A Good Internal IT Person Is Hard to Find

by

Technology is everywhere, yet we don’t always understand it. When things go wrong or get challenging, we turn to IT Services for help, but it’s becoming difficult for businesses to hire internal IT support staff. Here’s why and what to do about it.

The IT talent shortage has been an issue for more than a decade. A majority (56%) of leaders globally bemoaned the lack of tech-savvy employees in 2011. By the 2019 PWC report, as many as 79% expressed concerned about the talent shortage. In a separate KPMG CIO Survey, anxiety over tech talent was at its highest level since 2008. The pandemic spiked demand, and now there’s more remote technology and work from home system access to manage.

What Is Prompting the IT Talent Shortage?

Businesses know that they need IT help, and a shortage is nothing new. So, why does it continue to be a problem?

  • Technology is evolving fast, which makes finding skilled workers more difficult.
  • Baby boomers are retiring, which leaves employers scrambling to fill their roles.
  • Current IT workers aren’t adding artificial intelligence, machine learning, or other advanced tech skills.
  • Gender gaps in the tech industry narrow the talent pool.
  • Data scientists, software developers, and security and cloud experts have many options. Every industry has a need.

Employees need help troubleshooting temperamental devices, and businesses want people to setup technology, manage cybersecurity, and develop applications and software solutions, not to mention the know-how needed to get a company running again in the event of unforeseen downtime.

Finding the Best IT Fit for Your Business

IT recruits expect a competitive salary and benefits, plus a flexible, welcoming environment. To encourage professional development, companies are focusing on internal training. Microsoft now offers a professional degree program to develop data scientists. By 2025, Amazon wants to upskill 100,000 employees in software engineering, the cloud, and machine learning.

A lack of technical expertise within the business further complicates IT hiring. After all, it’s difficult to hire someone when you don’t understand what you’re looking for.

Many businesses also make the mistake of hiring for current technology needs without considering where they want to be with technology in the near and long-term future. They hire someone great right now who lacks skills to support technical evolution. That means spending more time and money later finding a new resource as the business grows.

The solution? Partner with a managed service provider (MSP). Get the benefit of working with a skilled IT team without having to hire each individual. The MSP gets to know your business needs and makes scaling technology up and down much easier. When you need a new approach, they can suggest the best option for your business practices. Plus, they have the staff available to help you along the way.

Finding qualified IT resources for your internal team requires resources. Collaborate with a trusted MSP partner to fill a tech skills gap; avoid having to recruit and hire in a competitive market; plus, enjoy ready access to the technical know-how your business needs today. Call us at (515)422-1995.

Why Law Firms Need Managed Services

by

The law industry isn't known for embracing change quickly: tradition can trump a willingness to embrace new technologies. Yet digital technology has become an essential part of many lawyers' working day. Partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) provides support and enhanced cybersecurity during this evolution.

Lawyers rely on technology today to:

communicate with colleagues and clients;

  • exchange documents;
  • schedule events and share calendars;
  • research precedent and legal issues;
  • streamline file management;
  • automate menial tasks;
  • track billable hours;
  • invoice clients and pay vendors;
  • access information from mobile devices, when and where needed;
  • virtually conference during the pandemic.

Now, imagine the disruption if that tech-savvy firm's systems went down for a few days, even just for a few hours. No, this is not an argument to return to paper-pushing and the old-school methods; it's a reminder that you need an IT expert at the ready in case something goes wrong. Plus, an MSP can manage and watch systems to help prevent the worst.

The MSP Solution

Legal service provider clients expect digital proficiency. They want to schedule appointments online; they want to upload documents to the cloud instead of coming into the office; they are looking to provide digital signatures and pay securely online. The MSP can set up software to meet customer expectations without risking compliance or cybersecurity.

An MSP with experience in the legal industry can also boost competitive advantage. These IT experts can identify opportunities to improve productivity. It may be a faster network or computer upgrades, or you may benefit from improving software integrations and adopting better collaboration tools. The MSP's initial tech review may also save you money. They'll identify where you are overpaying or places to streamline software licenses.

Also, on the financial front, the law firm can enjoy a consistent budget line item working with an MSP. Instead of waiting for something to break and then looking for someone to fix it, you'll have expert ITs on call, which can reduce costly downtime. Better still, the MSP will take preventative action to avoid that downtime in the first place. This includes keeping your antivirus and security updated and checking technological asset health.

The MSP's small, ongoing fee is something you can plan around. The ongoing monitoring makes a budget blowout less likely, as well.

Managed IT services offer proactive support plus enhanced security. They understand the importance of end-to-end, layered security. They know the threats to a legal firm and can recommend quality precautions. Attorneys need to secure sensitive data and documents to remain compliant. The MSP can suggest secure storage and backup to perform the essential tasks.

Further on security, the MSP has the know-how to help your firm become more mobile, but safely. Your tech partner can put systems in place that allow your team to securely work when and where they need to.

It also helps to have a dedicated support team available. They'll already know your firm and its technology. This can speed up the response if there are ever issues, plus, you have a consultant to call with questions about new technological innovations.

Keep pace with customer expectations and maintain competitive advantage. Enjoy technology support and cybersecurity peace of mind with an experienced MSP. We're here to help. Call us at (515)422-1995!

4 Advantages of Consolidating Your Tech

by

Technology is the lifeblood of business today, and you likely have a lot of it. But you may have accumulated software and hardware as you grew. Now, you have a hodgepodge of technologies never designed to work together. Consolidation can help.

Large corporations can afford an in-house IT team to keep track of all the hardware and software, but small- to medium-sized businesses often need help. Managing computers and mobile devices, and telephony print and fax systems can be overwhelming. Then, there’s all the software you need to secure, not to mention setting up data recovery in case of a disaster or emergency.

Consolidating your technology offers several benefits to companies of all sizes. A managed service provider can help.

#1 Increased Efficiency

If there’s a problem with your printers, phones, or Internet connection, you call your provider. When many vendors offer each of these services, you make several calls, which means waiting on the phone with a printer tech, phone company, or internet service provider (ISP).

When you connect with customer support, they can address only issues in one area of concern. The ISP isn’t going to know anything about your phone service, and the phone company knows zilch about printers. This disjointedness can waste a lot of time.

With an MSP, you need to make one call only. The support person will know and understand your entire system. They offer input based on how different technology interacts.

#2 Cost Savings

Lacking a holistic view of your technology and its interactions, you can end up wasting money. You might invest in a new feature for voice over IP, duplicating a capability you already have online.

Consolidating your technology with a single provider can also streamline costs. The first thing an MSP will do is to map out how your technology works together. Armed with an understanding of business needs and goals, they’ll make recommendations. You may be able to cut back on services in one area with a simple upgrade in another. Perhaps you’re paying for software licenses you no longer need. Plus, the MSP identifies opportunities for cost savings gained from bundling services.

The MSP typically charges a monthly, consolidated fee. Instead of managing several bills for every technology, you pay a single, consistent fee, which also makes budgeting much easier.

#3 Business Agility

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that business needs to be nimble. Yet your ability to react can be slower working with many different vendors. Simplifying your processes can streamline your response times.

An MSP will take a proactive approach to overseeing your technology needs. They want you to avoid disruptions in the first place. Partner with an MSP to keep technology current, security up to date, and systems upgraded. This frees up what IT staff you have on-site to do more business- and revenue-generating work.

#4 Supportive Partner

Individual vendors focus on selling you their particular services or systems. The overall interplay of your technology isn’t their primary concern. Yet ensuring all your technology interacts effectively and efficiently is what the MSP does best.

Working with an MSP you gain a business partner that cares about your success. The MSP’s job is to determine whether:

  • your business could be performing better;
  • your team could be collaborating more;
  • your processes could be more efficient;
  • you have the right answers to cybersecurity risks and issues;
  • your business has the best technological tools to meet its needs.

An MSP offers a single point of contact. That contact will understand your entire setup and how it works together. The MSP will help you make better purchasing decisions. Plus, as a true business partner, an MSP supports your agility and success. Find out more about what we can do for you today!

IT vs Productivity

by

How much time and productivity did you lose on computer problems over the last year? It’s a safe bet that even routine maintenance had a bigger impact than you planned. Given it was one heck of a year for cyber-attacks, the emergency costs may have skyrocketed too. Without getting an analyst in to crunch every action and every number, you’ll never know how much money you could have earned in those lost hours. Right now, what you know for sure is that you didn’t go into business to be an IT expert, but suddenly there you are. Battling servers, workstations, software, protections and permissions, all on a daily basis…managing all those things you don’t particularly care about, or understand more than you need to. Somehow, you ended up running an IT company plus your regular business.

It didn’t start that way. You got into your business because you’re great at what you do. We can help you get back to doing what you’re really passionate about, and free up your time for revenue growth activities. All those nagging tasks sucking away your day can be offloaded to our Managed Service Provider (MSP) team.

Here are a few examples of what we can take care of for you:

Software and security updates: If it seems like an update for something is always popping up, sending your employees away for yet another coffee break while it runs, you’re not far off. While it’s great that software providers are continually improving their product, patching holes and reinforcing against threats, keeping up with them all can be incredibly time-consuming. Our MSP can handle all updates and patches out of business hours, keeping your employees focused on business tasks.

Help desk: While we can’t remotely unjam the copier (yet), we can take care of all those “I don’t know how to”, “I think it’s broken” or “I need another” tech problems that incrementally drive you crazy. You can simply circulate the new protocol – ask the MSP – and watch how fast these small problems are solved, and your employees are back to work, more productive than ever.

Network management and security: The last thing you want is extended downtime thanks to crashed servers or a cyber-attack. Our MSP works with you to balance security with your business’ necessary tasks and access, leaving you protected and operational. You’ll have staff set-up with the exact permissions they need, robust backup systems in place, and early warning when hardware/software is aging out.

Strategic IT planning: Why blow your IT budget putting out fires, buying incompatible systems or tech you simply don’t need? Our MSPs can conduct strategic planning in line with your goals so you’re able to scale what you already have and schedule new expenses in time to meet projections.

The time you spend battling IT problems could be time you spend earning money, growing your business and moving strategically forward. Moving to a Managed Service Provider is easier than you might think too. Simply let us know you’re ready to get back to the parts of your business you love, and we’ll take it from there.

Click to see our BBB Report

FOLLOW US

VISIT US

Privacy Policy