Seeing your company growing beyond its initial small size can be quite the rewarding and exciting experience, especially considering the huge range of opportunities that the modern IT sector gives you.
However, one of the most annoying problems that most tech companies have to deal with sooner or later is the rapid explosion of their costs in certain critical areas.
Knowing what those areas are, and how to prevent potential issues in them, is a great skill that you should strive to build up over time.
Outsourcing Can Sometimes Have Hidden Costs.
As the industry collectively moves towards embracing the idea of outsourcing work more and more, some of the hidden issues beneath the seemingly shiny surface have started to crop up. Communication is a big one, especially when it involves people in a completely different time zone. You also have to account for difficulties around intellectual property transfers and other similar deals, as it’s not rare to hear horror stories of companies that get put in a really compromising position by an overseas “partner”.
Power Is a Big Drain.
As your offices expand and you keep buying more and more computers to serve the increasing needs of your business, you might notice your power bill getting heavier every month. Don’t panic – this is normal for companies in this sector, although it does require fast action if you want to minimize the potential harm. Look into signing a contract with a company like Conservergy if you’re planning to expand even further, as having your energy optimization done by someone with actual experience in the field can make a world of a difference. This is definitely not something you’ll want to use a DIY approach with, especially if your business has grown more valuable recently.
Careful with Overtime.
There’s a lot to be said about the crunch culture permeating the tech industry, and most companies have started to realize the negative impact on their operations recently. This is certainly a good thing for both sides – it gets tiring to hear about yet another company that puts its coders through several months of 80-hour work weeks just to push the project through the deadline successfully. And when you draw your own bottom line, it won’t look pretty either – all that overtime can make things complicated in your accounting. The point is, if you plan ahead properly and know your workers on a deeper level, you won’t have to run into this issue in the first place, so make it a point to build strong connections within your team.
In the end, patience makes a lot of difference in this field, and you’ll want to take a careful, calculated approach to everything you’re doing to avoid getting into a messy situation that you won’t be able to get out of. Just explore your options and remember that there’s usually always a way to cut some of your costs down without compromising the quality of your operations in any significant way. A smart leader has to learn to recognize those opportunities.
