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One of the most challenging things in IT is making people believe we’re not an endless black hole.   Every organization I have been a member of has struggled with the same viewpoint of IT.  We’re looked upon as a cost not a savings.  Typically it’s because we’re the one division of the company that is spending money without adding any to the bottom line.  Sure most of the systems we put in for other departments such as Marketing or Sales save the company millions a year, but we never get the credit for helping make that happen.

Well there is a way that IT can take a little credit while adding to the bottom line.  With popularity of cloud computing, SaaS, and VOIP users no longer need to come to an office.  This concept can breed an entirely new form of Employee, one I like to call Employee 2.0.  This concept is exceptional for call centers.  Providing a user with access to a cloud or SaaS such as a Citrix Published desktop and a soft phone allows you to have a fleet of customer service representatives operating from their home.  This can grossly expand the type of employee you can higher as well as reduce employee turnover.  You can still monitor calls through the VOIP system and what the employee is doing through the application manager.  This allows for call centers to expand or contract on an as-needed-basis.  Why stop their though?

With technology companies are no longer limited to having employees in the office.  For years sales teams have worked outside the office, but now departments can have employees scattered across the country.  With utilizing things such as a cloud you are expanding your employee possibilities this prevents costly relocating expenses and expensive payroll demands depending on where your corporate office is located.

There are still some jobs that you can’t do remotely so it’s far from a magic bullet to cutting overhead – but – with the right resources IT can reduce overhead, and add some money to the bottom line.