In last week’s edition of the DatCom Business Briefing, we explained how the tech skills gap is one of the greatest cybersecurity threats. If a business lacks people who understand the technology they use, it makes your business more susceptible to malware attacks and data breaches.
This week, we will discuss the high costs of technology complexity in operating a business and we offer our best solution for taming it.
The technology driving your business is amazing. But when it breaks, it transforms into a confusing and frustrating mess. And the people who can fix it fast are in short supply.
The Problem of Technology Complexity
Technology in a business grows organically. Newer technologies such as cloud platforms intertwine with old growth such as physical computer servers. There are now more devices, more connections, more apps, more cloud services, more logins, more passwords, and more cybersecurity threats than ever. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
Your business can be more efficient. More agile. More profitable. Your technology should enrich your business, not hinder it.
Despite all the amazing and complex technology, small and medium businesses lack genuine innovators in their tech support.
That’s where DatCom comes in.
When it comes to business technology, we take “good” and make it better. And we bring a laser-like focus to your business’ efficiency to reduce overhead costs and increase profits.
But not everyone views tech support that way. Let’s take a brief trip back to when tech support was new.
Technology Support Origins and Service Models
For a younger generation of workers who grew up with technology, it can be easy to take for granted the origins of tech support. In the early days, computers were massive machines used primarily for business analytics.
The first tech support gurus were closer to the scientists and engineers who developed the computers.
Fast forward to the 90s when most organizations began providing desktop computers for their office workers. As they gained popularity, people were more valuable to their business if they knew how to use them. Moreover, they could be indispensable if they knew how to fix computers, network them together, develop software, or code web pages.
Since computer usage blossomed socially, all types of personalities are involved in supporting them. And the question of how to profit from tech support at scale led to new service models.
As tech support companies emerged to meet demand, they used call centers and relied on outsourced technicians with only a basic understanding of the technology.
The Break-Fix service model is a form of tech support that focuses on fixing problems as they arise without providing proactive maintenance. You experience frustration upon frustration as you wait for a solution. Also, the break-fix model charges you every time they provide service which is financially unpredictable. You don’t know how much time it will take or how much it will cost.
Hiring IT Staff is helpful for some organizations. But is it feasible for most small businesses? With technology complexity on the rise, it isn’t easy to find the right talent and stay under budget. Organizations are likely to spend at least 40% more on in-house support than they could with Managed or Co-Managed Technology Support.
How to avoid inferior tech support:
Some tech support companies count on churning through a percentage of their customer base. They put their clients under a contract. When the client has a problem, they shuffle a low-level technician to work the job knowing many of their clients will put up with unprofessional service for a while. By the time the cracks in their service start to show, they’ve acquired new customers to grow their business, but not yours.
Manage Technology (and Budgets) with Managed Support
DatCom provides what industry experts call “managed IT.” Managed services are constant, budget-friendly support without the high cost of employing a full-time professional.
Chief Financial Officers like how easy it is to predict your technology costs. Moreover, you get the best possible tools to maintain your technology at a lower cost than purchasing them yourself.
Not to mention, your company won’t have to deal with 3rd party technology vendors because real professionals handle all communications with other vendors, making things even simpler for you.
What if you have tech support on staff?
Businesses with tech support staff can benefit from a higher level of expertise and experience than what you can find by hiring your own people.
As an example, DatCom has over 77 years of combined experience and we are business technology consultants who work directly with our clients. With a co-managed partnership, you can improve your level of support without hiring more talent.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
You have more important things to do than deal with day-to-day IT maintenance. After all, you have a business to run. You just want your technology to WORK.
24/7 proactive support means you don’t have to worry about starting the day on hold. Lots of providers have RMM tools, but we have sophisticated internal automation that kicks in when something goes wrong. If you need a technician onsite, you’ll have a highly-skilled professional onsite in a hurry.
You won’t even have to call.
And when we say 24/7 service, we mean it. Some of our clients are first responders who need to be always operational. For example, DatCom provides IT services to a helicopter medical rescue unit operating in a 150-mile radius. Just imagine how an IT problem could impact their efforts to save lives.
Our RMM tools are also tightly integrated with our cybersecurity to provide 100% protection from malware. Our antivirus solution is so good that none of our clients have ever been infected.
Technology Overwhelming
Technology overwhelm is real and business leaders have it the worst. How can you make the decisions you need to make when your company is sitting on a mountain of digital objects and data that grows bigger every year?
First, it’s easy to overlook simple IT projects that can serve as small steps to make your business more efficient, agile, and profitable. Think of one thing you know for sure could be better, and go for it with professional help.
Second, it’s incredibly difficult to make smart decisions in a corner. And the definition of being in a corner in business is to have a total shutdown over broken equipment. As a reminder, business technology has a lifespan, and we’ve all been tensing up over everything we’ve experienced over the last few years. You will have to renew your technology soon and DatCom can help you.
Finally, the most effective way to overcome the overwhelming complexity of technology is to have information about everything that’s been happening with your technology via solid reports and statistics. You won’t get that from every tech support company, but you will get that with DatCom.