, it just made sense.

[00:01:36] Companies switched from years of managing email and purchasing software upfront to web based tools like Microsoft 365 or Google, you know, just to name a few. Similar to your Netflix subscription, the hosted apps have recurring fees, and guess what?

[00:01:55] Companies are paying for them month after month, year after year, without utilizing all of them. When companies downsize, or employees work functions change, or employees leave the organization, the company may not need as many licenses to apps or tools that they are paying for.

[00:02:16] Most tech subscriptions are charged on a per person or a per account basis like QuickBooks Adobe Cloud DocuSign, I mean I could go on. So software programs that are unique to your industry are paid for on a monthly or yearly basis and it are often calculated based on how many people will need access to them. What if the number of people needing access changes or decreases?

[00:02:40] Who's looking at this on a regular basis so your company's not overpaying for tech tools or licenses you don't use or need? Your managed service provider or IT company should be maintaining a list of those that pertain to services and tools that they manage or have purchased for your company on a regular basis and depending upon the length of the subscription.

[00:03:03] Your IT company should be auditing the list and comparing it to your actual need. This process should be baked into the IT company's proactive processes. If your company isn't using a managed service provider or your IT company is not managing your subscriptions for you, then here's what I'd recommend.

[00:03:22] Start by making a list of all the subscription based tech tools, licenses, and apps that your company uses. Then note the term of the subscription. Is it yearly or monthly? Is there a minimum number of users or a minimum amount you have to spend for the duration of the contract? What's the cancellation notification period?

[00:03:45] Since some require advance notice, is it 30 days, 60 days? Will it automatically renew without notification? Even if the quantity can't be reduced monthly, it should be eligible at least at the time of renewal. So, if you can't make changes during an existing contract, anticipating what the need will be for the upcoming subscription period, if that's a new year or whatever it may be. Then that's your opportunity typically to decrease your usage.

[00:04:13] Then list all the managers and the employees who have the licenses or who have access to the programs. And as part of your internal process, when an employee's role changes or they leave the company, check to see if there's an opportunity to reduce your subscription or license for that individual.

[00:04:32] It's kind of like if your child is going off to college and they have a TV in their room and you're paying for cable in their room and now they're going to college, you might want to turn that cable box back in and turn it off in that room and save yourself a little money until they return home.

[00:04:48] So maintaining and reviewing the subscription account list, it can be tedious, but it'll provide you and your organization with an opportunity to save. And there's no reason to maintain subscriptions that aren't in use. That's just wasted money. And in this case, wasted money on tech related subscriptions, software, services that you just don't need.

[00:05:12] So I hope you found this information helpful. Please reach out with any questions by emailing me or connecting with me on LinkedIn.

[00:05:20] I'd love to hear from you.

[00:05:21] Jersey IT Group: You've been listening to Smart Tech Spending hosted by Nicole Lefsky. Make sure you never miss an episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed this episode, we'd appreciate it if you'd rate and review the show. Thanks for listening.