For small and medium businesses, the cost associated with IT Support can be considered prohibitive on top of system costs that are already required. Here at Ascent3 IT, we recommend bringing in an IT Consultant from day one as it helps make sure you have the support you need for budgeting, security and strategic guidance.
Think of IT Consultants like you would a plumber. You understand your business but if you had a leak, you would call a plumber. A plumber understands how to prevent leaks, what you need to do to maintain your property and how to approach it cost effectively. IT Consultants are there to help you prevent the leaks, and maintain your IT environment. They can act as your IT Provider or if you have in-house IT, they can act as your IT Manager/Strategic planner providing more in-depth knowledge.
But if you are wondering if you can get away without that cost just a bit longer, here are the signs of when you need to bring in IT Support.
1. You are unsure if your data is secure or backed up.
What would the impact be if your business was hacked and your data was available on the internet? Or an employee made the mistake of clicking on the wrong link and your system is now unavailable to you due to ransomware? How long can you be without access to your systems and data?
These are important questions for all businesses that deal with proprietary or client data to answer. As a business owner, your IT Consultant can guide you on the best solutions for your security and back up requirements, and should something like a ransomware attack happen, provide you with the support you need in getting back online.
2. You are experiencing significant growth.
When an organization is experiencing growth, ensuring that you have a strategic plan can help manage your IT costs. Whether your growth is associated with new employees, new hardware or solutions, it is important to fund the effort appropriately so that you don’t spend your dollars unnecessarily.
By working with an IT Consultant, you can confirm your goals, timelines and strategically plan your growth and budget so that you are making an informed choice. It can help to ensure you aren’t spending too much or too little.
3. You don’t have support if someone goes on vacation.
For most small and medium businesses, there is usually one employee that is more tech savvy that supports other employees and key systems or you might have a junior IT person. But what happens if they go on vacation or if they get sick? Having someone to fill in the gaps can ensure that your organization has support when they need it.
4. Your systems are in need of an update.
If you have older machines (Windows 7 vs Windows 10), older servers, or you are looking at upgrading systems like moving your email to Outlook 365 or updating an important business solution (Sage for example), there are a number of things to consider. From determining whether you can update the machines rather than replace, helping you test and do a mail migration, or handling the intricacies of a solution update, IT Consultants can help guide you on your needs vs wants, how to budget and how to plan the project for the least impact for your organization and users.
5. You aren’t sure whether you need to hire for IT.
You know that you need someone who can handle day-to-day issues, security, system review and set up. However, you don’t know if you need an employee, how much time you need, or even strategically what you should be considering to make the most of your IT budget. IT Consultants can help you work from your goals through to the best option for your team strategically.
Interested in an IT Assessment? Contact us.
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