This week’s gripe: IT is just too costly
After hardware costs, software costs, support, maintenance, infrastructure, upgrades, etc., IT can appear to be one expensive and necessary evil. But we’ve got good news. Because your organization can’t be without technology, there are definitely some ways to approach your IT environment in a more cost-effective manner. And there are also some definite ways to approach your IT that aren’t too smart. Lets discuss these smart and “not so smart” approaches in the next paragraphs.
Company A
In an effort to save money, some organizations have a “friend of a friend” handling their IT, leaving Company A very vulnerable. Company A really only calls on him or her when they need something or have a problem. The problem with the organization that calls on the friend of a friend is you can’t guarantee his or her work, this person has all your passwords, sometimes he or she is not available when you need him because he or she has another job, and there are numerous things Company A should be doing to your network on a proactive basis that the “friend of a friend”, I can guarantee, is not doing. It’s only Company A’s precious data, private information, and the employees’ livelihood right?
Company B
Then there are organizations such as Company B that have a full time person on staff handling their IT. Company B is paying their full time IT person a decent salary plus benefits. If the organization is small enough, usually one IT person on staff can handle everything, but if the organization is larger, usually an IT person on staff is swamped in IT issues, putting out fires, and usually unable to resolve everything that needs to be resolved within the organization. Company B’s productivity is down and frustrations are high. Company B spends around $70,000 a year plus benefits to pay one person to fix issues such as printer jams and small computer issues. Because this 70,000 dollar a year senior tech is busy with printer issues, it leaves Company B in the dust as their competition speeds ahead because they strategically plan for technology and how to incorporate it into their business for a more competitive advantage, something the senior tech at Company B just does not have time for. The 70,000 dollar salary plus benefits isn’t the only IT cost to Company B. Company B also has hardware, software, upgrades, renewals and downtime costs.
Company C
Then there’s the organization that has outsourced their IT BUT they are a break-fix company. They operate similarly to the “friend of a friend”. The outsourced IT company does bring somewhat of an advantage: A team of IT professionals usually with useful and valuable experience, degrees, and certifications held to a standard set in place by the organization that should be able to guarantee their work. Less risk than the “friend of a friend”. This organization calls the outsourced IT company when an issue arises, unfortunately the clock starts running when Company C has an issue, they fix the problem, and then Company C receives an invoice billed at $145 an hour. Yikes! The outsourced IT company has no incentive, nor the tools, to serve Company C in a proactive manner so that less problems, occurrences, outages, and downtime exist. The outsourced IT company hopes you have issues so they can come to the rescue!
Company D
Company D has made the smartest move out of all the companies. Company D has outsourced their IT to a Managed Services Provider. The Managed Services provider gives Company D unlimited maintenance, support, upgrades, onsite support, 24x7x365 server and desktop monitoring, help desk, patch management, data backup, reporting, remote support, and more for one low monthly flat rate a month! The annual spend with the Managed Services Provider is well below the price of a full time onsite staff person. Company D has peak performance and a partnering relationship with its IT company. Company D can now budget and plan accordingly for their IT because it’s a flat rate each month. Company D is happy and has peace of mind because all of their IT needs and more are being handled and they are not being “nickel and dimed” for each new request. Company D no longer has to sit on the phone with the internet provider, or phone provider, or the software company, because the Managed Services Provider does it on Company D’s behalf. In addition, Company D is moving right past its competition because the quarterly business reviews that the Managed Services Provider complimentarily provides, allows Company D to strategically plan the organization’s IT goals as well as receive CIO level reporting and recommendations.
Which company are you?
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