This morning, we received a promotional email promoting IT services with the following statement in color and in bold.
“We won’t charge if we can’t fix it”
That’s great. Business owners won’t have to pay anything if the provider in question does not solve the problem
BUT
Is this how a Small Business Owner should view IT Support and IT Services?
In our case, we feel that this is flawed.
Any business owner should frown on downtime and break-downs. It affects productivity and it costs money.
Think of the following …
Monday morning, you walk into office with your cup of fragrant coffee, all ready to start a big week ahead.
This is going to be GREAT week, you tell yourself as you enter the door.
You walk up to your desk, take out your laptop, start it up but in seconds realize that the company server isn’t responding.
What! Why server not found !!???!!!
You call out to your colleagues and they are all saying the same.
Yikes! Server is down!
No company files, no company database.
How to quote and answer client queries.
This is going downhill fast.
You walk over to the server, depress the power button,
lights start flashing and …
and … that’s it, error screen pops-up.
Server is dead!
What’s next?
You know your clients will be calling in the next few minutes but the server is down.
You cannot get access to your files
No one can get access to the database
No pricing info, no stock status, no delivery schedule
Yikes! This is bad, this is a disaster.
Frantically, you whip out your mobile but who do you call?
You soon realize
YOU HAVE NO ONE TO CALL
You start searching the internet to find which IT support provider can come
NOW … like NOW, IN 2 MINUTES!
Is this you? Can your business survive in a situation like this?
How could your clients view you? What excuses do you give your clients?
If you value your business and your clients, you need something better …
Something PROACTIVE and PREVENTIVE
Business owners can no longer afford to sit down hoping things don’t break. A good business owner needs to prepare for every eventuality. One needs to get a hold of the breakdowns and be able to proactively prevent them from happening.
That’s why a Managed IT Services program is so important for any business owner.
Quit looking out for the quick and cheap fixes.
A service provider that only provides you with a “break-and-fix” option isn’t serious about helping your business. They want your technology to break down as much as possible so that they can continue serving and charging you.
As a serious Small Business Owner, you need to look out for a solution that provides
(a) PROACTIVE PREVENTION = Measures to prevent breakdowns in the first place
(b) REACTIVE SUPPORT = When breakdowns do happen, ensure that everyone in your business knows who to contact and who has the quickest resolution
PROACTIVE PREVENTION + REACTIVE SUPPORT = MANAGED IT SERVICES
Providers of Managed IT Services are incentivized to keep your technology running.
Why?
Simply because they charge you a fixed monthly fee.
Should a breakdown occurs, it costs them time and effort. The more calls for support and help, the more resources they have to devote. It costs them more to keep hearing support calls from you. The best incentive for them is to keep your technology at its peak with the least amount of support calls.
Isn’t this exactly what you need for your small business?
Don’t wait for the breakdown to happen.
Prevent it in the first place … but even if breakdowns do happen, make sure that you are not paying for the breakdown.
[1] Managed IT Services Program = https://www.managedit.sg/managed-it-services-program/