3 Signs Your Business is Ready for Enterprise IT Support

When we talk to small to medium-sized business owners, they’re often surprised when we tell them that whether they have 15 employees or 500, enterprise IT support is something they might want to consider.

While bringing in IT support may not seem like a priority or an expense you want to take on right now, it is often the best solution to common business problems you may be facing, and it can make your company more efficient in the long run — ultimately freeing you up to focus on your business goals. What’s more important than that?

We also hear many business owners say that they “didn’t know what they needed until they had it!” regarding IT services. So we thought we would share a breakdown of the three signs your business might be ready for enterprise IT support to help propel your business forward. If you’re thinking, “Yep, that’s me!” to any of the below, it might be time to check out your options.

YOU SPEND A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME ON THE LITTLE THINGS
If you find yourself spending more time than usual coordinating navigating Outlook calendar scheduling, setting up and troubleshooting employee email accounts, transferring data and setting up storage solutions, or fixing technology that seems to always be malfunctioning, you may need enterprise IT support.

Oftentimes, smaller companies think that since they have fewer employees it will be easy to manage administrative duties on their own, but this is not the case. Even larger companies find themselves spending a huge chunk of their time on these types of duties — in fact, employees from larger companies report spending 14% of their workweek on email and 40% on meetings, administrative tasks and technology interruptions.

Imagine the improvement in efficiency and productivity when you bring in IT support early on in your business — we might argue your company will be able to scale much faster! 

When you bring in enterprise IT support, it is their job to monitor for technology issues and fix them when they arise so you don’t have to. If the tedious technology tasks you deal with on a regular basis are taking your focus away from your primary business goals, then bringing in an IT service partner may be a good choice for you.

There’s no question it will free you up to focus on what’s really important in your company’s success, and the opportunity cost of not having IT support is likely bigger than the actual cost of support! After all, your time is money, and so is your employees’ time. Leading us into our next sign.

EFFICIENCY LEVELS HAVE DROPPED AMONG EMPLOYEES
Having employees who complete their duties on time and correctly should be a priority for all business owners. If you start discovering that important projects aren’t being managed efficiently (or getting done at all), that employees are spending their time troubleshooting tools instead of serving clients, or that they are frustrated with your company’s technology, or lack thereof (if you aren’t sure, try asking via a survey), this could be a sign that enterprise IT support is right for you.

Globally, only 13% of employees are engaged at work, so why would you want to add extra tasks to their plate that would decrease their engagement in your business? By removing administrative duties from the hands of employees and placing them in the hands of true IT experts, you free up time (and brain space) for your personnel to prioritize their tasks, serve your customers with a high level of quality and increase overall employee engagement.

REPEAT ISSUES CONTINUE TO ARISE
One of the clearest signs you should consider enterprise IT support for your company is if you continuously find that the same issues are arising time and time again, and you simply don’t have the processes or systems in place to avoid them from recurring. As businesspeople, technology being down for even one hour can be detrimental to conducting business (and to presenting your company as one that is professional and organized). Additionally, 92% of employees agree that a company’s tendency to hit or miss deadlines impacts bottom-line results.

Some tools or technology that your company is currently using may not be the best choice for you, and it’s IT support’s job to tell you what technology options are available to you, and what is the best fit for your company. While you may not want to take on the extra expense of bringing in support, doing so may actually save you money (and time) in the long run by decreasing the risk of using technology that does not properly serve your business. If you set up your tech right from the start, you’ll surely avoid plenty of future time-sucking mishaps (and save yourself some headaches).

When considering if enterprise IT support is right for you, keep in mind these issues that we time and time again see small to medium-sized businesses grappling with. If you think your business is too small to benefit from the help, think again!

Remember that the technology within a company affects everyone involved — from your summer interns to your C-suite executives. Bringing in IT support may be just what you need to take your business to the next level. To learn more about what enterprise IT support can do for your business, check out TSP’s solutions here.