While the dog days of summer have many of us on vacation, or basking lazily in the heat, IT professionals at government and military institutions are working diligently to get the best value for their budgets. The September 30 end-of-fiscal-year deadline is rapidly approaching, so it’s starting to turn from research time to buy time.
So how can you ensure you get the best value with your year-end budget money to be ready to implement your future IT initiatives?
Over our three decades of supplying government agencies with technology, we’ve learned a few tried and true methods.
5 Sure Fire Ways To Get The Most Value This Government Buying Season.
5. Utilize Exchange/Sale Authority mandates to trade in current technology
You already have networking hardware and phones that have value. It’s imperative that you utilize Exchange/Sale Authority regulations to trade those assets in to offset the cost of new equipment. US Code 40, Section 503 explains the mandate:
(a) Authority of Executive Agencies. – In acquiring personal property, an executive agency may exchange or sell similar items and may apply the exchange allowance or proceeds of sale in whole or in part payment for the property acquired.
An experienced partner will have knowledge of this authority and work with you to ensure you receive maximum value for your current assets. This, in turn, will offset your costs for new equipment. It’s a vital strategy every government IT professional should use.
4. Go green with a dependable recycling partner
Government agencies are being tasked more and more to implement green initiatives, and better handle e-waste. According to an article from SmartPlanet, a recent statement from government officials states, “Any contractor that purchases electronics through federal funds will be barred from sending the device to landfills.”
New mandates will essentially require contractors hired by the U.S. government to bring disused IT equipment to recyclers that have been certified and approved through federally-recognized sustainability programs.
Now more than ever it’s imperative that government agencies partner with reliable companies to handle their e-waste. The consequences of doing otherwise are becoming more than any agency could handle.
3. Take a closer look at your data center design
It’s a bigger issue that can’t be fixed overnight, but it’s critically important that government agencies use data center designs that save money, space and labor. Look for a partner that has in-depth understanding of data center cable standards, including TIA-942, IEEE 802.3ba and the current BICSI standards.
These institutions have benchmarks in place that allow you to achieve optimum performance in your data center cabling infrastructure. But they only help if you have a partner that understands them, and has the hardware to deliver solutions that will work for you.
The benefits you’ll realize are many: open airflow paths, reduced congestion, a smaller footprint, less hardware needed, and more efficient energy usage. All of these add up to more money and time saved for you.
2. Save money on refurbished networking hardware and phones
Finding quality pre-owned hardware can save government IT professionals a ton of budget money. When tasked with finding the ideal, yet most cost-efficient, technology solution, it just makes sense to not be reliant on the manufacturer. Their suggestion will always be to implement the latest and greatest solution, but many times that just isn’t necessary for your requirements.
If you can still meet mission objectives by maintaining your current infrastructure, why wouldn’t you save money and just acquire refurbished network hardware and phones? If you choose your vendor wisely, you can get top quality products at a fraction of the price of new.
This is a great strategy to make your tight budget funding go a very long way.
1. Institute a spares program
With the money you’ll save using these techniques, you can be empowered to institute a spares program at your facility. Nothing gives you greater peace of mind that you’ll be able to continue to meet mission objectives no matter what than having hot, swappable spares ready at a moment’s notice.
Downtime becomes a memory, your agency is constantly ready, and you sleep better at night. It’s an all-around win/win/win situation. But it’s only possible if you make prudent investments and make your budget money go far.
Consider these strategies this buying season. They could make that looming September 30 deadline a lot less stressful.
