No matter what industry you are in, one thing is for sure, your business is unique, one of a kind. The chances are, you built it from the ground up, however, despite its uniqueness, there is one thing that your business has in common with every other business in the world. The increasing use of IT and support services to cater for your customers daily needs;
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Who to turn to when you need support?
Business is actually a very personal affair, no matter how many times you may hear somebody say “It’s nothing personal, it’s just business”. When it comes to who you do business with and vice versa, it normally revolves around relationships so, the most likely thing you would do is to speak with other business owners within your network, friends or relatives or, even venture online. The main thing is to know a little bit about your tech requirements so you can be sure you’re getting what you need when you speak with IT support service providers.
Know your hardware capabilities and life span
Whenever you’re buying computer tech, it is always worth spending as much as you can afford at the time in order to future proof. That is not to say that you need a computer system with a touch screen, fingerprint, retina and or facial recognition features. Focus on the hardware that enables the computer to work, such as the CPU, RAM, SSD, PSU, storage isn’t so much of a concern anymore because cloud storage is everywhere you turn.
If you know a bit about your tech and spend wisely, it can be worth its weight in gold, there is no reason why your computer system won’t last you at least 5 years. If you buy budget equipment, then you might be lucky to avoid upgrading for, perhaps 2 years or so. This would be a good conversation starter with IT support companies when you start to make your enquiries.
Remember, security is paramount
You want your systems to be as secure as possible, at one time everybody just stored files locally or on something like a memory stick which isn’t exactly secure, or ideal. The right IT team will be able to assist you with setting up remote storage, encryption and they should be able to back it up with a security guarantee.
As your business grows, you have to let go a little
When you first start out you can manage things yourself, to an extent, although, like most start-ups it probably entailed 26-hour days. As your business expands, your IT demands will increase, you may have already appointed somebody in house, ideally though, you’ll want to keep the majority of your IT services with an external team of professionals who can cater for all of your needs including future expansion.
Always invest in your staff and customers
Most staff members aren’t IT support engineers, in fact your average employees IT skills will be enough to get them conducting their daily duties. However, if you spend a little time and effort, alongside a team of expert support staff you can help to improve your employees and, in turn, your customers IT skills which should increase productivity.
