The IT industry moves at a breathtaking pace. It is difficult for the largest of companies to keep up with the technology advances, software updates, cyber threats, and communications innovations. Therefore it is nearly impossible for small to medium sized businesses who are constantly fighting to keep their IT departments relevant, secure and efficient.
Because there is never enough time in a day, and not enough money in the budget – smaller businesses often find themselves having to table projects or forego upgrades. Managed services offer strategic solutions to such organizations, but each company still needs to determine the level of engagement which makes sense for them.
The Evolution of Break-Fix
Two decades ago, the conventional way to manage your IT services was to wait until something broke, and then call in a professional to fix it. And while few companies still rely on that method (realizing its weaknesses and flaws), there is a descendent of the model which is prevalent.
Let’s step back for a moment. Most organizations have some form of IT department, whether that is an actual staff, or someone who simply knows more about computers and networking than everyone else. They have few choices: they can try to muddle through, balancing everyday user needs and long-term projects; or they can hire more personnel. In recent years, however, the rise of managed services has allowed for more hybrid solutions.
IT Project Management
Organizations often struggle with taking on any major projects, because the small IT department is overloaded each day attending to user issues and everyday problems. When all of their hours are spent on open tickets and client calls, it is nearly impossible to conceive of researching a new CRM software, scaling their servers to handle the growing client base, or making sure that each user in the organization has updated software and security patches.
Projects which are important and necessary often get pushed to the side, and deadlines are consistently missed. Management gets frustrated because they want to see the new software rollout, but their one IT tech never has time to get it done. This is where IT project management can be a critical addition. In this model, you can hire a team to come into your organization temporarily to make sure a certain project or objective is addressed and met, while not losing your day to day efficiency. Keep in mind, your full-time personnel will likely be needed for information and feedback, so the project is rarely completely hands-off for your employees.
IT Services Management
The flip side to that model is IT services management, when the outsourcing or managed services firm takes over the management of your every day IT services. This is a great solution for those organizations with no true IT department. Very often, small companies have a sales guy who understands anti-virus software, or a CEO who knows how to fix a desktop computer – but this is not their official job. IT services allows an outside firm to take over the day-to-day IT operations and remove the reactionary nature of your IT support – by protecting every device with passwords and anti-virus, monitoring threats, helping you to scale your operations and providing guidance on strategic IT planning.
While many consider this type of services management too expensive, it can actually save a small business quite a lot of money; not only in less downtime, but with fewer security breaches, and more cost effective, sharable resources.
If your small to medium sized business is struggling to stay ahead of projects or innovation, Alliance IT can help. Call us today for a free consultation, and a discussion on how we can help you to conquer the IT problem once and for all.
