With the holidays firmly behind us, 2018 is in full swing. February always seems to be the time when activity in the business world increases dramatically.
We’re seeing business owners and managers focusing on their strategic objectives. Their first order of business: getting rid of any obstacle in their way. In some cases, this obstacle is information technology (IT).
I’ve had the pleasure of consulting with a substantial number of small business owners this month who are very frustrated with IT, and everything that surrounds it. Because IT is involved in absolutely every facet of business today, it’s hard to make a move without considering the IT impact.
It seems like CEOs and managers have reached a boiling point. Almost every person I’ve chatted with has mentioned virtually the same issues:
- Slow response time by the provider
- Recurring issues never get resolved
- Internet is slow or keeps going down
- The provider doesn’t understand my company
- IT isn’t on the same page as me
- Accountability isn’t present
- I feel “nickeled-and-dimed”
- I’ve been hacked (or Crypto'd) and lost everything
…to name a few.
For me, the most interesting part of these conversations comes after chatting about the CEO or manager’s expectations.
Executives seem to feel like the expertise and business processes involved with generating exceptional IT results are easy – therefore, the solutions to these problems shouldn't require any additional investment beyond what they’re currently paying.
The reason these expectations are set where they are, is because it’s difficult for technology users to see exactly what it takes behind the scenes to keep that technology running – and to do it well.
It’s a challenge that IT managers, in-house or outsourced, face daily.
Information technology is somewhat of a cloud (no pun intended) that non-IT professionals have trouble seeing through. And the IT industry hasn’t made it any easier in a lot of cases. IT services are delivered very differently from provider-to-provider, yet the service program might be named the same thing!
The good news is, owners and managers who see the strategic value in an IT investment are seeing great business financial and growth results. Finding someone to help you see through the haze will be incredibly valuable to getting the results you want.
Have a great March!
Marty
Related: Technology Problems and Roadblocks that Prevent Small Business Growth
