05 Apr The New (Right) Method of IT Support
In the previous article, we explored the problems posed by traditional IT support and concluded that it rarely meets the needs of modern businesses.
Traditional IT support is reactive, conducted by a team of tech savvy individuals that – in the eventuality of a problem – are available for contact, but bar that, they aren’t the best communicators. They take a static approach to IT, and in the modern dynamic world of work we operate in this isn’t good enough. Just fixing things that are broken will not prepare the organisation for the future either in an operation or security sense, it also doesn’t allow for tech to compliment your company ethos, or for your team to reap the benefits of new tools that will boost their efficiency.
It is imperative that you expect more from your provider, you need to know how your arrangement works, it is only then that you will be able to choose between a variety of providers until you find one that best suits the way you do business and provides you with up to date tech that can revolutionise your teams work day.
We touched on what a provider should look like in the previous article – the perfect provider doesn’t exist, but for the first time we can get very close.
Business minded, not tech minded
The best providers will treat your business as an individual, they will learn and help you overcome the challenges you and your team face daily in order to help your team work more efficiently.
Expertise
A good provider will be an expert in their field. They will take the opportunity – wherever possible – to pass on said expertise to individuals in your organisation, in turn making it possible for them to take the reins of their own IT environment. With an educated team you can be sure that they are utilising the system to its maximum potential.
Cost
A good provider will find the most cost-effective method of achieving your goals with the most up-to-date and capable technology available. There is no point in a provider coming to you with the latest and greatest tools if they are way out of your price range.
Time
Every business in the world works against the clock in some way or another – and many do it very well, hence why they are a success. It can be difficult to put time aside to implement new technologies, and that time isn’t a one-time thing – depending on the frequency of updates, your entire team will need training on new features and capabilities. The best providers work out a way to implement phased installations, this is by far the best way to do things, slow and gradual changes with education throughout is not only the best way to ensure that time isn’t wasted, but also that your team are taking on the things they are being taught.
Forethought
The best providers always have one eye to the future. Of course, you can’t expect some sort of clairvoyance around future events, but there are many issues that can be seen coming, so preparation in those circumstances is essential. They will take the time to communicate with different departments in your organisation to find bug bares which individuals may have with a particular sector or work process. This is the best way to improve your organisation and lets your team know that their opinion and efforts at work are valued, considering their concerns is key, not just for morale but also because they are the ones using the tools every day – they know them best.
Absorb pressure
Business owners thrive off of pressure, but it can be nice if someone else bore part of the burden too. A good provider will take as much pressure off of the shoulders of you and your team as possible – don’t worry, you will still have final say over ideas and decisions on implementations and the choice of tool or approach, but allowing them to manage the technical elements for you is just good time management. Relieving the stresses of tech off of your shoulders will give you time do the things you are good at, running a successful team.
As we said in the previous article, IT support traditionally covered the essential parts of your IT systems, all that mattered was ‘keeping the lights on’ at any cost – and it’s fair to say that there was nothing wrong with that, at the time.
In the modern world of work this will simply not cut it anymore, of course keeping the lights on is important, but it should be the most basic of jobs for a good IT team. Modern IT support is centred around the lifeblood of your organisation – the team. Some would argue the customers or perhaps money is more important, but your employees make your business tick and allow you to get and retain customers in he first place, meaning revenue, they are the key to maintaining business and the high standards that you pride yourself in. If your team are provided with the correct tools and trained on how to use them effectively the rest of the factors take care of themselves.
Modern IT support should take your business into the future….
A strategy lead approach
Again, as we covered in the previous article, many traditional providers claim to offer a proactive service, and why wouldn’t you believe them? The majority are lying, they will often just sit back receiving your money, with their fingers crossed that their phone doesn’t ring and they have to work.
The right provider will communicate a strategic plan for the current – and future – use of tech with you, this allows you to know exactly when, how, and why they are implementing the tools they are.
Roadmapping your technological strategy
A Roadmap is a plan for the future of your IT. Businesses in the past would have no contact with their IT support unless an issue occurred, this meant that most don’t even know that a Roadmap is an option. Having a plan of action to onboard new technological solutions can be very beneficial, it allows you to align different sectors of your business – like IT, operations executives, software engineers, and even sales teams – to be sure they are all achieving the most possible with their workday whilst simultaneously working in unison toward the same goal.
Guaranteed compliance
The modern world of work has an untold amount of regulatory compliance obligations that we all must adhere to. Traditional reactive IT support didn’t run compliance risks for organisations, this is asking for trouble, the legal ramifications of falling foul to your regulatory compliance – depending on the severity of the breach – could result in legal ramifications, and in extreme circumstances, the end of your business altogether.
As we have said, a modern proactive IT partner will know your business – and the sector in which it resides – very well. They will work out a method of utilising your team and tools they have at their disposal effectively, whilst simultaneously remaining 100% compliant to regulations – the best IT providers can make a guarantee to you that they are up to date with regulation changes, and in turn, adapt your tech to make sure you are too.
The Right IT Provider
Since our conception back in 2005, at Vostron we have operated under a series of predetermined guiding principles: agility, people, and approachability. With those principles adopted wholeheartedly throughout everything that we do, along with our progressive approach in helping our clients to achieve their business goals in the most cost-effective and secure way possible, we are proud to say that we have earned the trust of a loyal customer base across the UK from our home in Southampton. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact to find out how we can help you!