Tired of losing valuable time and money on tech issues that hold your business back?
It’s not an easy task managing your small business’s technology. In fact, you’ve got an endless list of IT tasks and concerns to tackle every day.
Cybersecurity. Legacy systems. Customer data breaches. Bandwidth management. Website downtime. BYOD. Software updates. Hardware replacements. Data loss. Data recovery. The list goes on.
Here’s the problem:
Small business owners like yourself simply don’t have the time, resources, or the know-how to deal with complicated IT issues. They’re too busy running their business. And when they try to go-it-alone with IT, things end up being ten times worse.
The good news is, it doesn’t have to be this way.
IT consulting and services can be a gamechanger for your small business. When you team up with experts who specialize in small business IT, you’ll finally have your technology working FOR you — instead of against you.
In this article, we’ll be diving into everything you need to know about IT consulting and how it can help your small business be more productive.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why small businesses need IT consulting
- The true cost of neglecting IT
- How IT consulting services increase productivity
- How to choose the right IT partner
Why Small Businesses Need IT Consulting
Let’s start with the not-so-fun stuff…
Small businesses are under constant attack. According to Verizon’s research, 46% of all cyber breaches go after businesses with less than 1,000 employees.
That’s nearly half of ALL attacks going after companies just like yours and me.
And guess what?
Many small business owners still operate under the illusion they’re too small to be worth it. As a result, they open themselves up for the cybercriminals who specialize in knowing that very fact.
Professional IT consulting and services are the solution any small business needs to level-up its chances of survival. Collaborating with experienced IT providers, such as EIRE Systems, allow you to take advantage of enterprise-grade expertise without the enterprise-level price.
Don’t believe us? Consider this:
You wouldn’t perform surgery on yourself. So why on Earth would you try to take care of your complicated IT infrastructure on your own?
IT consultants have years of specialized knowledge under their belt. They know problems you didn’t even know you had. And they fix those issues before they have a chance to become a major disaster.
The True Cost of Neglecting IT
Before we move on, we’ve got to show you a couple of scary numbers:
- 60% of small businesses that get caught in a cyberattack close down within 6 months.
- A single breach costs tens of thousands of dollars. For some businesses, the damage even reaches the millions of dollars when downtime, lost customers, and all the recovery costs are added to the damage.
Oh, and believe it or not, the costs don’t stop there.
A breached business reputation also takes a hard hit. Trust is really hard to rebuild once broken. If your customers no longer feel safe with you, they’ll find someone else to do business with.
The less obvious costs are even more excruciating:
- Productivity losses from IT system downtimes.
- Employee frustration with the help of inadequate tools.
- Missed opportunities due to prolonged manual processes.
- Regulatory fines in the event of compliance failures.
Small business owners might think they’re being smart with their money and taking care of IT on their own. The truth is, the same business owners are only making way for more serious — and costly — problems down the road.
The math simply doesn’t work when going at it alone.
How IT Consulting Services Increase Productivity
All good things come to an end…
We can’t bore you with more negativity for too long.
IT consulting and services aren’t just about fixing things. They’re also about making everything in your small business work that much smoother.
When technology is up and running and under control, everything else falls in place, right? Your employees get to focus on actual work and not on how to fight with the broken system. Your customers receive much better service since your team won’t be preoccupied by tech-related headaches.
Professional IT consulting services are designed to deliver all of the following:
- Streamlined Operations − IT consultants evaluate your current systems and propose practical ways to do away with bottlenecks. Repetitive tasks that cost your team valuable time are automated. Your entire small business operation runs that much smoother.
- Better Security − With professional IT services, you receive security solutions tailor-made to your business needs. No more one-size-fits-all solutions that provide a false sense of security.
- Cost savings − IT consulting services will help you save money. Despite what you might think, hiring IT consultants to take care of your technology issues is an investment. And a well-made investment will provide you much more in return than a well-measured return on investment (ROI).
- Strategic Planning − IT consultants will take care of your immediate needs but also provide strategic planning for the road ahead. They’ll make sure that your technology grows with your business instead of slowing it down.
Pretty neat, right?
The best IT consultants won’t just arrive at your doorstep when something is broken. The most experienced ones will also work with you in a proactive manner. This way, issues are taken care of even before they had a chance to occur.
Fewer late-night calls. Fewer lost workdays. And way less stress for you and your team.
Finding the Right IT Partner
Don’t get us wrong, no IT consulting or services are the same.
What you need is a partner who understands small businesses’ challenges. Enterprise-level consultants are often inclined to use solutions created for and by large enterprises. In the best case, those “enterprise” solutions will be much more than your small business needs. In the worst case, those solutions will prove useless from the get-go.
Here’s what you should be looking for when it comes to an IT partner:
- Experience working with small businesses.
- Clear communication. No tech speak!
- Flexible pricing that fits your small business budget.
- Proactive security and maintenance approach.
- A great track record that can be backed up with real-life references.
The right consultant will quickly become your business’s new best friend. They will learn your ins and outs inside and out. They will start to know your business needs even before you realize you have them.
Ask about response times. Ask how they’ll deal with emergencies. Make sure they provide 24/7 support instead of one-time fixes only.
Don’t be afraid to dig a little and ask those tough questions when you’re evaluating different IT service providers. The right IT partner won’t mind your inquiry, after all. They have nothing to hide!
The Bottom Line on Small Business IT Consulting and Services
The takeaway should be quite clear by now:
Technology is here to stay. Small businesses that adapt to the new reality and leverage professional IT consulting and services will do well in the future. The businesses that continue to struggle on their own will… you guessed it — struggle even more in the years to come.
The statistics don’t lie, folks. Cyber threats are increasing. Technology is only becoming more complex. The gap between the prepared businesses and unprepared ones is only getting wider by the day.
Your competitors are probably already investing in professional IT support for their businesses. Can you really afford to be left behind? The answer should be obvious to all of you by now…
What’s Next
Here’s what smart small business owners are currently doing:
- Assessing their IT landscape and seeing where they stand.
- Building relationships with trustworthy IT consultants.
- Designating budgets for the IT consulting and services.
- Educating their employees on the best security practices.
- Planning ahead for future technology requirements.
You can do all of the above one step at a time. Start with an honest evaluation of your current situation. Then move on and work with a qualified team to make a roadmap for improvement.
The investment in professional IT consulting will pay for itself a thousand times over. You’ll be able to sleep much better at night knowing your business is secure. Your team will be more efficient and productive at their work. And your customers will have no doubts in your business.
Stop waiting for a disaster to strike. Start managing your technology future like a boss!