Reducing IT spending starts with making the most of the technology your organization already has. Learn more about telecom expense management and how smarter resource management connects directly to controlling technology costs. Technology runs the workplace, but letting it run over the workplace is expensive. There are always more devices, tools, and apps that feel like they can help. Eventually, you have to get serious about reducing IT spending.
One way a lot of companies achieve that goal is by utilizing shared devices. If one computer can serve two employees, it seems like an easy opportunity to save money. If you have shared devices — and virtually every workplace does — you might benefit from a few tips that can improve on that sharing. Here are five.
Why Reducing IT Spending Through Device Sharing Makes Sense
Before diving into the tips, it is worth understanding why device sharing has become such a popular strategy for reducing IT spending. A business laptop typically costs $800 to $2,500, and across a growing workforce, hardware alone can consume a large share of the IT budget. Add software licensing, maintenance, and support, and the case for shared devices becomes even more compelling.
Organizations that implement structured device-sharing programs consistently report measurable reductions in hardware procurement costs and IT support overhead. The key is not simply handing one device to two employees and hoping for the best — it requires thoughtful planning, the right tools, and clear protocols that let employees work efficiently without friction.
5 Tips to Reduce IT Spending With Shared Devices
Each of these tips helps you reduce IT spending without sacrificing the productivity your team depends on.
Tip 1: Central Login Servers
A central login server is a master computer that controls the other workstations in the office. It handles backing up data and storing user settings, so any workstation becomes a customized device for every employee — you simply log in with the most convenient device and have immediate access to all of your work.
Central login servers make IT maintenance easier and cheaper, and they extend the life of workstation devices. Because the server is substantially more powerful than a traditional PC, it can shoulder some of the workload and let older devices keep pace for longer. For more ways to stretch your hardware, our tips on IT performance optimization pair perfectly with device sharing.
Tip 2: Sharing Software
The most important aspect of sharing devices is ensuring employees can pull up everything they need for work. If you are on a tight budget, you may not want to spend on new software — and most modern operating systems already have sharing components baked in.
Take Windows, which lets users sign in with a Microsoft ID that saves settings and pairs with automatic backups. It gives you many of the benefits of a central login server at no extra cost. The key to using embedded sharing services is to educate employees on using them. Take the time to learn the ins and outs of the sharing services you already have, and give your employees a chance to learn too — you can find more efficient device sharing without spending a penny on new machines or software.
Tip 3: Accountability System
Technology can do a lot to help you share devices, but it cannot do everything, and when shared devices are mobile the obstacles multiply. A well-defined accountability system is key. At the most basic level, you need protocols for checking out and safely returning devices, with no doubt about who controls each one. Safely storing and charging devices needs to be a standard protocol too. When employees understand the expectations, they can follow the steps designed to make sharing effective. If you are equipping a mobile workforce, strong mobile data management adds another layer of accountability in the field.
Tip 4: Backups
If more than one person stores work on a single device, the risk of devastating data loss explodes. No matter how carefully you plan, device losses are inevitable — sometimes technology just breaks. Every company needs an extensive backup and data security plan, doubly so when employees share devices.
The rule in IT is that any information you cannot afford to lose needs to exist in triplicate: the original copy, a local backup, and a cloud backup. If a rigorous schedule is not keeping all of those copies up to date, you are playing a dangerous game. A solid backup strategy does more than protect your data — it protects your investment in reducing IT spending, because recovering from data loss is expensive and preventing it is not.
Tip 5: Specialized Workstations
There is a whole category of shared devices we have not touched: specialized workstations. They can be the shared printer, a dedicated conference projector, or even the office coffee maker. The one idea that helps most here is workflow. Watch how employees use a shared station and you can usually spot bottlenecks — too many people printing at once, or a projector that takes forever to set up.
When you find those problems, remember that additional devices are not always the answer. Often a little scheduling or a procedural shift eases the bottleneck. The same is true of your physical infrastructure, where our tips on network cabling costs show how smarter planning beats simply buying more.
Building a Strategy to Cut IT Spending
These five tips are a strong starting point, but cutting IT spending is an ongoing discipline rather than a one-time project. As your organization grows and technology evolves, the strategies that work today will need to be revisited. The businesses that consistently keep their IT costs under control treat cost management as a continuous process, not a reactive response to budget overruns.
Device sharing is just one piece of the puzzle. Combined with smarter procurement, proactive contract management, and the right technology expense management tools, it creates a comprehensive approach that delivers compounding savings over time. As industry analyst Gartner notes, TEM spans the full lifecycle of technology spend — and seeing whether outsourcing TEM is right for your business is a natural next step. For hands-off help, Valicom’s fully managed telecom expense management services can run the whole process for you.
FAQ: Reducing IT Spending
What is the best way to start reducing IT spending?
Start by making the most of what you already own — share devices, use built-in software features, extend hardware life with central servers, and audit workflows before buying anything new.
How does device sharing reduce IT spending?
It cuts hardware procurement, licensing, maintenance, and support costs, which is why device sharing is one of the simplest levers for reducing IT spending.
How can small businesses cut IT spending without hurting productivity?
Use central login servers and built-in OS sharing tools, set clear device accountability, back up rigorously, and fix workflow bottlenecks with scheduling rather than new purchases.
Is reducing IT spending a one-time project?
No. Reducing IT spending is an ongoing discipline — the organizations that stay in control treat cost management as a continuous process and revisit their strategy as they grow.
