Fact: Businesses today are reliant on IT. A well run and managed IT service gives your business a solid foundation while poorly managed IT can have a detrimental effect on your efficiency, productivity and could cause long term problems.
Many businesses assume that all IT services providers are equal and will provide the same level of quality but this isn’t the case.
A recent experience I had a with a new client highlighted the importance of finding a proactive and capable IT service provider and being hands on with your IT management. This particular client had been using an IT service provider for some time and while they assumed that their IT was being taken care of, closer examination revealed a number of serious issues including:
- Insufficient licenses. There weren’t enough software licenses to go around and many of the existing licenses were out of date.
- Data was scattered across different servers and drives which made it difficult to find files which in turn affected business productivity.
- Hardware was out of warranty placing additional stress on servers which was making them fail regularly.
- No anti-virus protection – when the initial scan was run after installation, just under 300 infections were found.
These issues, along with poorly designed and implemented infrastructure were having a highly detrimental effect on the organisation which was struggling.
It’s not enough to have an IT service provider. To ensure you are getting the right level of service, management should take a proactive interest in ongoing IT management and keep up to date with what their IT service provider is doing. Here are some ways that you can choose the right IT provider and help prevent IT issues crippling your organisation:
- Get involved with IT management and make sure that IT is part of the everyday business processes. It’s important that management gets involved with IT planning and meetings.
- Take a proactive interest in IT management. Be aware of what products and services are available and how they can be helpful to your organisation. Attend meetings with IT service providers to find out what they are doing.
- Choose IT providers who take an ongoing management approach over those who wait for something to break before fixing it.
- When looking for a new IT services provider, look for testimonials and references as proof of their competence and capability.
Your organisation’s IT is an essential foundation for the day to day operations and future growth so don’t take chances with your service provider. The right service providers can help your business develop and keep up with the benefits of the latest technology while poor quality service providers could actually be detrimental in the long term. Finding the right professionals to take over your IT management is crucial to the success and smooth running of your business.
