Seven Essential Ways to Cut Your Tech Costs

eBay also offers a wealth of deals. As a buyer, you'll know immediately whether the seller is shady or reputable based on user reviews. Look for a seller with a large amount of positive feedback, at least 95 percent. Be sure to thumb through the buyer feedback to see the comments before you dive in and bid. Like Amazon, eBay backs buyers, and the community will boot anyone out if they aren't on the level.

Refurbished systems may not be under any sort of warranty, and the vendor may sell it to you "as is." This can be a nightmare if, say, the operating system is simply installed on a new hard drive and the drive is stuck back into the computer. Be sure to ask questions of the vendor before buying.

5. Cut Down on Printing Costs

According to GreenBiz.com, you don't have to spend money to be green. You can save on paper costs if you simply photocopy pages on both sides or use outdated letterhead for in-house memos. If your office currently passes out paper memos to employees, try posting the memos instead in a central location (such as a board near the water cooler) where people normally gather and will see it.

Another money-saving tip is to use your printer's draft mode to cut down on ink usage and replace cartridges less often. Draft mode is much faster and uses less ink. When printing e-mail and Web pages, check for a "printer friendly" option.

Color print cartridges typically cost more, so printing in grayscale using only the black cartridge can save money, and you'll replace your color cartridge less often. Most printers offer plenty of settings, so check your printer's software to see what features can save money.

If you rarely print, but your ink runs low anyway, this may be because your printer automatically cleans the print heads. To avoid this, print regularly (at least once a week) to avoid ink buildup.

Watch the PC World video, "How to Save Money on Printing," for more ideas.

6. Outsource Work

Many businesses lack a full-time IT professional or have one very overtaxed person managing the network and systems. Or perhaps you have a Web project that needs finishing or a simple press release you'd like to have written, but don't have the staff.

Instead of hiring a headhunter (whose fees may run 10 to 40 percent of a new hire's first-year salary) or a temp agency, use one of many freelance sites that address all sorts of job functions and don't cost a dime. eLance.com is a sort of freelancer marketplace where contractors post résumés, portfolios, references, and details about their work. Employers can post jobs or invite freelancers to bid directly. eLance tests freelancers on the site in their given skill areas to certify their skills and lets clients post feedback once jobs are completed.

Guru.com is a similar service that lets you search through an available list of freelancers by category, receive bids, award work, view portfolios, and then pay for work once it's completed. Each professional is reviewed by past employers and ranked according to feedback. The site offers a wide range of job categories--legal, programming, marketing, CAD, photography--and is free for employers.

7. Use Virtualization Software

Virtualization software offers many cost-saving benefits, such as consolidating servers and reducing backup and recovery time. And because you're running fewer servers, you save money on your energy bill.

Industry standard VMware's offerings run the gamut, from suites for managing large data centers to VMware Workstation for running multiple operating systems on a single computer. By using VMware, you can test new operating systems or try out new software without risk. The VMware Player is available for free, allowing you to import backup images or share data.

Microsoft's free Virtual Server and Virtual PC (search at microsoft.com) allow you to test virtualization and try out the company's Silverlight virtualization tool.

Parallels is one of the better-known Mac-friendly solutions. Parallels software runs on Windows and Linux hosts, as well as on Macs with its Parallels Desktop for Mac product. (VMware has followed suit and now offers a Mac app, too.) Parallels offers desktop, server, and automation virtualization packages with pricing that's more affordable than VMware.

If you'd rather go the open-source route, FreeVPS is a viable alternative to the commercial software listed above. As with some other open-source software products, FreeVPS doesn't provide official support, but full documentation is available on the Web site.

While the economy may be uncertain, a combination of free software, free services, and a bit of savvy can help any business rein in tech costs.