Every growing business needs a solid network infrastructure behind it. A great IT Department helps keep proprietary information safe, help day to day operations flow, and fix any issues big or small.
So how do you find IT support that really helps your business grow? You look for these 4 key factors of great IT management that are sure to have your company running like a well oiled machine internally.
Network Ability
The point of having a network infrastructure is to help your company’s employees do great work in and out of the office. This means that your IT network should be able to provide and maintain services both in the cloud and on the ground.
Internal employees should have the benefits of security protocols set in place by the IT management team. They should be able to help you with the construction of your network from the ground up. A great IT management team will also be able to fix any issues that should arise. Since the idea behind your network is growth, your system is bound to run into a few growing pains that your IT support team should be happy to fix for you.
Functionality
The interface you operate on is important. The format you chose has set the pathway for how your business will run, and what you should look for in your management company. If you are running Windows based products, you should probably find a dedicated Windows IT management team. If you run an array of different systems, or plan to expand in the future, you should search for a team that specialized in integrations across IT systems.
The point of the support team is to make the systems work as intended to get work done for the business. This means your team needs to ready to adapt and change the functionality for your users.
From how it operates when you click a button to how it looks, your systems need to be as capable as the team using it. If the system is slow, driven employees will lose their drive to complete work with each second spent waiting. Even the UI needs love from time to time, and you want your network to look the part. It’s really not acceptable to be running the Windows 95 look anymore, especially as Google starts to play a larger roll online.
Availability
IT support means you should have access to support at all times, and be pushed to the top level when it’s an emergency. Support teams that offer this type of service know the true value of your time, and a crisis needs to be handled immediately. Make sure there are various levels of support that come from your IT management.
Great support should come with a timestamp either. The top IT support teams will offer your business 24/7 support. If you are operating on a global scale, this is necessary. Be aware that you need to talk to your IT support about their 24/7 services to make sure that every person undergoes the same training to ensure consistent support for your team.
Capability
We have talked about compatibility with your team, but what about their capability. Can your team ask for password resets, or is there a built in system to make that happen? If the system doesn’t have one, can your team make it? If the system has a bug, can someone patch it? If they can’t, will they try whatever they can to fix it?
It might sound silly, but there are some companies that offer “support” for your purchase. If your team runs into an issue on their end, can they comfortably ask the support team? They should be able to, from password resets to remote system resets, your IT support should be happily ready to help your team. They should also be willing to explain the situations at hand if they are able to.
Setting up your IT Support Team
How you set up your IT support team really comes down to your needs. Some people choose to build their team in-house, but the cost can cause some to turn to outsourcing. There isn’t a right or wrong way to go about it, it just comes down to the cost benefit analysis for your business.
If you are looking to build extensive proprietary platforms, an in-house IT support team might be the way to go. If you are looking for generalized network capabilities for your team, there are plenty of outsourced IT management groups that can set your team up for success.
There are also dedicated IT solution specialists that can set you up with what you need to make your business operate smoother. These tend to be dedicated specialists or managed IT solutions that can help convert or mold your business into operating with their systems. From using their basic services to full scale dedication to your project, managed IT solutions are great for people with no background in information technology.