How IT Support can keep your business ahead of the Competition

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Technology: We can’t live with it, we can’t live without it; when it works, it’s wonderful, but when it all goes pear-shaped…well, we all know that feeling! That’s part of the reason why we started this blog, because it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in nowadays, there will always be some kind of IT system involved somewhere. These can heavily influence your day-to-day tasks – so ensuring the system works to what you actually require is key when it comes to the smooth running of your business.

Whether you use your IT system for processing orders or invoices, for customer support or for building websites, it’s vital that everything’s all up-to-date and well protected with no unexpected glitches. Having your system go down, even for a short time, can seriously affect your business – we’ve seen it happen many times over. But the problems can sometimes go much further than you think, even as far as to turn your potential customers away and giving your competitors chance to steal those extra few sales or leads while you’re busy getting everything fixed. What can you do then?

Ask the Experts

It may seem trite, but while your current team may be proficient enough in using technology for their everyday roles, and while they may be able to troubleshoot slight issues, there will always be that more taxing problem that leaves your workforce shrugging and looking blankly back at you. At this stage, it really is time to turn to the experts.

Having an in-house IT team or external business IT support will give you peace of mind when a situation arises; you know there will be someone with the know-how on hand to get you up and running again as quickly as possible – minimising the impact of your downtime.

Cutting costs

The decision to opt for an in-house IT team or to opt for external support may well depend on the type of business you have. One of the basic facts of life (apart from technology becoming more prevalent) is that business is business, and there will always be a question of cost to be asked. One of these options may be far more beneficial to you depending on your needs, so weigh up the pros and cons first.

Having your IT guys in the same building full-time might be great for fast communication and may be viable if your company is large enough and you have the space to accommodate the experts. Then again, having them on the payroll can certainly put greater pressure on your costs. For many, outsourcing IT support is far more cost-effective and just as convenient – increasing that precious profit. The cash that has been saved by working with an external team can then be put to good use in other areas of the business – helping you to develop and grow your empire. But there are down sides too, especially if your IT company of choice is always kept very busy on the phone or is more than a quick round trip away from your office.

Up-to-date knowledge

Do you know that tray on your base unit isn’t a cup holder? Good – that’s a start, but IT can get way more complicated than that. Do you know your IP Address from your MAC address? How about your HTTP from your PHP? Really? Not bad, but as we mentioned before, the world of IT is anything but static, so if you have anything less than an avid interest in the latest technology, you’re gonna have a bad time eventually.

Here’s where outsourcing your IT really comes into its own – IT teams across the UK will be experienced in dealing with a range of issues. Not only that, but they will have done so across a range of different industries – making it easy for them to be able to meet your exacting needs. They are also the people on the technological front line, living and breathing IT on a daily basis; so utilising business IT support in Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, or wherever you happen to be will ensure that you are receiving up-to-date information and reliable support for your area, regardless of your query.

Having a knowledgeable team on hand will alleviate the plethora of technical worries that come with running a company in the digital age, freeing you up to focus on other things and push your business ahead of the competition.