An introduction
“Swapping is too much hassle” is a phrase that can hold your business back from changing to a new provider that will go the extra mile to ensure your business gets the support it needs. It is too common for business owners to claim they are too busy or that their current provider “seems to do the job”.
“Seems to do the job” isn’t good enough for a thriving, innovative business.
Your IT systems are your doorway to an increasingly tech-reliant world, your clientele is using it more and more to purchase goods and services and your staff uses it to do their daily jobs. A good level of IT with the right level of support and business-centred management has the power to help your business flourish and grow into a market contender, a poorly managed network can damage your business. A system that is not managed and supported proficiently is at higher risk of a cyberattack or hardware failure, both can lead to reputational consequences, or worse, financial repercussions.
For most, partnering with an IT support provider gives them peace of mind that their computer systems and devices are being managed by industry professionals. The market is full of diligent, hard-working, capable IT support providers making it even more difficult to choose the one that’s right for your business.
Making the wrong choice of provider
Often the case with providers is a ‘reactive’ approach when what is needed is a ‘proactive’ approach. The main reason for this is a lot of providers are simply not very good at proactive IT support, some do not offer proactive monitoring or maintenance at all. Reactive support is the process of reacting to a problem once it has already occurred. For years it was the only type of support available to companies in need of computer support.
The Problems caused by choosing the wrong provider
The problems with reactive support are many. Firstly, it puts all responsibility on your staff for identifying issues because they are now the first ones to encounter them. Sometimes these problems will be minor and barely cause inconvenience, but other times these issues can cause business-wide functionality problems that could potentially stop trading for days at a time. They could also be very expensive to rectify if not seen early, viruses start small and grow in the core of the system and are sometimes deep-rooted before anyone without training in the subject even notice they are there. You are entirely reliant on your staff noticing and reporting the issue immediately, in a work environment where you aren’t scanning the computer system daily this can be difficult to guarantee.
Customers can be aware of poor IT management, many scenarios could unfold involving IT that could hinder the customer experience. A cyber attack affecting your web server could shut down your website altogether or potentially access customer accounts which could be reputationally damaging if the failure results in data loss. Customers could choose to take their business elsewhere if IT issues are frequently affecting the service you’re providing.
Malware moves stealthily, often in the deep depths of a system stealing or corrupting data unnoticed before revealing itself. Without some form of proactive monitoring malware of this nature is allowed to cause problems for longer, this means a more catastrophic attack on your systems. If you give malware such as Ransomware time on a network it will spread and encrypt as many files as possible and then demand an even higher ransom.
We talk about the effect of poor IT support on you and your customers, but what about the staff that are using these malfunctioning issue ridden pieces of hardware every day, a poor IT system can cause employees to become restless and leave a company for one that has the infrastructure to support there skillset. Some staff may reflect the system in their attitude toward work, if business disruption and system failure is normalised within the company, employees may become complacent and unprofessional toward the work they perform too.
Constant IT issues within a company cause issues with productivity if a member of staff is having to report to a help desk or submit a support ticket constantly then many hours or days a year could be wasted rectifying minor issues rather than working.
The better approach to IT support
There are Proactive IT support providers out there and they have the capabilities to find problems in the system before they come to fruition. Being sure to find one that does it all is the difficulty.
The positives of proactive IT support
When speaking with potential IT providers ask them if they can keep on top of your system health and provide:
Disk management
They will free up storage as necessary by removing unnecessary files. Disks are prone to corruption or hardware component failure, which can be identified in advance and mitigated with proactive monitoring and maintenance.
Server maintenance
Constant monitoring of your servers will ensure they stay healthy, making sure they produce the best performance so your team can work as productively as possible.
Cybersecurity measures
Anti-virus and anti-malware software, as well as firewalls, will be active and up to date across all devices to ensure your endpoints are best protected.
Internet Connectivity
They will remotely monitor and maintain routers and any connectivity device to ensure a fast, reliable connection to the internet.
Monitoring of backups
They will ensure backup systems are working correctly and your sensitive data is being backed up regularly.
Frequent patching
They will keep up with system updates, ensuring your operating systems are as secure as possible from hackers.
We're Datek Solutions
Since 1998 we have been managing IT support, solutions and strategy for a range of clients. We have won awards for our excellent customer service and pride ourselves on being transparent. What you see, is what you get.
What makes us different? We don’t use a one-size fit all approach. We get to know your business and everyone in it, what it needs and how we can support you to give the best solutions at the best possible prices.
Above all this, we are committed to keeping it simple for you. If there’s a solution that your company needs, or you already have and it’s essential we support it, we make sure we know everything there is to know about it.
Contact us on 01753 540000 or email us at contactus@datek.co.uk.
