Four Technologies That Are Saving The Government Money

The Efficient Agency Report found that by introducing server virtualization, document management, storage virtualization and cloud computing agencies reported investment returns ranging from 134 percent to 269 percent. When implemented in that order, the technologies generated a domino effect of savings; the savings gained by server virtualization could almost cover the costs of the remaining three solutions.

According to CDW-Government, implementing each solution individually would cost an agency more than $1.1 million, compared to less than $400,000 through reinvestment.

"The findings from this report reinforce what we've been seeing for some time," said Valerie Fawzi, vice president of worldwide marketing at EVault, which specializes in cloud-based backup and recovery services.

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"Our customers have reported cost and time savings resulting from moving to a cloud-connected approach for backup and recovery, often in the 50 percent range. Data restores become faster and more predictable when implemented through the cloud, flexibility and scalability increase and, through the creation of off-site data copies, businesses can better protect themselves from data loss resulting from natural disasters. Customers are now looking to the cloud for nearly every facet of business continuity and clearly for good reason."

The report shows that agencies have evidence that reinvesting savings in technology solutions can drive even more savings and operational efficiencies. That type of invest, save and reinvest cycle can help agencies further conserve limited IT budgets.

“The Efficient Agency Report's ROI findings for document management are in line with what our customers are reporting,” said James True, vice president of business development at Cabinet NG. “It is very common for customers to see over 50 percent of the total ROI come from improved operational efficiency and reduced labor costs as a result of automating processes with [a] document management system."

The CDW-Government report recommended that agencies first look for ways to improve efficiencies, without cutting services. In addition, it suggested conducting a review of technologies and processes to identify inefficiencies.

"Beyond the realized ROI of a document management system are the intangible benefits which include: meeting compliance requirements, reducing exposure to liability, improving customer satisfaction, and the convenience of securely accessing documents from just about anywhere," True added. "Those tangible and intangible benefits of document management are putting its adoption on the shortlist of many governmental and commercial organizations.”