Air Force Case Study: Cost Savings from Modernizing Technology

Everywhere you look technology has been implemented to help government agencies cut costs and improve efficiencies. At all levels of government, agencies are working to cut and streamline services. Amidst a staggering economy, agencies are continually pressed to meet increasing demands from citizens, while funding resources becomes increasingly scarce.

Ultimately, many agencies have looked towards technology solutions to improve services and cut costs. I recently came across a case study from HP identifying cost savings by the Air Force by upgrading and consolidating printing services. This is just one of many examples that costs savings can be found anywhere in an agency, and leaders should always be looking for spots to cut costs. As the case study below shows, when implemented efficiently and appropriately, IT upgrades can provide immediate returns for agencies.

The cost savings occurred due to the efforts by the Air Force and HP to identify and assess AFPC’s work areas. The assessment by HP and the Air Force found that 59% of AFPC printers were over five years old and had 26 different printer models, from six different manufactures. These findings were critical to help the Air Force understand their needs, and how they can reduce costs by having a streamlined approach to printing at workstations.

Air Force IT Specialists immediately began replacing old printers and updating services. The Air Force removed 380 personal printers, used existing workgroup devices to replace outdated and inefficient printers and improved remote printer management as part of this initiative to cut costs at AFPC.

The upgrade also provided new services like scan-to-email and scan-to-folder capabilities for the Air Force. With these kinds of improvements, the Air Force was able to improve efficiency and reduce printing malfunctions.

This case study is one of many examples of cost savings initiatives occurring across the government. In order for government agencies to continue to update and adapt to the speed at which technology moves, agencies will have to think critically about current initiatives and ways to modernize IT infrastructure.

HP’s mission is to invent technologies and services that drive business value, create social benefit and improve the lives of customers — with a focus on affecting the greatest number of people possible. Check out their HP for Gov group on GovLoop as well as the Technology Sub-Community of which they are a council member.