Why an On-Site IT Team is Not a Luxury, But A Necessity

When first starting a business, you are the IT team. If your keyboard stops working, you fix it yourself. If your internet is slow, you fiddle with the router. When your business grows, however, maintaining all of the servers, computers, and other equipment in your office starts to become a full-time firefighting job. That is when you come to the realization that you need someone else to help out. You want a team of IT professionals who have the experience and know-how to fix any IT problem you may face.

You have many options available to you, but they can be categorized into 2 categories: remote IT teams, or on-site it teams. After some research, you will find that remote seems to be cheaper, so it is probably best to save some money and go with them, right? Nope.

Who Hired Who?

The most significant issue that businesses find when they use remote IT teams is that they actually end up doing all the work. Let’s say your keyboard breaks. You’ll call them, and they will ask you questions like “Is your computer turned on?” and “Is it plugged in?” – not that helpful. Beyond that, the most a remote team can do is try to walk you through the steps to troubleshoot the problem. After 2 hours and a stress-induced coma, you realize you have just done the job you are supposed to be paying them for. How did that happen?

Instead of going through that, an on-site IT team would just drop by that afternoon for 15 minutes and you would have a working keyboard. Not only that, but the IT guy may have also realized that you had an out-of-date firewall that was a hack waiting to happen. That’s nice to know.

The Trust Factor

It is hard to trust someone you have never met to hold your car keys, and it is even harder to trust them with all of the sensitive information your business has. When you hire IT help, you are handing that information over to them to protect. That is fine until you find out they are stealing that information. Trust is essential in any relationship, and the best way to build that trust is to meet face-to-face. Talk to your on-site IT team, and work together to figure out how to best achieve your IT goals and avoid a crisis.

Allow them to best use their expertise by seeing your equipment in-person. Maybe they will see something you can’t. It’s like going to the deli – you see slabs of meat that all look delicious. Your friend happens to be a chef, however, and he tells you about the marbling and different types of fat that show whether or not the meat will taste good. You are looking at the same thing, but seeing something completely different.

Communication and Expectations

In any business relationship, communication is what will make or break it. If both parties do not have matching expectations, then it is only a matter of time before the partnership implodes. Unfortunately, with remote help desk services, you only have one-off interactions with call operators from half a planet away. This works fine if Word crashes, but if you have a complicated issue like wireless connectivity complications or a hack then you’re out of luck.

Not understanding your business is a very common drawback with services like these. Let’s say, for example, a receptionist at a doctor’s office is having issues with their calendar. To a remote operator, this is a minor issue that requires very little haste. An on-site IT team that has been working with your company would immediately understand, however, that the receptionist controls the calendar for all of the doctors’ schedules. With that knowledge, the IT team can treat it as what it is: an urgent problem.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, there are some things you can save money on by going for cheaper options (like off-brand cereals or dollar store hammers, to name a few). Some items are cheap but able to get the job done. For other things, though, quality is what’s more important (you don’t want to go to a cheap tattoo artist, for example).

You get what you pay for when it comes to outsourced IT teams, so make sure you have what your business needs to go to protect your information and get to the next level. Swift Systems is a premier managed IT service company in Maryland that has been providing high-quality service for over 20 years. Don’t wait until your next IT emergency to seek help. Contact Swift Systems today!

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