October 29, 2018
Whether your business technology is fully managed in-house or if you are outsourcing to a Managed IT provider, there can be challenges in dealing with the day to day encounters that technology presents. This is especially true when minor issues turn into big headaches. Below, I’ve described four business headaches that, if not managed effectively, can lead to frustration. Let's take a look...
1. Wait Time
When you contact a help desk with a problem, it can often mean sitting on hold for quite some time or having to wait for someone available to find time to help. While you’re waiting, it can be quite the challenge to focus on other tasks you could/should be completing to fulfill your job duties. And if your ever-so-lucky that your IT issue isn’t a quick fix, you might end up being transferred around multiple times or waiting a considerable amount of time before you're speaking with the person who can help gain resolution.
2. Repeating yourself
Many of the IT issues the help desk receives can be handled in an efficient timeline, but as I mentioned above, a more complex technology issue might mean you'll be transferred a few times before landing on a support person who can troubleshoot and solve your issue.
Beyond waiting on hold for each transfer, you might end up having to explain what’s going on to each new person who answers the phone. Although companies with efficient hand-off procedures will eliminate this issue, more often than not, callers end up needing to repeat their problem multiple times. If you’ve ever had to do this while already dealing with a technology issue in the workplace, you know how frustrating it can be.
3. Dealing with Finger Pointing
Very often, attempts to solve common IT problems within your business can lead to a whole lot of finger pointing. Maybe you’ve had the following experience (or something similar) …
You get on the phone with the vendor that supports your line-of-business applications and explain the issue you’re having. After hearing you out, they let you know that the problem actually has to do with your internet connectivity. They recommend that you get your internet provider on the phone and let them know the issue.
Once you have your internet provider on the phone, they tell you that they don’t see any issues with your connectivity and that the issue you're dealing with doesn’t have anything to do with them. Instead, they tell you, you actually need to get in touch with whoever manages your on-site hardware. They should be able to help you out. And guess what, when you call a technician in, they let you know there’s nothing wrong with your hardware setup. It must be something else.
4. Managing Multiple Vendors
While you got a sneak peek at what it looks like to juggle vendors in number three, finger pointing is just one part of it. Every separate vendor your business has to manage requires some individual time and attention. Responsibilities like planning for renewals, remembering the specifics of your contract, tracking (or disputing) surprise charges, and processing multiple invoices land on the shoulders of someone at your business.
And I can tell you this, whoever it is that manages all these separate vendors could probably spend their time on tasks and initiatives that have a much more significant impact on your business.
Consider Managed IT Services
If any of the scenarios I mentioned above were a little too familiar, it’s a good idea to consider Managed IT Services. Managed IT Services, or MIT for short, is a service that takes the responsibility of managing your business technology off of your company’s shoulders and places it in the hands of IT professionals.
If you’d like to learn more about Managed IT Services, check out our most recent Myth Series which features videos from Marco’s IT professionals dispelling common myths about the service. Get started with Myth #3: I Can Handle IT on My Own. And to discuss how Managed IT Services can directly benefit your business, get in touch with a Managed IT expert:
