Stop paying me to fix those problems!

I've made a deal with myself that there are a few topics that I won't discuss on the ol' blog... Specifically politics, the local WLUK dispute with Time Warner, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Green Bay Packers. I made this promise because they are topics that I am passionate about, they get me worked up and I'm likely to say something stupid and will definitely offend some of my loyal readers*

That being said... This topic tends to get my hands waiving and my voice a bit raised...
You need help to improve, maintain and protect your business computer network. Somebody has this role. Maybe it's an internal staff member (hopefully one that is qualified and experienced in IT). Maybe you outsource (my favorite of course). You get the picture, somebody wears this hat. We all can agree so far, right?

For this discussion, we will focus on the business that chooses to outsource it's IT support and technology needs. There are two models for outsourcing this responsibility.

1. You have a problem/question/upgrade/crash/outage/etc. At the point of said problem, you weigh the impact on your business/staff productivity against the cost of getting it fixed. Then you flip through the Rolodex, call the trusted IT support company, they schedule the work, resolve the problem and send a big fat invoice!

2. You have a relationship with an IT support company that provides (get ready, industry buzz word coming) managed services. We call it "Computing as Promised." Here's how it works..... You pay a monthly fee, we are your IT Department. It is no different than if we had an office in your building. We proactively improve, maintain and protect your technology. By proactively monitoring, installing patches and cleaning up, the problems are limited. When a problem does occur, you don't have to decide if the problem is worth paying for to fix. Because it is already paid for!!

Remember, we all agreed that somebody is in charge of maintaining your technology (and there is an expense to doing so). When you pay us for work done on a time & material basis, we make money when you have a problem. When you partner with us to manage your technology, we only make money if you don't have problems. Doesn't that sound better for everyone?

Coming next... Membership has it's privileges.

Brian O'Shaughnessy
President
ITConnexx, Inc.

*See footnote regarding "faithful readers" in blog from September 20.