Advertorial: Don't Go IT Alone

Computers are vital to the day-to-day running of a business, but they also present constant challenges for business owners—especially for those who aren’t so IT savvy.

Fast advances in technology, growing storage requirements, and the daily development of new threats, such as viruses, are just a few of these challenges. So today, more than ever, it takes a highly-trained technician to maintain even a simple, small computer network.

Once a business begins using more than a few PCs, these challenges become even more prevalent, however the costs of hiring a full-time, highly qualified IT person—and then keeping them trained and abreast of all the changes in technology—can be inhibiting to SMEs.

In an attempt to save money, many smaller companies try to do their own in-house IT support, and designate the person with the most technical expertise as the part-time IT manager. However, this won’t always deliver the most effective results, given this ‘make-shift’ IT person has another full-time job to do and may not be skilled enough to properly support an entire computer network. This can potentially result in an ill-maintained and unstable network.

At this point, it’s only going to be a matter of time before the network crashes and causes major disruption to the business. If lucky, it may only cost the business a little downtime; but there’s always a chance you could end up with a large clean up bill. Not only do these disasters put your IT costs through the roof, but they also cause major disruptions in staff productivity, sales, cash flow, production and customer service, that can never be recovered. Not to mention a lot of lost sleep for the business owner or manager.

Today, even the smallest businesses are very dependent on their computer and communications infrastructure. More and more services are being integrated into the network—fax, phone and the many software applications that help you run your business. A network issue could mean that you are unable to get your invoices out on time, which may seriously damage your cash-flow. What is your invoicing run worth each month?