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In Information Age's recent Effective IT survey, readers identified five 'proven cost killers' - tried and tested approaches that they are using to keep those costs in check and free up resources for other projects. These cost-killers fall into two broad categories: technologies that are simply cheaper, such as open source software, commodity hardware and mid-tier enterprise packages; and technologies that support cheaper, more flexible ways of working, such as collaborative and remote working.

It is perhaps surprising to see open source software in the five leading cost cutters given the widely held perception that it is free. Even though programs such as Linux, JBoss and Apache can be downloaded directly from the Internet, there are plenty of associated costs, ranging from staff training to support and integration. As a result, many IT managers are still wary of open source products and remain unconvinced that such software poses a realistic alternative to proprietary commercial software.

Jim Jarvie, however, is a true convert. He is currently spearheading an extensive rollout of open source software at the Central Scotland Police force, where he is head of IT.

The objective: to build a less expensive IT infrastructure so less funding is diverted from front-line policing.

Significantly for sceptics, Jarvie's pragmatic approach proves that not all open source advocates are Microsoft-hating Linux evangelists. "The aim is to regain control of IT decision making," he says. Those decision-making processes can be "predestined by suppliers who might not have your best interests at heart", Jarvie adds. But wrestling the initiative away from vendors creates its own challenges.

Jarvie admits that some of his software suppliers are reluctant to support open source products, although he notes that during the last year that reticence has thawed a little. And he warns others against simply leveraging open source to beat up suppliers, arguing that organisations should not threaten to defected to open source as a means of forcing deep discounts. Rather, the unique culture of open source can bring businesses a considerable cost saving, he argues.

Jarvie cites security as an area of particular advantage for open source software. "While open source by itself doesn't guarantee security," he says, "its development climate is a catalyst for enhanced security and reliability."

This development climate, where any programmer can amend and improve software source code, applies the scientific principles of examination and peer review, producing reliable and robust coding as a result. "The availability of the source code means virus writers can look for vulnerabilities," admits Jarvie, "but with the peer review process, they can be overcome more quickly."

Such a broadly held resource is "equivalent to an upfront escrow agreement without the added cost" and helps with all-important business continuity. It is this higher reliability and security, says Jarvie, that brings the real financial savings.

Although Jarvie warns that open source may "raise an eyebrow" among many users weaned on Microsoft, he says such concerns can be overcome with the careful planning.

"A lack of support from users is a major obstacle to any implementation," he says, but with an approach that tackles social as well as technical issues, "open source products can break vendor lock-in on the desktop and allow strategic decisions of implementation of systems to find best fit for an organisation."

The adoption of mobile working, in contrast, is very much user-driven. The flexible practices that comes from the use of laptops, mobile phones and PDAs has meant remote working has been driven from the bottom up.

In that case IT staff may not have to fight for workforce buy-in, but problems may arise as a result of users adopting devices of their own, overlooking more practical, less-expensive or company-mandated alternatives. "Users may go and buy the most attractive device," says Stevan Hoyle, Vodafone UK's director of Corporate Segment, "but we need to make sure they get the most appropriate." Avoiding fads and over-hyped tools is important in this respect. "We don't deploy technology for technology's sake, we deploy it for its benefits," he says.

The real productivity gains from mobile working come in exploiting downtime. Studies estimate that 40% of modern workers spend around one-third of their time away from their desks.

With remote working, travel and waiting time becomes an opportunity to catch up on email; almost any location - whether a WiFi enabled cafe or a home office - is a suitable workplace.

Hoyle underscored that point at Information Age's Effective IT Summit in March with some real business applications. For one, he pointed out that the use of text messaging by medical staff to remind patients of their appointments with GPs helps in many cases to cut out the £65 it costs the NHS per missed visit. He also quoted Sir Martin Sorrel, CEO of global communications group WPP, eulogising about his Blackberry mobile email device. "Because you can access email anywhere, there are no log jams when you get back to the office," said Sorrel.

As that illustrates, mobile working's greatest asset is the breadth of the concept. Almost every business under- exploits the mobility opportunities that modern tools and technologies now put at its disposal, whether that involves feeding service engineers work-schedule updates on wireless PDAs or providing sales staff with access to customer relationship management applications via Internet-enabled mobile devices.

Technology enables the business to be present in every situation. "Information isn't static so the office doesn't need to be," says Hoyle. "The aim is to make you and your staff more productive by allowing access to all the relevant information, all the time."