Cost effectiveness is always part of any company’s priorities, and taking steps to make your office become more environment-friendly can help you achieve that. There’s been a lot of buzz about environmental issues such as climate change, and with the effects reaching everyone around the world, we all need to do our part to help. The good news is that going green in your office or business can also help you become more cost effective. Here’s how : Shut down your system when it’s not being used. The principle behind this is pretty simple – you can save electricity and the bills you’ll have to pay with a simple system that can power down when it’s not being used. Downsize your infrastructure. You’ll save on bills and power consumption, as well as equipment. Determine the workstations that can be run on a skeletal system, with the heavy lifting done virtually or remotely. This is especially applicable to companies that have people frequently on the road or in the field. Also, if you let people work from home or remotely, there is little need to maintain a vast infrastructure at the home office. Go for a paperless office. Paper comes from the cutting down of thousands of trees, and buying it costs money. But these days with almost everything done electronically, paper use can be reduced to a minimum, if not eliminated completely. Turn your trash into gold. If you have old units you’re going to throw out but are still in working condition, consider donating them to charity and get a tax break. Or, try to recycle them. E-waste is becoming a big problem these days, so the less you throw away, the better. If you’d like to know more about how to make your business more cost effective and environment friendly at the same time, we’d be happy to talk with you and draw up a plan that’s specifically suited to your needs.
Continue readingWorking Toward a Paperless Office
A paperless office is one of the simplest ways a company can minimize clutter and mess, and also help contribute to making business operations more green and environment friendly. Having a paperless office essentially means drastically decreasing the use and consumption of paper in the office. Of course there will always be a need to use paper for some things, but reducing the paper you consume can save you a lot of money and at the same time help the environment. There are many ways to go about doing this. One is to invest in equipment and technologies to make paper use more efficient for when you do need to use it – for example, printers that allow you to print on both sides or scale down images. Here are some other actions you can take: Digitize your hardcopy files so that you have soft copies as well as reliable backups. Assess which paper records you can recycle (or shred then recycle) – this also reduces your document storage space. Release online memos instructing people to avoid or eliminate unnecessary printouts (such as printer test pages). Send web links through email or IM instead of printing a webpage to share. Distribute presentations on flash drives instead of printing them for your audience, or use websites such as SlideShare.com that allow you to share online. When you use less paper, you save on paper and printer ink costs. Minimizing the paper you store also saves you valuable office space. In fact, one company saved $30 million in lease costs when they went paperless. Of course, we can’t really completely eliminate our use of paper. But even small changes can go a long way toward a paperless office and healthier environment – and lower operating costs. Resources: http://156.98.19.245/workplace/index.html http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/communications/6-tips-for-a-paperless-office.aspx#tipsforapaperlessoffice http://www.ismckenzie.com/eight-ways-to-eliminate-paper-and-clutter-in-your-office/
Continue readingGo Green!
These days there’s a lot of buzz about “ going green ” – helping preserve the environment, conserving energy, and looking for sustainable ways to grow the economy. The IT industry is doing its part as well, with “ green computing ,” which is basically computing by more efficient and sustainable means. You can get on board with some of the suggestions below: Save on energy, save on costs: A lot of today’s computing devices feature power management features and energy saving modes, thanks largely to US government efforts to develop energy-efficiency standards called Energy Star. This is a voluntary labeling program adopted by many vendors to clearly identify and promote their efforts in bringing down energy costs for customers as well as to showcase their own use of eco-friendly production processes and materials. When you purchase Energy Star products and make full use of their features, you not only help the environment but also save significantly on your energy bills. Reuse and Recycle: Consider retiring old equipment and replacing it with more energy-efficient models. Reuse what you can (such as RAM modules, cables, controller cards, and drives), and find a reputable recycler to help you dispose of remaining parts safely. Consolidate what you have: Be eco-smart about your purchases. Advances in technology such as machine virtualization now allow you to consolidate computing resources on fewer machines, such as all-in-one printers, saving not only upfront capital costs but also recurring operating expenses such as maintenance, space, power, and cooling. Over time this means less equipment goes into landfills, better utilization of resources, and more money freed up to apply where it counts – to growing your business. Do more with less: Instead of travelling, consider teleconferencing. Instead of hiring full time, onsite employees consider telecommuting arrangements. Not only do you reduce your carbon footprint by reducing transportation impact but also save a considerable amount of time and money as well. Outsource IT: For non-core elements of your operations, consider outsourcing , which leverages economies of scale by sharing resources among several customers without losing efficiency or effectiveness. For example, instead of hosting your own website, outsource it to a hosting service provider instead. We have lots of ideas for going green at your office and saving energy costs along the way. Give us a call and we’ll be glad to share them with you.
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