Why Every Business Needs a Great IT Team

by Melanie Griffin

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When people think of information technology ("IT") services, especially in business terms, it is easy to envision a couple of guys with lanyards who help you login to a portal when you forget your password or who come and reset the internet after it crashes. The truth, however, is that IT is one of the most, if not arguably the most, important parts of running any business, regardless of whether you are running a two-person small business or mega corporation.

As mentioned in Three Strategies to Effectively Manage Your Time as a Small Business Owner, I previously worked for an organization that failed to invest in its technology. As a result, the office I was tasked with leading lost hundreds of hours of time and thousands of dollars of profit over a two-year period. Finally, the organization finished upgrading its outdated systems. By then, however, my office was negatively impacted beyond the bottom line; morale, reputation, client relationships and more all suffered due to the inability to efficiently work over such a prolonged period. For me, this experience crystallized the integral role that technology plays in the success of your business.

This belief is heightened in the era of Coronavirus. Now, more than ever, businesses are reliant on technology for more activities than ever before. From supporting remote workforces and client and customer relationships, to increased online sales and orders, to the prevalence of social media advertising, and beyond, almost every facet of business in which we engage today is reliant on fast, efficient, modern and effective technology. This makes working with an IT team who can support the broad umbrella of your technology needs incredibly important.

In addition to ensuring your system is secure, an increasingly important topic given the growing prevalence of issues like phishing scams and ransomware attacks in the bitcoin era, a rock star IT team can help you handle issues like the following (and more!) on a day-to-day basis: 

  1. Moving data to the cloud and managing the cloud;
  1. Keeping confidential data safe and secure and managing antivirus, an essential component to your business especially if it collects personal information from customers or clients such as through online sales and/or is a business that regularly handles sensitive information such as a law office or accounting firm;
  1. Setting up, maintaining, and developing software, apps, programs, and other platforms;
  1. Integrating different systems;
  1. Managing social media and websites; and
  1. Tracking analytics and other data, important to knowing what is working in your business, and what is not, so that you can make necessary changes.

Again, these are just a few of the many examples with which your business likely needs IT assistance. In reality, IT professionals daily perform countless tasks, making them an integral part of your team and success. For this reason, the IT professionals you hire to assist your business is one of the most important decisions you can make. Having the right IT support team for your business is essential to keeping everything integrated, up-to-date, and running smoothly and efficiently. 

Many companies make the mistake of hiring one IT professional when an IT team would be more beneficial. Not only can a team better support the number of IT requests depending on the size and complexity of your organization, given the breadth of the technology field, oftentimes, a single technician is skilled in handling a certain subset of IT issues, not all technology issues that may come your way. So, having a team of professionals who can each assist your business with its various IT challenges will ensure your business can best handle any technology problem that may arise.

With the importance of technology in mind, make it a point to ensure your business has the IT support it needs. As discussed herein, over time, if your technology is ignored, cracks will develop in your foundation that eventually cause it to crumble. Strategically building the IT component of your business, however, will help ensure its long-term success.

And, do YOU have additional tips that will help the SYS community?! We’re sure you do, so please share your advice by emailing Melanie at melanie@spreadyoursunshine.com or messaging Spread Your Sunshine on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter. We love hearing from you, as together we are strongest.

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