Finding the perfect partner for anything is tough, but finding just the right IT management partner for a business? That takes some real serious thought and soul searching, and usually occurs right after a particularly gut wrenching ordeal with lost data or a day’s worth of productivity. We don’t know many business owners who can afford to deal with such upheaval, which is why we think it’s important to understand what signals that it’s time for your business to partner with an IT management firm. Downtime is measured in dollars. Getting out in front of problems is the only way to effectively stave off business-halting IT problems. Staying ahead of those issues is a matter of paying attention to how your time allocation is changing, or IF your time will be changing due to growth.
One of the biggest indicators of a potential problem is increased time spent dealing with internet connectivity issues, frozen start-up screens or missing emails and data. These can point to an aging network or potential server issues, or a need for greater capacity. Small business owners are notorious for wearing many different hats from accountant to president and janitor to IT expert. But unless you run an IT company, managing anything related to information technology probably isn’t your forte. A second warning sign is rapid or planned future growth. Due to stretched budgets and limited resources, many business owners make do with what they have, meaning either they or the most computer-savvy employee handles all things related to technology. This can get a business by for a while, but as soon as it grows, so does its need for a strong, scalable IT plan. This is when you might need a managed services from Brightflow Technologies or other similar IT firms. These businesses may be able to assist you with any IT-related issues.
Some business owners know when to throw in the do-it-yourself towel; others arrive at that point in frustration. What takes you or your most savvy employee all day to fix could only take a dedicated IT resource about 15 minutes. Considering there are thousands of potential technology problems that an owner may try to fix on their own, that time is better spent on running the business and letting the experts handle IT problems. Partnering with an IT management firm boils down to weighing the opportunity cost involved. Sure, there’s some short term advantage to having IT issues addressed in-house. However, that decision also comes with the risk of improper fixes that cause bigger (read: more expensive) problems down the road. For many, the savings don’t justify the risk of lost data and hours or days of downtime.
If your business is at critical mass in terms of IT issues, please contact us today to learn more about our customized, scalable outsourced IT services. The technology partner you need is just a call or click away!
