You, as a business owner, and your company’s ability to communicate will probably have more to do with your success (or failure) in business than any other single factor. For that reason and no other, I encourage you to turn your communication system into a strength of your business.
Verbal communication is where it all starts and many times it is the weakest part of a company’s communication system. I read a good article the other day posted on LinkedIn entitled, “You will NEVER fully appreciate YOUR EMPLOYEES until you take their perspective”, by Oleg Vishnepolsky. It addressed one of the many issues we face when communicating with employees. In this case a lack of perspective by the employer created confusion and stalled performance. Effective communication with your employees is only the one step toward supporting a successful communication system.
The first step in building a stronger company communication system is to develop and implement the system itself. If you are currently in business then this requires a re-examination of your current system. I would encourage you to sketch out your current system on paper. You need to be sure to “touch all the bases” when evaluating and building your system. Some of us can do this in their head, but for most of us putting our thoughts down on paper will better serve our purposes.
You should start the process by taking inventory of your current situation. First, who, when, where and how do you communicate with customers, employees, and vendors? What tools, such as conventional phones, cell phones, smart phones, etc. do you use? Make a list and draw that sketch or diagram so everything is right in front of you.
Once you have a list of your tools and a diagram of how these tools are used and how they connect, then you can evaluate how effective your current system is. This evaluation would necessarily require feedback from those who are currently using your system including employees, customer, and vendors. In your evaluation, be sure to look for potential or current bottlenecks. An example would be why do you get so many customer calls checking on orders? There should be a tool and/or a process that can keep customers in the loop on their order status. This would reduce the number of calls as well as show the customer that you really care about their business.
At this point, you are ready to finalize the evaluation of your communication system and implement upgrades or new systems. The chances are if you have not upgraded your system within the last 6 – 12 months you will have the opportunity to upgrade one or more pieces or perhaps the entire system.
There are 3 primary considerations that you need to take into account when you decide to move forward with a partial or full upgrade. First, is your budget and do you have enough cash or access to financing to purchase and implement the needed tools. Prior to moving forward, I encourage you to review your diagram, tools and processes one more time to verify that everything will work together and in fact you can quantify the improvement. This will allow you to perform an internal return on investment (ROI) to make sure your rate of return justifies and supports your decision.
A second issue is the all-important training component. You need to make sure that whatever tools you purchase come with some type of employee training. As an alternative, you can take on the training issue yourself. The key factor here is just don’t short change yourself or your employees on this step. Too many times I have witnessed a great system simply fail due to operator error that is a result of too little or bad training.
A third and final consideration is the possibility that you need to engage a third party or consultant to guide you in putting the entire system or part of the system together. Most of us are well-versed and trained on how to properly run our business, but we have little or no ability to analyze communication technology. Don’t be afraid to spend the money to find and hire the right person or firm to help you successfully upgrade your business communication systems. The project itself is just too important to fail for the lack of competent advice and direction.
can help you build or upgrade your businesses’ communication system. Call Ben (713) 682-4000 or email him at benschissler@wtsvc.net to get his input on how to build a better system for you and your business.
This may not sound like a serious question to everyone, but I think it is perhaps the most important question or issue facing small businesses today. It is meant to be a roundabout way of asking you is technology working for your business. More importantly are you getting the most of technology in your business?
There are five main considerations that need to be considered when you try and answer this question. First, what type of business are you in? A simple question, but I encourage to think about the answer a bit unless you have done so before. It is the old question you have probably heard, “Am I in the railroad business or the transportation business?”. How you answer can have a big impact on the types of technology you need for your business.
Secondly, what is your business or growth plan. Do you plan to expand your business or are you happy right where you are? When you seek to expand a business then technology is usually a bigger part of your plan. Other plan questions, such as what is your exit plan, need to be considered. Obviously, your exit plan should tie-back to your growth plan so you have an ongoing plan that will eventually lead to or tie into your exit plan.
Thirdly, what are current industry trends as they relate to technology. The fast food industry has introduced in store ordering kiosk as well as on-line ordering with store pickup. These types of changes require a great amount of investment in technology. Industry competition can drive some technology changes as every business competes to stay up and remain competitive. It’s not so much to keep up with the ‘Jones”, but to keep existing customers and the ability to attract new customers.
Fourth and perhaps most important to the business itself is how prepared is your workforce for technology changes? Are they capable of learning new technologies and at what level is their ability? If they are not capable, are you prepared to replace them with a new workforce? Or are you willing to set up the proper training program to get them up to speed? You need to be able to answer these questions before you go out and acquire the latest and greatest technology for your business. Otherwise all your effort and investment will be for naught and may even sink your business.
The fifth and final consideration is capital. Do you have the money on hand or will you need to borrow to finance the purchase, training and maintenance required for the new technology? You or your accountant needs to run the ROI or return on your investment to determine the payback on the new technology. Finally, you need to look at the impact of the technology on the business strategically. The impact on the overall business is the real consideration here and how its impact will affect your business plan as well as your exit plan.
For more information about your IT technologies and how they can be made to work for you call or email Ben at WesTec Services at (713) 682-4000 or bschissler@wtsvc.net .
Lead generation today is more about being found than hunting. Online, this means appearing in the results when people use search engines to find answers and products. SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the most important elements of lead generation What this means is creating a system of places where people – and search engines – can find your brand.
Employ Best Practices
So how do you start reaching out and engaging? The following are my recommendations for three of the most popular social networking sites. Facebook is interesting because it has so many users and has built some very nice engagement tools.
Build a Fan Page: Any business on Facebook can create a fan page for the business and start optimizing additional content there. Add applications, newsletter sign-up pages and events, and promote them to your “friends” on Facebook. When someone becomes a fan of your page, your updates on the page show up on his or her wall, providing additional exposure.
Take Advantage of the Apps: Promote events, upload or record video, hold contests and polls. All this extra engagement is so easy to do using pre-built tools. In addition, do not forget to integrate your Facebook activity back to your website and blog using a Facebook Fan Box.
Use Facebook Ads for Awareness: You can target ads to Facebook members on all kinds of criteria and run low-cost ad campaigns. Generate awareness of your content, and you will get the chance to earn the trust it takes to actually sell something to someone.
LinkedIn has a reputation as a solid place to network, find prospects and even be hired.
Take Advantage of Your Profile: This is a great brand asset; do not waste it. Make your profile informative, and make sure to add a photo, create a branded URL, link to your blog, products, workshops, etc.
Give First: One of the top features on LinkedIn is something called Recommendations. You should acquire some recommendations, and I find the best way to get them is to give them. Choose people in your network whom you have worked with and write an honest statement of recommendation.
Demonstrate Your Expertise: An often-overlooked feature, in my opinion, is the Question and Answer function. By answering questions thoughtfully, you can demonstrate expertise while potentially engaging contacts that are drawn to your knowledge.
Twitter is probably the hottest and least-understood social networking tool, but with a few consistent practices, you can derive plenty of value from Twitter. Tweet Great Content: Find inspiration by following people who always tweet interesting stuff, subscribe to blogs that feature great links and reviews, scan weekly and daily email news digests, cruise over to the del.icio.us popular page and read print publications of interest. All these sources (most of which can be scanned in a 15-minute sitting once you have them set up) are rich with content that your followers will want to read.
Get Familiar with Twitter Search: For many power users, search is the most important feature of Twitter. You can use the Twitter advanced search tool to create elaborate searches that filter out only the tweets that address your specific industry in your specific geography. I would also include the use of the #hashtag as a search tool. Get in the habit of using it to promote your events and promotions.
Remind People You’re on Twitter: Use tools like the Tweetmeme plugin to make your content easy to tweet. Add your “follow me on Twitter” button to Web pages, email newsletters and email signature. Add your @name to your business cards, stationery and invoices.
Reputation and image management has come a long way from being the vapid process it was decades ago. It is now vital to those wishing to find wealth, trustworthiness and entrepreneurial longevity, and nowhere is this more important than on the Internet. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you establish your brand on the web.
Own the first page of search results
In his new book on online reputation management, Tyler Collins, a digital marketing expert for Fortune 500 companies mentions the importance of a company’s search results that appear after pressing enter. These results make up the majority of a business or personal reputation online. For optimal results, it is advised that you occupy the first 10 spots (the entire first page of the search results), and within this number, there should also be a variety of related content such as positive reviews, media coverage as well as customer testimonials that contribute to the establishment of trust and credibility.
Paint the picture before the exhibition
Especially for entrepreneurs embarking on a new company, it is best to work on their online reputation before launching. This includes creating a brand, company name and message, all of which should help your business land the top 10 search results online. You should invest some time in thoroughly researching potential brand names to ensure your tentative company name has no negative associations.
Don’t forget the execs
Equally important to online brand management is the implementation of reputation management policies for key executives. While researching a company, potential customers don’t only take statistics and reviews into consideration but also the people that are involved with and leading the organization. This is why it’s absolutely essential that your key executives have a clean online reputation.
To achieve this, the company can create a dedicated bio for each executive that helps increase the search ranks of that particular executive’s name. The next step is to get (positive) media coverage whenever possible. Everything from blog posts to press releases and quotes in an online news story will help forge a strong and credible image for the individual, and in extension, for the company.
Ask for help when required
When times get tough, seek the expertise of specialists that help maintain and improve online images for a living. It is almost impossible to change a customer’s first impression of executives and the company, so investing in expert advice can turn out to be the most important step in creating and maintaining your virtual image.
We hope you find these four online reputation tips helpful. If you need more help creating a credible online image or are looking to utilize technology to establish a stronger online image, give us a call. Expert advice awaits.
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
We are no longer in the dark ages of Disaster Recovery. With the onset of cloud computing, DR has become more efficient and affordable than ever. Despite this fact, many business owners still cling to their medieval DR mindsets and myths that belong in debates among king Arthur and his knights of the round table. So if you’re uncertain as to how DR has changed and are ready to step into the light of this glorious cloud computing age, here are some myths that will soon be part of IT folklore.
Tape Backups are the best DR solution
Like a car, computer or television, tape is a physical object that deteriorates over time. Don’t believe us? Go ahead and listen to your favorite cassette. One day your tape backups will become distorted and no longer work. And hopefully, that day isn’t the same one when your business suffers a disaster. However, there is a good chance all your tape backups will work. So does that mean there’s nothing to worry about? Well, consider where you store your tape backups. Are they on-site or in a location within a few miles of your office? If so, remember that if your business is hit by a natural disaster, chances are those tapes nearby will be hit as well. And if they’re damaged or become inaccessible, say goodbye to your business continuity.
While tape backup is better than nothing, many of today’s DR providers will backup your data to an offsite location that is far away from the neighborhood your office is at. That way, if your business is affected by a disaster, your backup is located hundreds of miles away in a safe place that is likely untouched.
It’s also worth noting that modern day DR solutions also provide another valuable commodity – time. So ask yourself, is the mindless task of backing up tapes really worth the time of your IT staff? Wouldn’t you rather have them working on more valuable tasks that require a skill? Today’s DR service providers eliminate this need, as they take care of nearly everything. You or your staff will never have to bother with it.
The RTO you want will be too expensive
Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is of primary importance to most business owners. And who can blame them. If you’re going to invest in a Disaster Recovery solution, you want to be able to rely on it to recover quickly (on a timetable that won’t damage your business). In the old days before the cloud, a quick recovery time could cost you well into six figures. Today, tools such as the cloud and virtualization have made this much more affordable, and faster than ever. Most DR providers can backup all your critical data in a matter of minutes. And if you ever need to recover it, most services can do so in hours, rather than days. That’s the power of the cloud. And when it comes to DR, it truly has changed everything.
Disaster Recovery is for big business, not SMBs
Well, it once was. Again, the cloud has really leveled the playing field. And it is making a truly valuable service accessible to businesses of all sizes. From dental offices to small retail operations, SMBs can now easily take advantage of the best DR solutions on market, as the barriers of complexity, costs, and insufficient IT resources no longer apply. Modern IT advances and the cloud have eliminated these obstacles.
We hope these three myths will help you see how Disaster Recovery is more affordable and efficient than ever. If you’d like to learn how our DR solutions can safeguard your business, send us a message. We’re happy to fill you in.
For some owners, business intelligence is the bane of their business. Staring at complex charts and graphs and trying to make sense out of them can be a major headache. But what if there was a way to simplify your data even more? Believe it or not, it is a possibility. And here’s how one product is trying to do just that, in order to simplify business intelligence for today’s business owner.
Earlier this week, the Chicago-based company, Narrative Science, integrated with the business intelligence and visualization software company, Qlik. The fruit of this integration is a new way of looking at your data beyond your standard charts and graphs. Yes, charts and graphs are still used, but now there is a new element that comes into play: story. Qlik now enables businesses to take the data on their charts and graphs and automatically turn it into a narrative that will explain the most important and relevant points of their data. These stories are presented in easily understood, natural language and can be personalized to the audience who is reading them. For example, if you want to change the format, language style or detail of the story, you can easily adjust these.
How storytelling can help with business intelligence
While charts and graphs are easy to read for people who are regularly looking at them, there can be a learning curve for those who are new to the specific set of data they’re analyzing. And when you are presenting a series of charts and graphs to a group of colleagues, it may be difficult for you to convey the data in an easily understandable way. This is why storytelling can be a vital tool with your business intelligence efforts.
Everyone can relate to a story. In fact people have been doing so since the stone age as evident by the carvings on cave walls depicting different tales. Today, all it takes is a simple click of your remote to see hundreds of different stories appear on your TV. Storytelling makes it easy to digest information for anyone. This is why both morals and ethics are often illustrated in parables or stories to convey their message. These stories that many of us heard from childhood, like the story of King Solomon who suggested cutting a living child in two to settle an argument or of King Midas and the golden touch, remain in the minds of many of us for a lifetime.
Stories stick in our brains. And they can make it easy to understand complex information, which can be especially helpful when it comes to data. This is why Qlik’s new data to story function sounds so exciting. It aims to make it easier to present data in a more user friendly way. This will hopefully save time and headaches for people trying to understand complex data. Of course, since it is so new, only time will tell what kind of impact it will have and whether or not it will live up to expectation.
Want more of the latest business intelligence news? Need help making sense out of your data, or looking for other ways new technology can help? Get in touch with our IT experts today
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
When and if disaster strikes, is your business going to continue to operate and cater to customers despite a possible long-term hardware failure or a network disruption? If you answer no or are not even sure what to do, you are part of a majority of business owners who have not considered disaster preparedness and the crucial role it plays in business survival. This post helps small or mid-sized businesses (SMBs) gain some understanding about Disaster Recovery (DR) and how important DR planning is today to protect against unexpected and costly downtime.
As we all know, unpredictability is a fact of life. The aftermath of Tropical Storm Bill in Texas and recent floods in South Carolina are a grim and unfortunate lesson for many overconfident business owners who think their companies are spared from the likelihood of cataclysmic weather, technological malfunctions, or human actions. A 2014 survey by the IT Disaster Recovery Preparedness (DRP) Council reveals just how many companies worldwide are at risk: 73 percent of SMBs are failing in terms of disaster readiness. What does this mean? It means that 3 out of 4 companies aren’t prepared to handle emergencies and save their businesses from a worse-case scenario.
If it’s not clear and compelling enough for a business owner like yourself to consider putting a well-conceived Disaster Recovery (DR) plan into place, perhaps it’s time to give it some thought. Doing so can save you years of business loss. Here is some useful information about what DR is all about and how it can ensure your business’s survival in the wake of unforeseen circumstances.
What is Disaster Recovery (DR)?
Disaster recovery is a plan for restoring and accessing your data in the event of a disaster that destroys part or all of a business’s resources. It is a key component involving many aspects of business operations that requires this information to function. The job of a DR plan is to ensure that whatever happens, your vital data can be recovered and mission-critical applications will be brought back online in the shortest possible time.
What kind of disasters are likely to happen?
Business disasters can either be natural, technological, or man-made. Natural types of disasters include floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, and even a pest infestation. On the other hand, technological and man-made disasters involve hazardous material spills, infrastructural or power failure, nuclear power plant meltdown or blast, chemical threat and biological weapons, cyber attacks, explosions, or acts of terrorism and civil unrest.
Why does your business need DR?
Regardless of industry or size, when an unforeseen event takes place and causes day-to-day operations to come to a halt, a company will need to recover as quickly as possible to ensure you will continue providing services to clients and customers. Downtime is one of the biggest IT expenses that any business can face. Based on 2015 disaster recovery statistics, downtime that lasts for one hour can cost small companies as much as $8,000, mid-size organizations $74,000, and $700,000 for large enterprises.
For SMBs particularly, any extended loss of productivity can lead to reduced cash flow through late invoicing, lost orders, increased labor costs as staff work extra hours to recover from the downtime, missed delivery dates, and so on. If major business disruptions are not anticipated and addressed today, it’s very possible that these negative consequences resulting from an unexpected disaster can have long-term implications that affect a company for years. By having a Disaster Recovery plan in place, a company can save itself from multiple risks including out of budget expenses, reputation loss, data loss, and the negative impact on clients and customers.
How do I create a DR strategy for my business?
Creating, implementing and maintaining a total business recovery plan is time-consuming but extremely important to ensure your business’s survival. Many organizations don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to this process. If you would like to protect your company from unexpected disasters but need further guidance and information on how to get started, give us a call and our experts will be happy to discuss Disaster Recovery options and solutions with you.
Whether it’s an online account, a computer log in or network access, passwords are used to prevent unauthorized access. But far too many people choose weak and easy-to-guess passwords putting themselves at the risk of cyber attack. Don’t fall into the trap of these cyber criminals. Secure your perimeters and never let anyone access your personal information by following these helpful tips.
Observe proper web security
With the rapid advancements in technology comes sophistication of methodologies used by hackers to steal data and destroy web security. Cyber crime is continuously evolving as new programs are made to unlock accounts and combine numbers, letters and special characters to determine passwords. The big question for internet users is – how to choose a strong password that can drive hackers away?
Passwords should have at least eight characters. It is highly recommended that you use a combination of uppercase, lowercase and special characters. “P@s$w0Rd45%” is a thousand times better than “Password1”. Veer away from using passwords that are found in dictionaries. Furthermore, avoid using your name, a family member’s name, phone number, birth date, social security number or any public information. Hackers have found a way to crack passwords with the aid of the many databases out there.
To create even more secure passwords, try using a password that is a full sentence, with random words. For example “I am a purple donkey” (with the spaces) will take a long time to crack, which means it’s more secure then even the examples above.
Keep malware off your system
Malware are malicious programs that have been crafted in such a way that they appear authentic and trustworthy. Be careful not to click on pop-ups and links that will redirect you to that place where your security walls are torn down. And do not open email attachments from anonymous users. Mechanisms are often embedded in these programs to gain control of your system.
Get professional help by installing security software from a trusted name in the industry. Build your defences as early as possible. Remember the cliché – better to be be safe than sorry – and nowhere is this more true than in computer system and web security.
Keep your passwords private
While this may seem to be a no-brainer, sadly, a lot of people still tend to share their passwords with their office mates or friends. If you’re one of them, then it’s high time that you change your habits and your password again. Think like James Bond -passwords are for your eyes only.
In the event that you need to give your password to a co-worker to get an important document or presentation, make sure that you change them as soon as possible. Never use the same combination again.
Change password regularly
It also helps if you schedule a regular password change. Within a period of 30 to 60 days, you should update passwords across multiple sites. Moreover, never use the same passwords for different websites. If you use the same passwords, you are putting all of your accounts at a high level risk. Hackers are relentless. Once is never enough for them and they can come back time after time.
It’s an unsafe online world out there. These online troublemakers will never be satisfied. So never let yourself or your organization fall prey to hackers. Take note of these safety measures and strengthen your web security arsenal.
Your systems and data are undoubtedly an important part of your business and to protect these valuable assets you should be taking steps to ensure that your data is backed up in case of an emergency. Looking into backup solutions, it is easy to see that there are a number of different backup options that support various solutions. From tape to the cloud, it can be a challenge to figure out what you need.
Three common backup options
When it comes to backing up your systems, there are three common platforms that are used:
Tape
Disk
Cloud
Some businesses use all three, while others stick to using just one. While each of these options do the same thing – essentially backing up your data – there are differences between each platform.
Tape-based backup
Tape-based backup is the oldest forms of data backup available to businesses, and has been in use since the mid 1960s. Many older, or well established businesses, likely have used this method for a long time, so they may find it easier to stick with it, largely because no infrastructure upgrades are needed.
While this method may seem a little anachronistic, there are still manufacturers creating backup tapes – most notable Sony, who recently introduced a new tape system that can store up to 185TB (terabytes) of data on one tape. That’s about equal to the storage capacity of around 11,800 16GB iPhone 5s.
The vast majority of businesses using this system do so as a secondary backup. They use another system to back up their data, and then back up this backup data onto physical tape which can then be moved off-site and stored in a safe location, should disaster strike.
The biggest drawback of tape stem from the fact that it is an older method and it takes longer to back up data compared to other systems. The tapes themselves are also more fragile and can be prone to failure, leading to corrupt data and unreadability. Finally, if you do need to recover from a tape backup, you are going to have to do so in a specific manner, which means it will take longer to recover your systems than other methods.
Disk-based backup
Disk-based backup solutions use a variety of disk storage units to hold backups of your data. The most popular forms of disk storage used are hard drives or optical disks. Because these systems use more modern storage methods, backup and recovery can generally be carried out far quicker than with tape systems, and can be more reliable, especially if you take care of your systems and the disks the backups are stored on.
The added benefit with these systems is that hard disks are constantly dropping in price and increasing in capacity, meaning you can fit more data on fewer devices. This helps keep costs manageable, and may result in reduced costs over time.
Because disk-based systems rely on hard drives or optical disks, there is always the chance that your backups can be lost, ruined or even stolen. Also, many companies choose to keep these physical backups on-site, so if there is a disaster this could result in the loss of these backups.
To get around this, many companies have duplicate systems. They back up to different devices which are kept off-site. This redundancy can help ensure that your data is available, but it can be expensive to purchase multiple backup solutions.
Cloud-based backup
Cloud, or online-based backup, utilizes off-site technology to host your backups. Most small business solutions work with providers who host the servers in their organization. The business then connects to the servers via a network connection in order to backup their data.
The biggest advantage of cloud systems is that they are generally more affordable. This is because you don’t need to have the systems in your office, which means you don’t need to pay for the data systems and the upkeep associated with them. Cloud systems are also less labor intensive because they can be managed by your IT partner.
Aside from being easier to manage, backup and recovery is usually quicker with the cloud because you can set up a solution that continually backs up. As long as you have an Internet connection, you will usually be able to restore your systems in a matter of hours.
While the cloud is becoming the most popular backup solution, there are some drawbacks. You need a faster bandwidth connection if you want to be able to back up while also working. This may require you to invest in better network infrastructure, which costs. The other issue some companies have is that because this is a new solution, they may not trust that the solution is secure. The vast majority of backup solutions available have been designed to be secure and have become a viable solution for many smaller businesses.
If you are looking to implement a backup solution in your business, contact us today to learn about what solutions we have to offer.
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Technology is an integral part of any business, regardless of the industry or company size. A common problem many business owners and managers run across though is that managing technology can be increasingly tough. One option available to companies is to partner with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) who can help manage your business technology needs by offering budget-friendly solutions.
What is a Managed Service Provider?
In the IT industry, a Managed Service Provider is a company that offers small to medium businesses the ability to outsource the management of their day-to-day technology and IT needs.
In other words, an MSP is essentially your IT department. If something technology-related breaks, they help fix it. If you need an app devised or want to upgrade hardware and software, or take a look into virtualization, they can often help in these complex areas too. Many of these organizations act as your business partner to help increase the effectiveness of your business operations, and achieve your overall goals.
Do I need an MSP?
While there are a wide variety of IT partners out there, you might be unsure as to whether you actually want or need to work with one. To help make the decision easier, we have come up with a list of five signs that your business could benefit from outsourcing your IT management to an MSP.
1. You don’t have a dedicated IT department or staff
A commonality many small businesses have is that employees often wear more than one hat. The problem with this is that those who are not necessarily IT experts, but are perhaps more tech savvy than others, are tapped to look after the company’s IT needs. Businesses can suffer from gaps in knowledge of the latest IT developments. It is also a challenge to balance IT needs while also running a business and remaining productive.
While for some small businesses having a knowledgeable tech person look after the IT on top of their main job works, the chances are high that they aren’t planning for a future in IT and may not be able to carry out complicated upgrades or even ensure that your systems are secure beyond the current environment. This can undoubtedly lead to increased problems in the future, which are likely not going to be fixed.
Instead of hiring a full-time IT staff member, you could look into using an MSP who can offer the same services, but at a fraction of the cost. This allows your employees to focus on their main roles, while also allowing you to rest easy knowing that your IT demands are being adequately taken care of.
2. You have continuous tech problems
At first glance, many of the systems we use on a daily basis are relatively simple. That is, they are simple when they are working. But, when systems breakdown business owners quickly come to realize that the technology utilized in their businesses and the systems that support it are not only complex, but are becomingly increasingly so.
Complexity aside, all technology will eventually break. When it does, you need to factor into your budget resources to make replacements and repairs. If the technology incorporated into your business is constantly experiencing problems there is a good chance this is having a negative impact on profits and productivity.
By partnering with a quality MSP that looks after your technology, you can be assured that a team of experts are running your technology and systems efficiently and that you are able to meet IT demands and scale to meet future needs. Decreased maintenance and replacement costs can help improve your overall productivity and even profits.
3. The people looking after IT are overwhelmed
Any growing business needs technology to be able to scale to meet and support growth. This often overwhelms even the most seasoned IT professionals. Even if your business has a dedicated IT role or team there is a chance that they can become overwhelmed.
When the pressure is on important issues may not be addressed and corners may be cut in order to meet current demands. This can lead to increased costs and problem issues down the road, resulting in an even more overwhelmed Technology department.
The great thing about quality IT partners is that you often don’t have to outsource all of your IT needs to them. If, for example, you have an employee who is a whizz with building computers but does not have the time to oversee the whole of your technology needs, then outsourcing some functions can free up their skills or allow them to work more effectively in their main roles.
4. Your IT budget is unpredictable
The cost of technology is ever changing. Some months you may have to replace a computer while others may see a new server needed or a security issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. Because of this, actually budgeting for technology is incredibly hard, especially for small businesses.
Most IT partners offer their services on a flat-fee, monthly basis. This makes it easy for companies to budget for technology. The upside to this is that while your budget is predictable, overall costs and overheads are often reduced because your systems are kept in better working order and will last longer.
5. You have trouble prioritizing your IT needs
It can sometimes seem like a new system is needed on a near monthly basis. From servers to email systems; computers to mobile devices; your business will almost always require ongoing technology. The problem many businesses face is that they simply are not equipped with the skills and the knowhow to recognize what their IT priorities should be.
Do you update a server, or look for a new email solution first? And in what order do you need to implement updates? It is not always obvious what the answers to these questions are, especially when everything seems urgent. If you outsource the management of your technology, the companies you partner with can take the time to get to know your company’s needs and demands and prioritize. This will make your organization more efficient and better able to reach business goals.
If you are struggling with technology in your business, contact us today to see how as your IT partner, we can work with you to ensure that your technology is working for you.
Mission: WesTec will be a “turn-key” solution for all of its clients’ business connectivity needs. It will offer efficient and effective solutions, directly and with strategic partners, that create tangible value for its clients at every point of contact. Westec will serve all people and entities with a servant’s heart.
Get in touch
2916 West TC Jester Blvd.,
Suite 104
Houston, TX 77018
2916 West TC Jester Blvd.,
Suite 104
sales@westecservices.net