I'd LOVE to Say "YES!"

At my company, we say "yes!" "Yes, there's a solution for that!"

Lately, we've received more calls from prospective clients who are unhappy with their current IT support provider. And from these calls, we've noticed a trend: business owners and managers simply want more from their IT provider.

Because most of us have had to significantly change the way we work over the last 12 months, it's even more important that you have an IT support company that is listening and helps you grow your business, not holding you back.

There are many good IT service providers around who will do the right thing for you. Many are my good friends (and they know who they are). But sadly, as in every industry, there are providers that simply do not have the necessary levels of care, skill, or attention to detail. There are some who take your money and walk away, who never check-in, who never discuss how to improve your business through technology.

46Solutions - me and my team - are not an IT supplier. We're a partner. We don't just fix things when they break; we help you avoid the problems in the first place.

With this in mind, I wanted to share the top 5 questions business owners and managers are asking, that I would LOVE to say YES to.

1. Can we work together in a partnership, rather than just calling you when things go wrong?

YES! In fact, we only work with businesses in this way. Like I stated above, we aren't suppliers. We create a true partnership with our clients. Our friends. A year ago when we were forced to work from home, many businesses were under-prepared. Many businesses immediately realized just how much they rely on their business IT. We want to work with business owners and managers who understand the power of a more permanent solution to their IT needs. In short, we really do want to hear from our clients when things go wrong. The proactive work we do between those times will minimize the frequency and scale of emergencies.

2. Can your services help me grow my business?

YES! At the core of every business is its IT. Every. Single. One. It could be something as simple as a cash register or cell phone, but more likely, it's an entire setup unique to you. It's your network, devices, phones, software, and application you use, the way you share files, your security, your back up -- you get the idea. It stands to reason the more tailored your infrastructure is to you and your team, the more streamlined your business will be. And the better the product or service is that you deliver to the client.

3. Do you work proactively or just fix things when they break?

YES! And also no, since there was an "or" in that question. We work proactively because experience tells us that it's the best way to keep your systems running at optimum levels. We work proactively to allow your infrastructure to grow and develop as your business does. And most importantly, we work proactively to keep it safe and secure from data breach or loss.

4. Do you have a clear plan in place for us if our IT goes down?

ABSOLUTELY. I mean, YES. We've seen how detrimental it can be to a business when an IT network goes down and there's no recovery plan in place. In some cases, it can mean a little downtime. But in cases of a big data security breach, it can mean the end of the business. One of the first things we work on with our clients is disaster recovery. We ensure each client has an off-site backup of all their data, which is updated every day (sometimes continually all day, every day). And we regularly check and verify it to make sure it's working too. Basically, we react as if it were our own business with the issue, minimizing both data loss and downtime as far as possible.

5. Can you maintain and update our systems without disruption to the team?

YES! Downtime is frustrating. I get it. Not only does it mean you have a business full of people who can't work., but when things do get back up and running, it takes everyone a while to get back to what they were doing. When you partner with 46Solutions, we spend a huge amount of time working in the background for you. We make necessary updates, check that data is being backed-up as it should be, and make sure there are no potential security breaches, to name a few. It's a long list. And the best part? You won't even know we are doing it. That means most of what we do has zero disruption to you and your team. We are here to help you do more, not less!

Do you have a question I can say YES to? If you're looking for a new IT partner, you'll have a few questions. 46Solutions is transparent as possible when it comes to telling you how we work and how we can work with you. If you're looking for a new IT support partner, one who works as part of your business, give me a call. YES - I can help your business reach its goals this year!