If you are like the average SMB, you may be wondering whether you are going about IT the right way:
- Whether you are getting a good return on your investment
- Whether you are prepared for the future of IT
- Whether you are leveraging technology to manage information efficiently
According to the CNET blog article, "IT guys don't know enough, bosses say", written by Chris Matyszczyk, (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57396637-71/it-guys-dont-know-enough-bosses-say/); there is either a serious lack of IT skills in the SMB, or there is a serious misconsception by SMB leadership that a skills gap exists.
I have the opportunity to work for a wide array of organizations. I have seen every stage of development of the SMB from 1 employee to 250 employees. I have encountered a wide variation of management styles, work environments, and personalities in my travels. One thing that most SMBs lack is an alignment of the goals of the Organization as a whole with the goals of the IT Department, whether insourced or outsourced.
I argue that the real problem in the organization today is the ways SMBs look at IT. IT is an afterthought for most organizations. For most SMBs, the IT help is reactive at best. The only time a user becomes aware that IT exists is when something breaks. And this is the root of the problem.
IT, at it's best, should be looked at as another tool to be used to increase performance and sales, which translates into revenue. When IT is aligned to the goals of the organization via Managed IT Services, Proactive Support, Lifecycle Hardware Support, Optimization, and Redundancy; the organization is freed to perform at it's best, unhindered by performance issues, data loss, and inefficiency.
Just as important as redeveloping and rethinking your organization's IT support structure, is finding the right type of assistance at the right price. Outsourcing IT to a managed IT provider like TRA Consulting, Inc., can keep costs down, while giving your organization the type of around-the-clock IT support that would cost 4 times the price of insourcing. Another great benefit of outsourcing is leveraging the experience of an organization that is actively engaged in providing support to other organizations, and the breadth of knowledge that experience brings to the table.
TRA