Business Consultation Services
Top 10 Major Business IT Problems
Over the past few years we have found that there is a need in the business community that we have been able to fill. We are able to help businesses in multiple ways. Some businesses have us assist their technical onsite full time staff because they need the expertise when it comes to larger projects. Other businesses have felt that they are better off hiring consultants to run the entire IT infrastructure rather than having a full time staff member.
Most small businesses are not big enough to support the salary of a full time technician. When you consider the cost of an employee at $48,000 salary, you are actually closer to an $80,000 payout over the year when you include tax, equipment, benefits, vacation, and other factors. For a fraction of the cost, you can have a team of consultants support the technology infrastructure including the back end infrastructure as well as the local desktops. This gives you the expertise and knowledge that you can't get from a single employee. Also, you are getting an experienced staff that is familiar, or has a resource on the team that is familiar, with items such as accounting packages, communication systems, backup systems, and much more. Most firms or employees don't have this experience, but we do.
Outdated Equipment
Underutilized Systems
Poor Purchasing Decisions
No Standards
No Documentation
Outsourcing to Unqualified Vendors
No IT Budget
Little Understanding of IT by Decision Makers
Lack of Knowledge
- No Enterprise Backup System With multiple Operating Systems running, we have found that many businesses have not implemented backup systems that can capture data from all systems, regardless of the OS. So, backup either never happens or it is a manual process that gets overlooked.
- Outdated Equipment Many businesses seem to put money toward technology when they put in their intial systems. However, they soon forget that their infrastructure needs to be refreshed periodically in order to continue to be a tool instead of a hindrance. The systems have been neglected which causes the cost to rise every year you wait to update them.
- Underutilized Systems Many systems installed are not being used to their potential. This is a waste of money and resources.
- Poor Purchasing Decisions We have found that many businesses use what happens to be the cheapest at the time to solve the problem that they are facing. Cheapest isn't always the best solution. Over time, you have many different types of systems that do not work together optimally due to the way they were implemented.
- No Standards Many businesses do not follow industry standards in regards to purchasing and implementing technology. This makes you dependent upon current support staff and makes it hard to replace staff when they leave.
- No Documentation Most IT departments put documentation as a low priority. This should be reclassified as a high priority. All systems should be documented so that in case of emergency or staff change, there is very minimal time to get new staff up to speed.
- Outsourcing to Unqualified Vendors Many businesses look for help in regards to technology. Without a staff with a deep understanding in IT, they assume that any firm can do what they want. That is not the case. Businesses need to ensure that they get a vendor that truly understands the level of IT needed, plus has an understanding of the business' desires and goals.
- No IT Budget Businesses seem to react to technology and replace it when they have to. They lack a true IT vision and planning. You wouldn't run your business without a budget and you shouldn't try to run your IT infrastructure without a budget either. The budget ensures that the money is there, plus helps management understand the vision of the technology and how it will help achieve the goals of the company.
- Little Understanding of IT by Decision Makers How can you make the right decision without understanding what you are making a decision on? That is what many businesses do. They make decisions based on very limited knowledge and this limits the success of the computer infrastructure in place.
- Lack of Knowledge Many businesses have staff that lacks the knowledge to not only implement the technology, but to even use it. There needs to be training, explanation, and buy-in from staff in order to truly allow the technology to be successful.
