"IT Policies Every Organization Needs"
Wednesday, March 30 at 11:00AM
Join DP Solutions for a discussion about the basics of technology policies and the IT policies every
organization needs.
Welcome New Clients!
The 3 Options For IT Support And How To Choose The One That Fits Your Business
If you’re a business owner or planning to open a new business, chances are you have looked into IT support options. For those unfamiliar with the world of IT support, it can be confusing trying to figure out which option is best for your business. You might be interested in the most cost-efficient option but worry that it won’t offer enough support. Maybe you have looked at more extensive options and wondered what is truly necessary for your company’s needs.
It can be problematic to look at cost alone to decide which option is best for you. When determining IT needs, there are three predominant options – that all come with different benefits and drawbacks – to consider before factoring in the cost of the company.
Time And Materials
Those in the industry who use the time-and-materials option are often referred to as “break-fix services.” This essentially means that you pay an agreed-upon hourly rate for a technician to “fix” a problem when something “breaks.” Many people like this option because it is the
most straightforward and simple way to pay for IT assistance, but it often doesn’t work in your favor and can even lead you to pay more
for basic services.
The only time that I would recommend the time-and-materials approach is if you already have a competent IT person or team proactively managing your IT and you need additional support for a problem that your current IT team doesn’t have the expertise to handle. Under the break-fix model, you’ll find a fundamental conflict of interest between you and your IT firm. The IT company has no immediate need to stabilize your network because they are getting paid hourly. Computer networks absolutely need ongoing maintenance and monitoring to stay secure – something the break-fix model cannot supply.
Managed IT Services
In this option, the IT services company takes over the role of your in-house IT department for a fixed and agreed-upon monthly rate. They’ll install, support and maintain all of the users, devices and PCs that are connected to your network on a routine basis. They will even take care of your hardware and software needs for an extra cost. This model works for many businesses because it allows them to plan for IT services in their monthly budget and provides the business with routine maintenance and IT support that they will need. With managed IT services that are offered by managed services providers, you need to pay attention to the services they deliver for their monthly fees. Sometimes your needs may cost extra or the services you truly need are simply not offered.
It’s my sincere belief that the managed IT approach is undoubtedly the most cost-effective and intelligent option for any business. Managed IT services are all about protecting your business from IT-related problems while keeping your systems up and running. In our current age, cybercriminals are working around the clock, trying to gather valuable data. Hiring a managed services provider will help protect your business and prevent common “disasters” such as rogue employees, lost devices, hardware failures, fires, natural disasters and a host of other issues that can interrupt or outright destroy your IT infrastructure and the data it holds.
Technology As A Service
The final option that you will run into on your hunt for IT support is companies offering technology as a service. These companies offer everything that managed IT services offer but with the addition of new hardware, software and support. This service ensures that your business is always up-to-date with the newest technologies. You’ll need to read the fine print, though since many of these companies do not cover third-party software. The greatest benefit of technology as a service is that you’ll avoid the heavy cost of new hardware and software when you need it, but you will be paying far more for the same hardware and software over time.
Choosing the correct form of IT support for your company is incredibly important and something you want to attend to. Mistakes could have disastrous effects on your business. If you’re unsure of which model will work best for you, give us a call. We’d be glad to help you find the perfect IT support for your business.
Get Different and Avoid Defeat
When I released my first book, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, I hoped that it would be met with instant success. Instead, nobody bought the book on its initial release day. I felt defeated like most would be in this situation. I quickly questioned my next step. Should I learn how to market effectively or simply give up on my hopes and dreams?
I knew that I wrote a good book and that it would help other entrepreneurs succeed, so it became my mission to properly market it. The lack of good and effective marketing is what holds many businesses back from reaching their goals.
If you want to beat the competition, you must differentiate yourself from the rest. My book Get Different explains ways that you can make your company more visible in the business marketplace. I truly believe that the three main steps from this book can help any company’s marketing strategy be more engaging and effective.
The first thing you need to do is differentiate your business from its competitors. Strong word-of-mouth marketing is incredibly difficult to achieve and can lead to failure. Instead, you should get out there and use your marketing tools to ensure that people know just how great your business is. Use your talents to standout from the crowd. Consumers will surely take notice of your brand if you appear to be more knowledgeable or even funnier than the competition.
After you get your consumers’ attention, you need to offer engagement opportunities. Give your campaign an authoritative, trustful or socially significant approach so they feel comfortable using your business.
Lastly, you need to be direct. Tell them what to do after getting their attention. Develop a call to action so customers and ideal prospects will take the next step. You can also measure the results and see how effective your marketing truly is when you pick a specific action.
Proper marketing can be very difficult to achieve, but with the right strategy, you will be on the road to business success.
Mike Michalowicz has always believed that he had the formula to success and has proved it on multiple occasions. He is the creator of Profit First, which is used by hundreds of thousands of companies across the globe to drive profit. He is the author of multiple books, including Get Different and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. Mike is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and served as a business makeover specialist for MSNBC. Mike currently leads two new multimillion-dollar ventures as he puts his latest research to the test. He also is a highly sought-after keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics.
Many people used to think about disasters as typical IT incidents such as system failure, ransomware incidents, or power outages. While these are still critical disasters to plan around, the pandemic brought a shift to increased decentralization of technology and people, changing the way we work, the security landscape, and how we define and respond to a disaster. Now our Disaster Recovery Plans need to be broader and more comprehensive than ever before.
In his guest article on Tripwire, Ben Schmerler discusses building and maintaining a strong Disaster Recovery Plan.
Get the Article Here:
Change your default credentials on home routers and other devices
If I went to visit a family member and they were having issues with their home Wireless Access Point, I would go into the device settings and see if I could find anything unusual.
Most of the time, this is easy to do, because the device is wide open. Or maybe they have a Post-it Note next to the device with their credentials on it that would allow me to get in.
However, if I don’t know the credentials to login, there’s one thing that usually does the trick: just do a Google search for the default credentials.
It’s extremely common for home users to not change the default administrative username and password on their devices. But if someone finds their way to the device in a browser, uses the default credentials, and accesses the settings, they can do a lot of damage.
Fortunately, changing default credentials is something that can be easily done at setup. If you are reading this and you haven’t had it done yet, maybe you should investigate it for yourself.
