I’m a big fan of taking care of small tech problems before they become big problems and of preventing problems from occurring in the first place. I believe this is what sets a good I.T. firm apart from a mediocre one.
Some unscrupulous I.T. firms claim that “We come in and take care of all the issues on your computers at the beginning so that there won’t be any problems going forward.”
Really? Wow, that’s amazing support! Somehow, they can anticipate and fix every problem before it occurs.
In reality, true I.T. Wellness support sets up systems that ensure that issues are taken care of early.
Proactive I.T. Wellness support includes the following concepts and activities:
- Perform remote monitoring of all servers and workstations.
- Do automated updates and patching of Windows and third-party software.
- Conduct regular maintenance of servers and workstations.
- Keep a view of the whole network and computer infrastructure.
- Have meetings and planning sessions for the future of the whole system.
The older “Break/Fix” model for I.T. support—where the I.T. firm waits for a support call and then goes out to fix the problem—doesn’t really work anymore. I do get calls from time to time from companies looking for someone to come in and do a quick fix for something that isn’t working. If I take these calls at all, I use the situation as an opportunity to present them our I.T. Wellness support plan.
Getting back to that idea of fixing everything before the problems occur, I have some thoughts on that.
There’s a difference between an I.T. firm whose philosophy is reactive and a firm who is proactive but responds to customer requests. The goal of Nonlinear Tech—and any firm that’s trying to stay ahead of issues—is that we set up proactive support systems to minimize technical issues that may arise down the road.
I find that some I.T. firms confuse the idea of proactive support with managed services. Essentially, “managed services” is a billing arrangement in which the client pays a flat rate per PC or server and the firm agrees to maintain the computers and network on that same rate. They may be doing proactive support, or they may be very reactive.
Although it may seem that the I.T. firm is doing more work for less money, just know that managed services isn’t always the best choice for a small business and that it doesn’t always save money. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it is more expensive.
For all businesses, having an I.T. Wellness mindset is the right way to care for your infrastructure.
For my clients, we offer the proactive support that I call I.T. Wellness. In fact, we don’t do any other kind. We’re proactively taking good care of them.