IT Solutions

Where are you now with IT?

Whenever you are getting ready to chart a new course, it’s useful to take a good look at your starting point. As you review your current IT situation, you might be able to relate to one or more of the statements in the sidebar on this page.

That last statement in the list reflects quite a different perspective compared to the preceding six statements. If IT is just fine, then that’s great, but there’s probably a reason why you feel the need to revisit your options. It’s possible that if you start to ask some questions around your company, you might uncover issues that just haven’t been visible to you. You also might just have a nagging feeling that IT could be doing more for your business.

• Our IT issues aren’t getting solved
• We can’t effectively plan for IT costs
• We aren’t getting the IT advice we should be getting
• Our IT manager or senior resource
  is leaving
• We aren’t totally sure that our data and networks are secure
• IT takes too much of our time
• IT seems to be running smoothly

Change is Uncomfortable

It’s normal to feel some discomfort with the thought of change. As you start to consider what direction you should go with IT support, you know that it’s going to take your time and energy. You know that your decision is going to impact every part of your business, because all of your business processes rely on technology. You know that your decision is going to impact the people in your company, some for better and some for worse. It’s not your desire to make extra work or possibly stir up conflict, but the consequences of doing nothing can have negative financial impacts on the business.

Consequences of Doing Nothing

• Higher labor costs because of poor productivity, duplicate work
• Financial unpredictability
• Make the wrong decisions about IT investment
• Higher employee frustration and turnover
• Security breach resulting in loss of trust, additional costs
• The business struggles to achieve objectives

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Doing Nothing About Your IT Support Problems is a Decision

IT Solutions Categories

After reviewing your current situation including the consequences of not making a change, let’s go through the IT options that you have to choose from. A logical place to start is to compare and contrast resourcing internal IT vs outsourcing IT services.

There are different approaches within these two broad categories that are going to affect the results you should expect, but we’ll get to that in a later section. A question to keep in mind throughout this exploration of IT solutions is –

How will the path we take with IT support affect the focus of our business?

Let’s first look at these two categories and the implications that each will have on the focus of your business.

Internal IT

We will devote the resources needed to develop the right processes, and the right people to get the results we want.

Outsourced IT

We will find the experts who can do what needs to be done to get the results we want.

Common Perceptions of Internal and Outsourced IT

Here are some common perceptions of the pros and cons of our two broad categories – Internal IT Department or Outsourced IT

Internal IT

Pros

• Fast response time because they are on-site
• IT people will really understand our business because they are one of us
• A full time employee will cost less

Cons

• Response time will slow as our business grows
• Limitations to the expertise of that person or small team
• Over/under capacity at times
• Might be difficult to find the right person
• Average turnover rate in the IT industry is 2.5 years

Outsourced IT

Pros

• IT is off my plate
• Combined expertise exceeds what we could have internally
• “Just right” capacity
• We benefit from their investment in tech tools and continuing education
• Leverage the collective knowledge they have working with all clients
  
  

Cons

• Not on-site all the time
• Unpredictable costs depending upon how agreement and services are structured
• Cookie cutter services may not meet our unique needs
• They don’t know us
• Their company is too small to be effective

The Top 10 Results SMB's Want From IT

Choosing the right IT solution isn’t as easy as deciding to turn left or right. Within each category there are different approaches and ways of providing services that affect the IT experience that you are going to get.

1. Fast response time
2. IT understands us
3. Cost effective
4. Predictable budget
5. Plan for the future
6. Comprehensive expertise
7. Just-right capacity
8. IT innovation
9. Security
10. IT is off my plate

What business value could you derive from these IT results?

It’s a good bet that you acknowledge that these nine results would benefit your company, but let’s go a step further and envision the business value that you would derive from being able to get these results:

Improve productivity and efficiency

Decrease labor costs

Minimize interruptions

Increase customer satisfaction

Decrease risk

Less stress and worry, so you can focus on your business

What business results emerge from better IT results?

Increased business value!

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How IT Solutions Measure Up

Now that you can identify the kind of results that you want to get from IT, and you recognize some ways that these results can provide value to your business, it’s time to look at different IT solutions and see how they may or may not be able to deliver. The most common IT options we’ll examine are:

Break/Fix

Managed Services

Internal IT

Option #1: Break/Fix

This term is used to describe an approach that focuses resources on reacting when things don’t go well.

What is Provided:

The term is what is says – something breaks and you call the IT company to fix it. You might get some advice but no help with planning.

Cost Structure:

You are charged time and materials for the work that is provided. IT costs will be unpredictable and there is no way to budget. An issue could be a few hundred dollars or several thousand. A general rule of thumb is that for every $1 you spend in break/fix support, you have lost another $2 in overall employee productivity.

Experience:

Every time there is a break, you have an interruption in your business operations. Response time can be slow. There is never time to address the root cause of problems so issues go on and on. People struggle every day to do their jobs. Inconsistencies may cause duplication of data. People create their own workarounds which can cause other problems including security vulnerabilities.

Business Model:

The more issues you have, the more money the IT provider or department gets from you. If you have a break/fix mentality in an internal IT department, the result can be the same in that the more issues you have, the more you spend, and prevention cannot be a priority.

How Does Break/Fix Measure Up With Results?

How does Break/Fix affect your focus on your business?

You and your staff will have to continually devote time and energy away from your core business in order to handle IT needs.

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Option #2: Managed Services

This term is used to describe an approach that is recognizably more proactive compared to Break/Fix.

What is Provided:

Patching, monitoring, antivirus management, backup, and a set amount of hours or tasks that will be completed each month. Sometimes that includes an unlimited amount of hours.

Cost Structure:

Fixed fees for the monthly items but no budgeting above and beyond that monthly fee. You could still have major issue could hit with a large price tag that you weren’t expecting.

Experience:

Now you are paying a monthly fee and you may not have as many issues because some prevention is now included in your monthly services, but there are gaps in how IT contributes to the business. You feel like you’re paying more and still not getting a lot.

Business Model:

Many companies that label their IT services as “managed” actually follow a cookie cutter approach that includes set deliverables that are focused on managing the technology hardware and software within a fixed monthly fee. Additionally, you may find that managed services are just a fraction of the total business offerings, which can have implications for the quality of service delivery.

How Do Managed Services Measure Up With Results?

How do Managed Services affect your focus on your business?

The results are better than break/fix but now you will be paying more and there is still a disconnect with the overall results that you might be expecting. Moreover, you still own the pieces that could drive the most value for your business.

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Option #3: Internal IT

This term is used to describe IT that is resourced internally but is often supplemented by outside services and vendors.

What is Provided:

Management of network infrastructure, day-to-day maintenance and support, management of outside services and vendors, and anything else that gets put on their plate.

Cost Structure:

You have all the costs that are associated with a full time employee with a salary, benefits and coverage when they can’t be at work. You should also expect to cover ongoing training initiatives to keep staff up to date with skills and knowledge, and the costs associated with tools they need to do their job and keep your network running.

Experience:

Staff appreciate having an on-site person to go to for help but that person or small team can easily get overwhelmed with support resulting in neglect of maintenance and improvement initiatives.

Business Model:

Internal IT works best for companies that are large enough to fill all of the roles that are needed, and have the resources to divert to developing expertise that is not part of their core business. This starts to make sense for organizations that can support a team of about a dozen IT professionals, and they have about 500 employees

How Does Internal IT Measure Up With Results?

How does Internal IT affect your focus on your business?

You commit to diverting resources away from the focus of your core business to developing and maintaining an IT team that won’t get all the results you want.

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There Has to Be Another Option

How do you find the best of all worlds? You need to find a different approach.

None of the three options we just analyzed are going to provide you with all of the results that add up to the best IT experience.

There has to be another option, and there is. It's an --

Outsourced IT Department

Let’s analyze this approach with the same results criteria that we used for the previous three.

Option #4: Outsourced IT Department

This term is used to describe an approach that provides a fully functioning IT department.

What is Provided:

The outsourced IT department handles the day-to-day issues, but focuses on proactively implementing best practices to prevent issues from happening in the first place. They also bring the capability to leverage technology in a meaningful way that ultimately increases the revenue per employee.

Cost Structure:

Fixed fees cover unlimited user support as well as ongoing proactive initiatives. The IT provider collaborates to create and implement IT strategy that creates predictable costs for IT investment in the future.

Experience:

The proactive nature of this model assures that the technology framework on which business processes are built is predictable and reliable. Staff experience less disruptions but when they do have a problem, support is readily available. A dedicated vCIO meets collaborates with management to create IT strategy that aligns with business goals.

Business Model:

The focus of the IT company’s business is on providing an outsourced IT department. They leverage expertise, tools and knowledge that are customized for each client’s unique needs and circumstances.

How Does an Outsourced IT Department Measure Up With Results?

How does an Outsourced IT Department affect your focus on your business?

IT becomes a key business function that allows your people to focus on what they do best, while enabling your business goals.

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IT Becomes a Business Function That Helps You Meet Your Goals

It takes a shift in mindset to go from viewing IT as a piece of overhead to seeing it as a critical business function. It takes another shift to recognize that IT could be a business function that enables your business goals.

All you need to do is to look to your business plan to pull out some possible ways that technology can enable your business. You might find unrealized business goals there, or goals that you didn’t think were achievable through leveraging IT. You might have some goals that just don’t have a clear path to success.

Example Business Goals:

• Streamline information flow
• Enable remote work force
• Increase sales
• Decrease costs
• Increase revenue per employee
• Streamline business processes

Change the IT Conversation

Think about the way that you may have evaluated and purchased or resourced IT support in the past. Did your evaluation process revolve around questions about deliverables? If it did, it’s no wonder. That’s the way that many IT companies sell their services. Just look at a few IT provider websites and see what you find – cloud services, backup, mobile device management, network maintenance, hardware and software, etc. The questions that you ask when you are making your purchase decision based on products and services is not going to lead you to better IT results.

In order to uncover the value that the IT provider can bring to your business, you have to ask different questions. You have to ask, “What results can I expect from your services.” If the person on the other end on the question goes into a deep technical discussion in their answer, that’s a red flag. If all they want to talk about is their cool tools and technical stuff, changes are they’re missing it on the business end.

The other question you should ask is, “What can IT do to enable my business?” And that is going to give you an entirely different conversation – one that should be about where you are today, and where you want to go tomorrow.

Choosing an IT solution is less about fixing the technology and more about improving your experience, and that drives the kind of value that you’ll receive.

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Next steps

Thriveon provides businesses in Minnesota with an outsourced IT department along with business level IT guidance that helps companies leverage technology to get better results and achieve their business goals. Read some client testimonials and case studies on our website. If you are ready to explore how our proven process can use technology to move business forward, please call us at 855-767-2571 or give us your contact info and we'll get back to you right away to arrange a time to get a conversation started.