Ever wonder why professional offices like Attorneys, Accounting and CPA firms, and Medical practices always have some kind IT help close by? Their concern is valid – keeping their IT running smoothly is extremely important to them and they just can’t afford the hassle of downtime, IT security breaches, or data loss. However, some still are losing sleep at night worried if they’re doing enough to keep the IT in their business afloat.
In a recent post, we mentioned how small business owners overcome IT challenges with managed IT services. If you’re a manager or business owner and are sick of dealing with your own IT, now’s the time to consider IT outsourcing.
Most professional offices we encounter have some sort of IT help somewhat available to them. A few have an IT person working full time, others call the local computer shop nearby when things break, and rarely few have an on-going relationship with an IT company they entrust their business with. Regardless of how you’re supported or if you’re supported at all, if you’re losing sleep over your IT, here’s probably why:
IT Pain Points that Keep Business Owners Awake at Night
- Problem: I have a full-time dedicated IT person on my staff, aren’t they everything I need to keep operational?
Solution: Having a full-time IT person is great, don’t let them go, give them muscles! By muscles, I mean hire an IT support company to assist them with large-scale projects, backup, and security. If whenever they’re out sick, or on vacation, your business remains operational as your IT partner is available. With an IT company, there’s no relying on one person who will get sick, take vacations, or may leave without notice. - Problem: When we have IT issues, we call [insert favorite computer shop here] and someone fixes it in a few days.
Solution: This one is difficult for me to understand. No business should have to wait 3 – 5 days response time for IT help. Contact an IT support company and get more information on their managed IT services. This is more of a proactive support and preventative maintenance that ensures up time and a rapid response. - Problem: We had a power outage and now our server won’t boot!
Solution: Hopefully, your power supply and/or surge protector took the hit but if your hard drive is damaged, you’re in serious trouble. Downtime could be limited if you have a backup and disaster recovery plan. Most BDR plans include local and off-site backup plus the steps to keep you operational until your server is back up and online. Of course, you may have prevented the matter altogether if you had enterprise-level surge and battery protection. This is definitely a conversation to have with your IT provider. See if they currently have a backup and disaster recovery plan in place for your business. - Problem: My full-time IT person just left the company in a fury, and has locked the server with a password.
Solution: Here’s why it’s always best to have an IT support provider on backup or as your complete IT department. With an IT support provider, you’ll have full access to a portal where your data is kept safe, and the relationship between you and the provider is kept mutual. Plus, with most IT support providers, you’ll have a service level agreement to ensure the response, backup, and security of your systems and network. - Problem: I’m sick of dealing with downtime caused by IT issues. We have constant interruptions to our normal business flow that is costing us money!
Solution: Downtime due to IT issues is costing you more than you think. Just checkout our whitepaper on the true cost of downtime. Lost sales, unproductive employees, operating expenses, and salaries are all attributed to downtime. Having an IT support company for managed IT services means downtime will be a thing of the past. Think about all the benefits that come with preventative maintenance, and proactive IT support. Downtime alone can very easily justify any reasonable cost for on-going support.
So there you have it; the most common IT pain points experienced by business owners without managed IT services. If you’re experiencing any of the above pain points, you may want to reconsider the current approach to handling the day-to-day IT requirements of your business.
Remember, there’s a solution to every problem, and the solution is unique to your business. Don’t let any IT service provider sell you an all-in-one 1 price fits all model. Request that a meeting be held at your office as a free IT assessment. Most importantly, you’re looking for an IT partner – someone that’s looking for what’s in your best interest and that won’t over sell you, or under deliver on their service.
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