4 signs it’s time for your business to hire an IT company ASAP
Every business will eventually need IT support. Here’s how to know when the time is right for your business.
All businesses rely on technology. As businesses grow, so too does the complexity of their IT requirements. At some point, it becomes too much to securely and efficiently manage without the help of a professional.
Not properly managing the technological aspect of your business could cost you potential growth and customers due to inefficiency, data loss, or security breaches. Here are 5 signs it’s time for your business to offload the headache of tech support onto the specialists:
You have mission-critical data and no backup plan
What would happen to your business if you suddenly lost all your data? How long until you could be back on your feet? Would the business even survive? Hard drives fail; employees download ransomware; even a flood could wash away your laptop with all of your important financial spreadsheets.
This is definitely one of those “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” situations. Professional IT services teams can put in place a disaster recovery plan so your business could bounce back from data loss in a matter of minutes.
You’ve already experienced a security breach
If the thieves know you leave the door unlocked, you’re an easy target and they’re going to return. A survey by Nationwide found that half of small businesses have experienced at least one form of harmful cyber activity, because cybercriminals know that small businesses don’t typically have the same resources to fight them off as large corporations. Another report from CNBC found that small businesses take 146 days to detect a security breach on average.
So, there’s a 50-50 shot you’ll fall victim to a cyberattack, and you won’t even know they made off with your financial information for six months. Working with an IT services company will dramatically shift those odds in your favor.
Your growing team has productivity issues
As businesses scale up and increase their number of employees, they need new tools and tech solutions to maintain productivity. Two-hundred people can’t share ideas as easily as two people—suddenly you need a communication tool like Microsoft Teams or Slack. A giant sales and project management team will struggle to share leads and execute projects without something like Salesforce or Adobe Workfront.
A tiny startup can get by with Excel spreadsheets, texting, and elbow grease. After a certain threshold of employees, systems and architecture need to be put into place by an IT team.
Plus, firms can get stuck with old, outdated hardware that quietly kills their productivity. Without an expert to guide the IT procurement process, the average person is in over their head when trying to outfit their company with a suite of new devices (which could include computers, tablets, servers, mobile devices, and a host of other technology products). You can’t just walk into Best Buy and put 50 Dell laptops on your credit card and call it a day.
Matching the right technology to the business for maximum efficiency while being cost effective is part of what IT company’s do best. Not to mention, they will be able to then setup, roll out, maintain, and upgrade those systems while training employees whenever necessary.
You have a random employee handling technical support
Raise your hand if you’ve seen an admin moonlight as tech support for the C-suite. Or maybe it was “that one guy who’s really good with computers and stuff.” Well that one guy and that admin both have their own roles that take a hit when they’re asked to take on extra duties. Plus, it’s highly likely they are going outside of their wheelhouse and lack the technical expertise to truly do the job right. You wouldn’t ask your accountant to rewire the electricity in your building, would you?
Ok, you can put your hand down now. The fact that you have a go-to person means there’s a need. If there’s a need, it’s worth doing it properly with managed IT services from a provider like amshot.
Schedule a free consultation today to see how amshot can save your business from a data disaster—or just give a break to the employee who never asked to be “the tech guy.”