Using an IT consulting firm is practically a no-brainer for any small business. Very few small businesses can afford an in-house IT staff. Developing and maintaining systems can consume a lot of effort and time that would be better spent managing and growing the commercial enterprise. A restaurant owner, a garage operator, or the proprietor of a small shop need not learn the details of information systems technology when that can be outsourced to a company that already has that kind of expertise.
What mistakes can a small business IT consulting service help you avoid?
A recent article in Tech Republic listed a number of common mistakes a business can make when it tries to run its IT systems in-house. A good small business IT consulting service can make sure that none of the common mistakes that companies make where it comes to running a computer system occur.
First, a consulting service will provide the technical support that a small business needs instead of relying on an employee who may or may not have a modicum of computer acumen. The number of ways that a computer system can go wrong is mind-numbing, but a good consulting company will have someone on call who can deal with all of them.
Small businesses often think that they are saving money by retaining hardware and software past their life cycle. Unfortunately, such cost savings are more than canceled out by increased maintenance costs. An IT consulting firm will be able to upgrade computer systems in a timely manner.
Power protection can be an issue if a business relies on simple surge protection strips. But years of outages, thunderstorms, and other incidents can erode the effectiveness of such devices, An IT consulting firm will be able to swap out power protection devices with new ones and make sure they are of industry scale. Battery backups with built-in surge protectors are also vital for saving data and application when the power goes down.
Security is a paramount issue. Viruses, spyware, and even spam email can cause havoc to any computer systems. Hackers can break in and steal business secrets. An IT consulting firm can make certain that a small business’ system is secure against the multiple threats that exist in cyberspace.
From time to time, every computer system needs to be backed up. A regular backup procedure ensures that a small business system is not wrecked, likely along with the company itself, if a crash or some other catastrophe occurs.
Finally, a good small business IT consulting firm will be a source of training for employees so that they understand all of the features that are available on applications. Since a small business is paying for the software that it needs to keep running, it is only useful if everyone who works for the company understands how to use the software properly.
