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Controlling costs and figuring out various efficiencies have always been a huge part of IT business life. And in our post-armageddon economy, we can expect these tasks to become an even bigger part of life in the fast lane. Last year we were heroes simply for avoiding stupidity-induced costs (like cleanup for patch-preventable viruses), but this year we'll have to aggressively investigate and implement cost reductions while maintaining the same or better service quality.

Many of us will have to look hard at the various systems we support and attempt to streamline operations to cut costs. Failure to become lean and mean could be hazardous to departmental health.

Here's a cautionary tale: I recently chatted with a large manufacturer's IT staff and was dumbfounded to hear of the company's complete lack of standardization and, thus, serious lack of support. Compounding the problem, securing a system you can't support is nigh impossible. With a huge staff and little discipline, the IT department seemed ripe for an outsourcing company to pick.

Sadly, several months later that's exactly what happened, and the outsourcer's first move, predictably, was to begin a consolidation and standardization effort. Socrates may have been right, the unexamined life may indeed not be worth living. But in IT, the undisciplined life is downright dangerous.

Lean, Mean Training Machine

As you standardize and start cutting the technology fat, count on your training budget to become practically anorexic. Every additional mission-critical technology you bring into your organization means initial and ongoing training for your implementers and your helpdesk. From this perspective, less is definitely more.

Training in any environment can cost a pretty penny, particularly when you're talking about instructor-led classes versus RTFM. To retain top staff, you have to train at least a few times a year, more if you're involved in cutting-edge projects. Most in-depth classes are not held regularly, and you'll likely have to travel when you need one. A single measly instructor-led class could include the class fee, travel costs, per-diem or expense reimbursement and lodging, plus lost productivity time for an expensive employee. One standard cost-cutting measure is to (reluctantly) drop some instructor-led classes, sometimes in favor of CBT (computer-based training).

But I hate that. I find CBT to be no better than reading a book, except that with a book you can scrawl on the pages.

A recent experience with KnowledgeNet.com convinced me, though, that instructor-led CBTs are a good way to get more bang for your training buck. KnowledgeNet uses Internet groupware in conjunction with traditional conference-call technology. I could listen to the instructor, raise my hand, ask questions (both spoken and typed) about how the technology would affect my environment (the best thing about having an instructor), make sarcastic remarks and watch the instructor use a virtual whiteboard on my screen. But probably the best thing about this method is that I could lie back in bed and attend class -- even when I had the flu.

There were some technical and organizational glitches, and I'm not sure I would recommend this type of training for every technology, but the overall experience was pretty nifty and saved my organization some serious sawbucks. Space considerations prevent me from elaborating here, but I'd be tickled to review this sort of service if you're interested in more details. Please drop me a note to let me know.

Jonathan Feldman is chief technical manager of the Chatham County Government in Savannah, Ga. Send your comments on this column to him at jf@feldman.org.