The world of IT is becoming more complex, isn’t it? We have gotten to the point where it is so complex and multi-faceted that it is almost impossible for a small IT team to be experts on everything, and that can cause many recurring problems. Businesses that are faced with technology challenges often view them as their indicator that it’s time to grow their IT department (or change their current provider) – whether they want to or not.
These 8 signs often point to a problem and indicate the need for more IT staff or a different IT provider:
1. You get complaints from staff that they have recurring tech issues for days or weeks on end.
2. Your IT staff tells you they don’t have enough time to resolve issues or implement projects.
3. It takes IT too long to implement important IT projects.
4. You seem to be falling behind competitors or partner companies.
5. Something catastrophic happens, like important business applications get knocked offline for extended periods of time.
6. You hear from customers or employees, or you see for yourself, that your technology doesn’t seem to run smoothly or is too slow.
7. You don’t have any strategic input into your business from your IT team.
8. Your current IT staff insists additional staff is required to accomplish daily tasks.
We don’t need to tell you this, but hiring IT staff is expensive. It’s probably your biggest IT cost. Often, for SMBs, it’s not necessary, there are many other options out there that can improve your IT practice without breaking the bank.
These 4 alternatives can help your company automate and streamline technology, decrease costs, and expand your technology base to benefit your company.
1. Automate and simplify IT systems: For example, move applications or infrastructure to the cloud. The cloud offers you the ability to make your IT staff more efficient while better protecting your company from threats.
2. Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools: Several tasks performed manually by IT staff, within an environment can be automated utilizing RMM tools.
3. Help Desk Support: Outsourcing the help desk frees your IT staff to manage core business functions and develop a more strategic outlook for your company instead of helping Fred get connected to the printer for the 40th time.
4. IT Project Consultants: Some business, like yours, want to implement new technologies, but their current IT staff is too busy managing day to day operations. They simply do not have the bandwidth required to test, implement, train, and maintain new technologies. By allowing a project consultant review the environment and manage the project, new software can quickly be rolled out to the company. Helping you and your company stay more agile and stay ahead of your competitors.
For business owners who aren’t in the “tech trenches”, it’s understandable to want to hire more staff and let them figure it out. But, that doesn’t change the fact that it is often the most expensive solution to your technology woes. On top of that, it is impossible for 1 person to be an expert on all of the different areas of technology that play a vital role in business. A great way to augment your current staff while testing the outsourced waters is with a Co-Managed approach. Co-Managed IT is a great way to leverage the tools and expertise of an outsourced provider and reduce your organizational risk. It is also a great first step in testing a fully managed IT experience like TechCare Complete. Contact us and we can talk more about how TechCare Co-Managed IT can benefit your organization. If you can outsource or automate, your company will likely fare much better, in the long – and short – run.
Contact us to learn how Applied Tech could help your business get more out of IT.
