Your IT Needs May Have Changed
Technology needs change as a business grows. More employees, more devices, new software, remote access, cybersecurity requirements, and changing business processes can all add complexity over time.
An IT setup that worked perfectly well a few years ago may simply no longer provide the level of support your organization needs today. That does not necessarily mean your current IT support is doing a poor job. In many cases, it simply means the business has changed faster than the IT model supporting it. Here are seven signs it may be time to take a closer look.
1. Your IT Support Is Mostly Reactive
If most conversations with your IT provider begin with something breaking, your organization may be relying too heavily on reactive support. Fixing problems will always be part of IT. But a proactive approach also looks for ways to prevent those problems in the first place through monitoring, maintenance, updates, security management, and technology planning. The goal should not simply be to get systems running again. It should be to keep them running reliably.
2. Employees Are Waiting Too Long for Help
Although it may feel trivial, a forgotten password, software issue, printer dilemma, or connectivity question can accumulate over time. When employees have to wait for IT every time they require assistance, productivity decreases. Moreover, it can lead to individuals seeking alternative solutions for their technical troubles. As organizations grow, a reliable help desk and solid support system is essential.
3. One Person Has Become the “IT Person”
For many organizations, there is one particular employee who ends up dealing with the technology since they know more than the majority of people when it comes to computers. This may work for some time but sooner or later the job of working with the users, devices, software, cybersecurity, backups, vendors, and requests can become a job on its own. If an employee spends the majority of their time on managing technology when they should be doing their work, it is time to find someone else to help with the technology issues.
4. Your Internal IT Team Is Running Out of Time
Just because you have internal staff members for supporting the IT function doesn’t mean you possess enough IT people. A small team can be tasked to oversee everything from supporting employees and installing equipment to ensuring cyber security and managing networks applications, strategic projects, and relationships with vendors. Hence, if most of the time is spent on providing daily support, larger projects will be delayed. This is when Co-Managed IT can come in handy. An external vendor may work along with the internal team and provide additional capabilities, experience, and tools, as well as help-desk service, but won’t substitute the personnel you already have.
5. Technology decisions are made one case at a time
Changing the laptop that stopped functioning or buying software upon request of a certain unit may solve a short-term problem, but it does not call for the development of IT strategy. Growing businesses benefit from thinking several years forward. For example, what equipment is going to be replaced? Are software subscriptions being utilized properly? Is the existing network going to be able to support further growth? What new legislation or compliance standards are going to come into force? What technology investments should be included in next year’s budget? A proactive IT plan helps answer these questions before they become urgent.
6. You Are Not Sure What Is Being Monitored
There is a critical distinction between having technicians on standby and having consistent management of the technology environment. Managed IT providers must have transparency about how systems are functioning and therefore monitor various features accordingly—devices, networks, cybersecurity tools, backups, software updates, and other significant elements. If you are uncertain about your situation or even whether anything gets monitored, you should definitely raise this question. Good IT support may clarify your thoughts concerning situations there are in the background.
7. Your Business Has Changed, but Your IT Support Hasn’t
Sometimes, the most evident indicator is growth. You may have hired new personnel, opened a new branch, moved your software to the cloud, allowed some of your employees to work from home, started dealing with sensitive data, or increased your reliance on technology as compared to a few years ago. What you need in terms of IT has to adapt to your business’s new development. What is appropriate for the IT support of a company with 10 employees may seem wrong for the IT strategy of the company having the staff of 30, 50, or 100 people.
IT Support Should Grow With Your Business
Outgrowing your current IT support is not necessarily a problem. In many cases, it is simply another sign that your organization is growing and becoming more sophisticated. The important thing is recognizing when your technology needs have changed.
LoyalITy provides both Managed IT and Co-Managed IT services for organizations throughout Wisconsin. Whether you need a complete IT team or additional support for the people you already have, we can help you evaluate your current environment, identify opportunities for improvement, and build an approach that fits your organization today and where you are headed next.
If you’re wondering whether your current IT support still fits your business, contact LoyalITy. We’d be happy to start with a conversation about what is working, what isn’t, and where additional support could make a difference.
