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Data centers are evolving swiftly to meet new demands. To respond to changing business needs and maintain a competitive edge, Small or Mid-size businesses are expanding their IT resources so they can quickly deploy newly developed applications while still supporting legacy workloads. Unfortunately, these data center changes often result in larger, more complex IT infrastructure environments that are challenging to support. IT administrators must continuously monitor, manage, and update specialized hardware and software solutions. In some cases, IT groups need to invest in costly additional training to ensure staff members understand how to use and manage the latest technologies. It’s no surprise that 37 percent of executives say the majority of their IT budget is spent on maintenance and ongoing management alone.

Requirements for an Effective Management Solution

How can organizations streamline management of an increasingly complex IT infrastructure so they can quickly deploy new solutions and adapt to fast-changing demands? One way is to leverage vendor IT support services. An effective support solution requires:

• Relevant expertise: The provider must have deep expertise in the hardware and solutions the Small or Mid-size businesses use.
• A single point of contact: Small or Mid-size businesses don’t have time to engage with the multiple vendors that might be part of an overall solution. They need a single point of contact who can handle cases end to end, performing triage and collaborating with tech partners for quick resolutions. A single contact helps simplify support while keeping in-house experts focused on the bigger picture.
• Multi-channel support: Just as no single hardware environment fits all, Small or Mid-size businesses must have contact options that work best for their needs at any given time, including chat, online case submission, and a dedicated 24x7x365 phone number.
• On-site service: For every hardware repair, an authorized service partner should be deployed on site. On-site service should include these attributes:

  • Offer a choice of response times: Ideally, Small or Mid-size businesses would be able to select response times that best fit the relative importance of their different infrastructure elements.

  • Simplify support: Business users want a simplified support experience that gives them back the time they would otherwise spend on the phone with multiple vendors.

  • Provide more than a call center: When Business users need IT support, they should be connected directly to a trained technician—not a call center worker who passes a message to the technical staff.

• App Development Capability: Most IT departments don’t have the skill or time to develop Apps that automate highly manual and repetitive processes. These Apps can save time, improve productivity, and augment your IT staff with cost-effective project work.

If you would like to learn how to get the most out of your IT investment, please call or email us now to schedule a consultation with our team which serves the Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.