New ways to drive down support costs

The bane of IT--maintenance and support--has long been a drag on tech budgets and resources. The goal is to figure out how to minimize the cost, labor and management time involved, yet boost responsivity to problems. While many tech leaders have consolidated and tried to trim in every corner with standardization, the quest to cut operational costs is still a big task. One strategy enterprises are taking today is developing what's called "centers of excellence," which pull tech staffers into departments by areas of expertise so that every skill is being put to efficient use. As one company has discovered, the payback can be big.

For more on driving down costs:
- read this article at Computerworld