UnCloud Issue #20 - The price of patchwork IT
Joel DeTeves
Vancouver IT Support ? Founder, LCSNetworks.com ? 20 years keeping BC companies secure, up-to-date, and compliant (without interrupting business)
As a business owner, you don't want to think about your IT systems (and if you told me you did, I'd question whether you were a masochist).
In fact, if you have to think about it, it's usually because something bad is happening and your business is on fire.
You know *why* you need computers. But as long as everything is working (please, let's just drop the Instagram filter and be honest with each other for once), you and I both know at the end of the day IT is just another expense line item on the balance sheet.
And me? Having invested many thousands of hours into building complex IT systems in my life, I'm probably biased when it comes to these things as well - so I can't help but feel a little resentment when people pretend their 15 year old nephew who's "good with computers" can rival 18+ years of enterprise IT experience.
But that's another discussion for another day. Instead, I'm going to tell you why your patchwork collection of bull excrement is not helping you achieve long-term success.
It ain't broke so don't fix it . . .
These are the famous last words of the business owner who wanted to take Friday off.
You see, this business owner (let's call him Jon) wanted his business to run smoothly.
Jon was a pretty smart dude - he knew a thing or two about computers. He'd even managed to set up his own WiFi at home, along with parental controls to keep his kids safe online.
So Jon did the same for his business. He purchased a shiny new Linksys router and connected it in the office. Then he bought a license for a cloud storage software, and installed it on all his business computers. He even managed to set up email with a custom domain for his staff.
It worked fine for years, until one day . . .
*phone rings*
"Every time I try to access this client document, it it freezes while downloading."
*phone rings again*
"Sue is trying to forward this invoice over to our VIP client, and she can't access it!"
*phone rings again*
"My email keeps winding up in our customer's junk folder!'
Jon pours a drink.
领英推荐
Damn it, Jim! This isn't an AA advertisement, it's an IT newsletter!
The moral of the story
What worked when Jon was small didn't work anymore when his business got big.
That's the problem with not having a strategy and plan.
You see, these small "patchwork systems" of IT aren't designed to scale. Nor are they designed to work well with *each other* when things start to grow.
Nowadays, we have technology systems that are designed to integrate on an organizational level.
If these sound familiar, it's because these are all examples we've encountered with clients before they made the right choice and decided to start working with us.
Does your current IT provider talk to you about using technology to make your business better? If not, then maybe it's time to start asking why.?We meet with our clients every quarter to guide them on their IT strategy. Because when you're successful, we're successful. We want to see you grow!
??? See how at LCSNETWORKS.COM
Then, let's talk.
? Call: +1 (604) 992-8178
? Write: joel<at>lcsnetworks.com
? Visit:?lcsnetworks.com
? Schedule:?lcsnetworks.com/bookme
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Got a tech question you want answered? Email?[email protected]?and I'll do my best to feature it in the next issue.