Unified Communication (UC) solutions have become a topic of discussion for companies ranging in size. Whether you’re an SMB to an enterprise company, UC is becoming a must-have for all businesses.

Your business is dependent on technology and you need your IT systems to be running in tip-top shape. When IT fires of any size come up, how are they being put out? Do you have a small IT team or a “tech-savvy” employee to take care of the problem? Maybe you call in an S.O.S. IT service, either way, you’re most likely suffering huge losses of time, effort, and money spent on emergency break/fix-it problems.

How do you prefer to acquire a new vehicle? Your preference could help you understand your choices when it comes to your information technology infrastructure. Are you the traditional type who likes to own your vehicle? You prefer to pay your car off in full and (eventually) enjoy not having a monthly note? Of course, as your vehicle ages, you’ll usually pay more for repair and maintenance. You could also outgrow your purchase. For example, how many of you started with something small and sporty, had kids, and then realized you needed something with a bit more room and cargo capacity? Hello, minivan (or SUV). Or do you prefer to lease and acquire something new every few years? You always have a monthly note to pay, but the vehicle will always be under warranty and repair/maintenance is often included for routine checks. What does this have to do with your IT infrastructure, especially your network infrastructure and backup and recovery?

What’s your plan for cybersecurity planning? There aren’t enough qualified cybersecurity professionals in the world for all of the businesses that need to hire one to hire one (hint: that would be every business). We’ve detailed this cybersecurity hiring gap in a post last year. While efforts are being made to close the gap, the demand for cybersecurity experts continues to exceed supply. As a small to medium business, what does this mean for you? You will have a hard time recruiting and retaining top-notch cybersecurity staff. Since every business is a potential target for cybercriminals and every business has data (customer details, financial information, etc.) of interest to cybercriminals, how do you keep your business’ data secure from cybercriminals without in-house expertise? Here’s a short list of do’s (and one don’t) to minimize the effects of this talent gap.

We’ve said before that when it comes to choosing which company is best for you, we believe in maximum choice. But the reality is that no two companies (and their proposed solutions) can practically be compared. Just like apples and oranges, managed service providers are radically different. Other than the fact that managed IT providers all typically sell solutions, recommendations can vary greatly. Our approach is always to identify the specific needs of our clients so that they can achieve their goals. Sadly, many providers walk into a sale with their own agenda, force fitting their products as an answer to a customer’s problems. On the customer side, buyers frequently focus on price because it’s so easily measured. We’ve highlighted a few areas that we think are important for customers to remember when comparing providers and seeking their own unique, customized plan:  

Shopping online today is super convenient. Your options are almost limitless. You hardly have to do anything, and a product is delivered to your door. What’s not convenient is when that thing arrives and it doesn’t fit—a rare part for your gadget that needs fixing, a pair of shoes, or a piece of clothing. Your joyful anticipation can be crushed in a heartbeat because it’s not the right size. In business, it can feel the same way when it comes to IT projects. That’s why so many are more likely to fail or even take flight. More often than not, solution providers try to fit a product they are pushing to a company, not the other way around. This usually happens when customers and solutions providers don’t take enough time to do an honest needs assessment, and/or:

When you are down in the trenches in the day-to-day of your everyday business operations, it’s so easy to miss the big picture. That’s why so many leaders fall into the trap of setting IT goals that they can never actually achieve, especially when it comes to managed agreements. Pair that with the fact that it’s not always easy to hand over control to an outside IT consultant and you have the two reasons why IT projects often fail. The professional comes in, thinks they understand the client’s goals, and they completely miss the mark. Projects are launched, and over time, fail because the company’s real challenges and goals were never fully communicated. Whatever your kryptonite — communication, unrealistic goal setting, or the inability to relinquish control — the key to completing a successful IT partnership is to first take a step back and evaluate your goals (and limits) so you know what you are even asking for a solution for. Ask yourself these four questions:

A new year means new threats. Small businesses across the country are scrambling to keep up with the new normal that is the Internet of Things (IoT) - the billion or so devices sharing data and information around the globe. As brilliant as it may be to be so connected, security breaches that can compromise personal and company data are closer than ever before. Today, everything is connected to make life easy, more fluid, and self service. Whether it’s a mobile phone, workplace desktop, or even home-based digital assistant, people are increasingly dependent on technology with very little understanding of the risk.

They say history repeats itself, so in honor of President’s Day this month, we’ve collected a few tidbits of wit and wisdom from our founding fathers and applied it to navigating the challenging world of small business IT. "It is by a thorough knowledge of the whole subject that [people] are enabled to judge correctly of the past and to give a proper direction to the future." - James Monroe It’s hard to know where you are going if you don’t know where you have been, or even where you are for that matter. That’s why having “A Plan” for IT always starts with a thorough assessment of your company’s network infrastructure.