Lower IT Costs

Cut your IT costs with a mixture of open source and custom software that streamlines work, shrinks waste, and reduces or eliminates license fees.

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Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.

 — Andrew Carnegie

Smart cost-cutting can mean the gap between thriving and barely hanging on. Durable can help – with a mix of open source and custom software, built and kept up the right way, you can slash your spending across the board while making your work flow better.

How Smart Software Cuts Business Costs

Most businesses spend far too much on software that doesn’t fit their needs. They buy bloated systems with features they’ll never use, or they waste worker time with clunky tools that slow them down.

Durable Programming helps trim these costs by building and keeping up software that fits your business like a glove.

Keeping costs down while upholding work quality isn’t just smart — it’s key to staying ahead. Durable Programming helps businesses cut costs without cutting corners through thoughtful, long-term thinking about software development and maintenance.

Key Ways Our Software Lowers Your Costs

Trim License Fees

  • Replace costly off-the-shelf software with open-source alternatives
  • Augment open source with custom tools that do exactly what you need
  • Cut out features you pay for but never use
  • Scale costs with your needs instead of paying for unused user seats

Boost Worker Output

  • Workers spend less time wrestling with poorly fitting tools
  • Tasks that once took hours can often be done in minutes
  • Fewer steps and clicks means more work done each day

Slash Training Costs

  • New workers learn faster on systems built for your business
  • Less time spent teaching workarounds for ill-fitting software
  • Lower turnover from worker headaches with clunky systems

Cut Down IT Upkeep Spending

  • Fewer systems to maintain means less IT overhead
  • Less downtime from systems built for durability
  • Faster fixes when something does break

The True Cost Problem

Most businesses undercount what they truly spend on software. They see upfront building costs but miss the ongoing drain of upkeep, fixes, and needed growth. For commercial off-the-shelf licenses, its easy to see the per-user costs – but also easy to miss the hours spent integrating, countless days spent customizing, and wasted time from ill-fitting integrations.

“The bill for bad software comes due long after the initial build or purchase,” says David Berube, founder of Durable Programming. “We help businesses see and shrink the whole cost picture, not just the first check they write.”

Our cost-cutting edge stems from three main strengths:

Beyond the Sticker Price

When weighing software costs, smart businesses look past the upfront price tag. The true worth of a software partner shows in how they help trim ongoing costs throughout the software’s life.

“Anyone can build cheap software,” notes Berube. “The hard part is building software that stays cheap to own and run year after year. That’s where we shine.”

Our work tackles the hidden costs that often go unseen until they’ve already drained budgets:

The Long View

In a field often chasing the newest, shiniest tools, we take a different path. Our team brings deep knowledge of both old and new technologies, letting us pick the right tool for each job — not just what’s trendy.

This wisdom shows in tangible ways:

“The cheapest line of code is the one you don’t have to write twice,” says Berube. “We aim to get it right the first time.”

A Partnership Approach

Cutting costs isn’t a one-time fix but an ongoing effort. We work closely with clients to understand their business needs and find ways to trim spending without cutting key features or reliability.

This partnership means:

For businesses looking to get more value from their software spending, Durable Programming offers a proven path to lower costs without lowering standards.

Our Cost Reduction Process

When businesses seek to trim their software spending, they often overlook the most effective paths to meaningful savings. Our structured approach helps identify and eliminate unnecessary costs while maintaining or improving system performance.

Finding Hidden Waste in Software Licenses

Most businesses waste thousands of dollars yearly on unused or underused software licenses. Our first step tackles this head-on.

We begin by taking stock of every software subscription and license in your organization. This often reveals startling findings: duplicate tools with overlapping functions, departments paying for more seats than they need, and forgotten subscriptions that continue billing month after month.

Our license audit typically includes:

Rethinking Hosting Costs

After tackling licenses, we turn to your infrastructure costs. Cloud spending has grown dramatically for most organizations, often without corresponding oversight.

Many businesses overprovision their cloud resources out of caution or simply leave test environments running continuously. Others pay premium rates for resources that could be scheduled to run only when needed.

“We worked with a communications company to cut their AWS bill by 80%,” explains David Berube. “They were simply paying for capacity they did not need.”

The Open Source Advantage

The third step examines where high-quality open source alternatives can replace costly commercial software. Today’s open source ecosystem offers enterprise-grade solutions for nearly every business need.

Our team stays current with the open source landscape and can identify mature, well-maintained projects that meet your requirements. We evaluate factors like community size, development activity, security track record, and available support options.

Beyond the Cloud: Alternative Hosting Models

Despite cloud computing’s dominance, it isn’t always the most cost-effective option for every workload. Our fourth step explores whether alternative hosting models might better serve your needs.

For predictable, stable workloads, dedicated servers or colocation can offer significant savings over cloud services. Some clients find that selective use of on-premise infrastructure for data-intensive applications dramatically reduces their costs.

Our analysis weighs factors including:

Custom Software: Filling the Gaps

The final step in our process identifies opportunities where targeted custom software development can eliminate expensive third-party solutions or connect systems more efficiently.

Custom software isn’t always cheaper initially, but it can eliminate ongoing licensing costs and provide exactly the functionality you need without bloat. We focus on small, targeted solutions that solve specific problems rather than massive development projects.

By working through each step methodically, we help businesses achieve meaningful, sustainable cost reductions without sacrificing capability. The result is leaner, more efficient technology spending that improves rather than constrains your operations.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cost Reduction

How does software maintenance actually save money?

Keeping software in good working order saves money in ways that often go unseen. Regular upkeep stops small glitches from growing into costly breakdowns. Think of it like changing your car’s oil regularly instead of waiting for the engine to fail.

When systems run smoothly, workers spend less time wrestling with technical problems and more time on tasks that bring in money. A study by Gartner found that unplanned downtime costs businesses an average of $5,600 per minute.

Can’t we just replace our old systems with new ones?

Full system replacements often cost 5-10 times more than thoughtful maintenance and gradual upgrades. They also bring high risks of business disruption, data loss, and user rejection.

Many businesses find that a step-by-step approach works better:

This balanced path gives you most of the benefits of new systems at a fraction of the cost and risk.

How do you handle emergency fixes vs. planned maintenance?

We believe strongly in the wisdom of “an ounce of prevention.” Our approach balances quick fixes for urgent problems with thoughtful, lasting improvements.

For emergencies, we offer rapid response to get systems running again. But we don’t stop there. We track the root causes of breakdowns and address them in planned maintenance work to prevent future emergencies.

What if we’re already committed to another vendor?

We often work alongside other vendors, filling gaps in their offerings. For example, we might:

Our goal is to help you get the most value from your technology investments, regardless of who provides them.

How do you price your services?

We offer straightforward pricing that fits most budgets:

We provide detailed invoices showing exactly what work was done, giving you full insight into where your money goes.

How quickly can we expect to see cost savings?

Most clients see measurable savings within the first three months of working with us. The timeline depends on your starting point:

For systems with significant performance issues or frequent downtime, savings often appear within weeks as we resolve the most pressing problems.

For more stable systems, savings build gradually as we improve efficiency, reduce technical debt, and streamline operations.

Do you offer guarantees on cost savings?

Rather than making broad promises, we work with you to set specific, measurable goals for cost reduction. These might include:

We can help you track these metrics carefully and report on them regularly, giving you clear evidence of the value we provide.

How do you help us plan for future technology costs?

Unexpected technology costs can wreck budgets. We help clients gain better control through technology roadmapping that aligns with business goals and budget realities. These roadmaps outline both necessary maintenance and strategic improvements, with realistic cost estimates for each.

We also help identify and manage technical debt — the hidden costs that build up when shortcuts are taken in software development. By tracking and addressing this debt systematically, we help prevent nasty budget surprises down the road.

What if we’re not sure what’s causing our high technology costs?

We offer technology assessments that help identify cost drivers in your current systems. These reviews often uncover opportunities for significant savings through:

The Durable Difference

Many software firms focus only on the upfront build, but true cost savings come from systems that keep working well for years. Our focus on building durable software means your cost savings grow over time instead of fading as systems break down.

Measuring Your Cost Savings

We help you track exactly how much you’re saving through:

Ready to lower IT costs?

Let's talk about how our team can help your business reach these goals with lasting, strong software answers.

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