Partnering With An IT Company Can Help Your Business Save Money And Generate Revenue
A lot of small business owners have to juggle many facets of the organization. Everything from generating revenue for the business, providing customer service to all the clients to managing the day to day operations and addressing any technical issues that arise. We will be composing a three part blog series to provide valuable insight into how a small business can utilize us as a managed service provider (MSP) and the benefits of partnering with GB Consulting as your IT service provider. The first part of the three part series will discuss how a small business can utilize our company as a managed service provider and how much time and money can be saved.
Professional Technical Support
Issues arise when a business least expects. Whether the in-house server crashed, a desktop computer has malicious software installed, or a printer decides to take a break from printing, computer equipment have been temperamental since the beginning of IT time. What is a small business to do? First, do not panic. There are many reasons computer equipment becomes faulty. For example, the hardware is nearing the end of its lifespan or something more severe is going on with the machine. Let’s discuss two different situations with the scenario described above. The first scenario will consist of a company who does not have a readily available IT team and the second scenario is utilizing GB Consulting as a managed service provider.
Now if a computer were to have malicious software installed on the machine and the business did not have an experienced IT team monitoring the computer’s health, what could the business do to resolve the issue? One resolution is to have the individual, who’s computer is infected, unplug all of the wires inputted into the machine, take the machine over to Harvey Norman’s Product Care team, leave the machine there for an unspecified amount of time and wait for the machine to be repaired. The employee loses time, falls behind with daily tasks, and most importantly, the business loses out on generating revenue for the company. This resolution could take days if not weeks depending on the Harvey Norman’s team work load and can easily cost extra if hardware needs replacing. Let’s discuss this same scenario with GB Consulting’s managed service monitoring the company’s network.
For starters, once the computer becomes infected the one of our technicians appropriate and experienced in the task is contacted with an alert about the malicious software. The technician will then contact the employee who’s machine has gone rogue and will collaborate with the individual to get this issue resolved quickly and efficiently. Our technicians can then either remote into the machine and perform a routine diagnostic check and determine the issue or come onsite and repair the computer in person. Once the issue has been determined the dedicated anti-virus software installed on the machine will scan the entire computer and will be able to remove the virus from the machine within minutes. No lost productivity, employee is down temporarily, and the computer remains within the business and the employee can continue to work once the malware software is completely removed.
The two different stories above have happened to numerous organizations we have encountered. The tragedy of having an employee lose valuable time in troubleshooting the computer is something no worker should encounter. As a small business all employees are counted on to perform numerous duties outside of their job description and having one worker out of commission is lost time and opportunity for the business to focus on acquiring revenue.
How Did The Business Save Money?
The two different scenarios provided are examples of how the business can save and lose money. We’ll explain. In the first scenario the employee had to take apart the computer, drive over to the Harvey Norman’s Product Care team, and drop off the computer with little to no recourse. If the company the employee works for does not have a spare machine configured to his work environment, which chances are this is not the case, the employee is done for the time being. The worker leaves the machine with the Harvey Norman team and has to wait until the fix is made. The organization loses money on the cost of repairing the device which can cost more than the computer is worth and the employee loses out on finishing tasks and projects thereby losing out on accumulating revenue for the company. If you have not heard, Harvey Norman does not have the best reputation when it comes to resolving customer’s computer issues.
The second scenario involving GB Consulting’s managed service has many more perks in terms of time, stress, and cost. The time to resolve infected computer issue would be complete in minutes instead of days or weeks. The machine would not have to leave the office, it would be worked on in real time, and the worker would not have to perform any task other than assisting technician with how the issue arose. The stress level of knowing the machine is in good hands provides peace of mind and working with a technician who has helped in the past creates a rapport with the worker. The trust factor is extremely important. Leaving a machine with a member of Harvey Norman who has no idea of your work habits or preferences can really increase stress. The cost savings occur with the employee remaining at the office and the allocated hours the business has with GB Consulting’s managed services monthly support plan. The cost of repairing the machine with Harvey Norman could cost hundreds, if not, thousands of dollars which can run the bill up. When partnering with GB Consulting as your managed services provider, hours are allocated for reactive situations like these and are charged toward the monthly allocated time.
Conclusion
The first part of the three part IT guide series really jumped in head first to give you a transparent picture of how the IT world works. Being proactive is an excellent start, but having plans in place when a reactive situation occurs allows for efficient IT support and customer service. Join us on our adventure as we discuss more stories about preventing disasters from occurring and preventive methods to combat unforeseen issues.
