There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to IT support. Dial A Geek, a Bristol-based IT company, have risen to the challenge of debunking the myths.
“My company is too small to need outsourced IT Support”
If you’re a freelancer with a laptop, a smartphone, and nothing else, you might be right. But as your business grows so will your tech requirements, and things like network security, cloud computing, and voIP systems will become a necessity.
It’s also important to remember that if you’re storing client data you’ll need robust security and data protection policies in place, especially when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect in May 2018.
An outsourced IT team will be your best friends when it comes to implementing new systems or setting up secure data storage. And a good team will be happy to answer any questions you have, big or small, about how to upgrade your tech as your business grows.
IT failures can be catastrophic for businesses of any size. That’s why we’ve designed our Tier One support plan for solo entrepreneurs and Tier Three for established enterprises.
“I should only call IT support when something has gone wrong”
The wait-until-it-falls-apart approach is the most expensive type of IT support, and yet it’s the one most small businesses rely on.
On average, an office worker loses 44 minutes a week to IT downtime, which adds up to a staggering 38 hours a year. Now, multiply that by the number of people in your team and remember you’re paying for that time. Ouch.
A quick phone call to find out why your computer is running slowly can be all it takes to avoid your downtime becoming chronic. And yet, it’s a phone call that always seems to be pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.
I understand – If you don’t have a go-to IT team, it can feel like a lot of hassle to find a new service provider just for a slow computer. (Especially if you’re using that slow computer to do the research!) Which is why we recommend finding an IT team you trust before things go wrong.
Dial A Geek offers both pay-as-you-go and contract IT support, and we’ve noticed that business owners are far more likely to nip technical issues in the bud if they’ve signed up to one of our support plans. The monthly plans guarantee same or next day support during the week and include unlimited remote support – we want it to be as easy as possible for you to speak to a geek when you need one.
Finally, one of the most rewarding parts of our work is helping people to realise the potential of their business – whether that’s streamlining systems, helping them move to a bigger office, or building a bespoke database for their website.
We like to talk to our clients when things are going well because that’s when they’re most enthusiastic about new ideas and growing their business.
“IT support is too expensive”
It’s time to stop thinking of IT Support as an expensive one-off cost, and start seeing it as an investment in your business.
Including an IT support plan in your business budget is usually the most cost-effective form of IT support (and you’ll get peace of mind thrown in for free, too).
IT Support isn’t just supplying computers and connecting printers.
When you outsource your IT headaches you’re not just buying hardware or time on the phone with a technician. You also benefit from working with a trusted team with decades of experience, time saved to work on your business, and the knowledge that when things do go wrong you’ll be back up and running in no time.
To put it simply, an IT support plan is a predictable monthly outgoing and is unlikely to be your biggest bill, but it could save you thousands of pounds when something goes wrong.
FYI – Our IT Support Plans start at just £15 per computer.
“I don’t need IT Support because I use an iMac”
We’re not sure why this myth persists, Dial a Geek have supported Mac users since we set up in 2006, so we have more than a decade of OS X support under our belts.
It might be because back in the good old days, Macs didn’t get viruses. Sadly that’s no longer true, and with exposure to viruses comes a whole host of security headaches.
As with our PC clients, we can advise you and train your team on the best practices to keep your business secure.
We regularly provide Mac support for email, wifi, 3rd-party software, syncing devices, new employee set-ups, office moves, and everything else small businesses require.
Ultimately, it’s less about the technology you have and more about what you want to do with it. Whether your business runs on Macs or PCs, or a mix of the two, our technicians can help you make the most of your machines.
“If a technician isn’t an expert in my specific software or hardware setup, they’re not qualified to do the job”
The IT industry is vast and constantly evolving, so while the Dial A Geek technician you work with may not be an expert in your particular setup, they will be an expert in IT Support for small businesses.
This is because many of the problems small and medium-sized businesses face require similar resolutions, so as a team we’ve encountered most things your business can throw at us.
We value bright, inquisitive minds highly in our team because problem-solving is a vital skill for any technician. If your setup is new to us, we’ll do the research so we can tackle it efficiently and with minimal disruption to your business.
Remember, by outsourcing your IT support to a team like Dial A Geek, you gain access to more than 30 years of IT experience and expertise.
“In-house IT Support is better than outsourced IT Support”
People are often worried that they’ll be spending a lot of money to essentially lose control of their IT when they switch to outsourced IT support.
But a good IT team, whether in-house or outsourced, will work alongside you to provide the support you need. They should never make you feel pressured into making a decision you don’t feel is right for your business, or skimp on the explanations you ask for.
Which is why you should treat choosing an IT company like recruiting a new member of staff. Make sure you feel comfortable working with the team you choose, they need to be good with people as well as computers.
As for cost, if you choose to bring your IT Support in-house you’ll spend at least £16,000pa on salary before you get to software and hardware costs. To make their salary cost-effective many businesses need them to be doing something else within the business as well. But this means their skillset is diluted, they’re not focused IT, and they may be unavailable when you need them.
In fact, we’re often called in by that person after they’ve spent a couple of days unsuccessfully tackling a problem and leaving their revenue-generating work to pile up.
When you outsource your IT support, you have a whole team of technicians at your fingertips, you don’t need to need to worry about holidays or sick days, and the monthly outgoing is usually far lower than the salary of an in-house technician.
Outsourced IT support saves you time and money, and your team will thank you for it.
“IT technicians are bad at communication”
This is the big fear for most people, which is why we recruit out geeks for their people skills as much as their technical skills. It can take a while to find the right geek, but it’s worth it.
All of our geeks have lives outside of IT; we’re yoga instructors, DJs, authors, tennis players, and roller skaters. If there was a Microsoft certification for human interaction, our geeks would ace it.
Check us out on Twitter and see for yourself!
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