IT support: How to save money and increase productivity
When your computer system goes down it can cause a wave of mild panic to sweep through an office as you quickly scramble to get the system back online. Regardless of the industry you operate in, IT will be an integral part of your business, so keeping the system in check is crucial.
In fact, when it comes to accounting software, 51% of small business owners are using some sort of software, according to a survey by Yodle. One of the market leaders, Quickbooks, has stated that it now serves around 29 million businesses in the US, with five million of those being small businesses and 15 million self-employed individuals.
IT is an issue, but it doesn’t have to be
With more services either taking place on local networks or the internet, having the means to rectify an IT issue in the most effective manner possible is hugely important for your staff and business as a whole. The obvious answer to an IT issue is to hire an expert but, once you’ve got an expert, it’s the way you manage their time that really counts.
The average small business owner in the US makes $68,000 (£47,000) a year, according to a 2013 study by American Express OPEN. Now, when you factor PayScale.com’s suggestion that the average IT support worker will cost you around $58,000 (£40,000) per year, you can see that hiring someone to look after your IT services is a costly process.
Getting more bang for your IT buck
Therefore, with this in mind, you want to ensure you get the most bang for your buck when you do hire a dedicated IT technician. The natural inclination for most small business owners is to sit the technician in the office and let members of staff bombard them with questions as and when they arise. However, as you can imagine, this is a recipe for chaos, not to mention an overworked technician.
As we’ve said, getting the most bang for your buck is crucial when you’re paying a premium for an IT expert, so the best way to implement it is a help desk solution. Thanks to cloud technology and remote services, you can now pay a monthly fee and get an all-in-one help desk solution.
After setting up an account, these help desk solutions will give you and your IT technician access to advanced ticketing systems, problem tracking, security monitoring and a knowledge base.
IT efficiency is cost effective
Giving your IT team the means to effectively organise, monitor and, ultimately, deal with problems is the best way to get the most out of them. In fact, features such as a knowledge base are fantastic as they create how-to solutions to common problems and allow members of staff to address their own issues.
Managing the health of your IT network and that of the people behind it is all about delegation and time management. For example, let’s assume you hire an IT technician at a cost of $58,000 (£40,000) per year and they are overloaded with tasks due to an ineffective system.
One option would be to hire another technician to ease the burden, but this will cost another $58,000 (£40,000). In contrast, if you were to pay an average cost of $1,000 (£690) per month for a support system, you’d spend just $12,000 (£8,300) each year and get more productivity from a single technician.
Running a small business isn’t easy, especially when your IT services take a nosedive. Fortunately help is out there in the form of help desk solutions. Utilising these services is the best way to cut your long-term expenditure and increase the productivity of your IT department.
