How do you know when it is time to change IT providers? Do you wait until some unforeseen disaster? Until you find out all their best techs have left? Until your competitors are moving past you due to higher levels of tech enabled productivity?
Changing IT providers is right up there with finding a new accounting or legal group to work with.
The bad guys are real, especially on the Internet. In fact, the bad guys of the Internet are worse than those in real life. At least you can SEE the ones in real life and defend yourself or flee. The baddies of the Internet come into your house, sit on all the furniture, make a mess, and steal your stuff….all while you are in the kitchen hanging out unaware!
No amount of security will stop them from attempting to break in and nothing is foolproof.
Business managers continue to want to justify getting all the "good" out of their capital equipment purchases. Computer equipment should no longer be put in this category. Computers replaced on a 4 year lifecycle will deliver higher productivity for your staff, reduced (or no) downtime, and more overall profit for your business.
Do you ever wonder how that email address you type in actually gets delivered? Understanding the basics of email delivery will enhance your understanding of how phishing and spam attacks work. This is a bit technical, but worth understanding as an end-user.
We covered the basic security options that are available to all M365 plans here. This is the equivalent of locking your doors at night, a good idea, but not enough if you have someone that really wants to get into your house. Unfortunately there is no equivalent of a "safe" neighborhood on the Internet, if you are utilizing email you will eventually be targeted for a break-in!
The biggest attack vector for breaking in is email.
Collaboration is the act of working with someone to produce or create something. In today's workplace the words "in real time" need to be added to this. Sending emails back and forth is not collaboration, and it is certainly not productive! When working remotely it is critical to standardize on a collaboration application across your organization.
No matter how good the technology or smart the end-user, there will always be a need for IT support. Plug and Play was a big deal in the 90's and we all know how that turned out! Getting the most out of your remote workforce requires that you provide IT support that can handle a variety of hardware, software, and end-user expectations.
Going from servers to services is a lot like playing a game of Jenga. You have to pull out all the various blocks (apps) without knocking over the tower (your business). You can go for the slow methodical method, or the "turn if off and see who complains" method.
The importance of industry expertise should not be overlooked when selecting a technology partner. Technology itself is standards-based, but the familiarity with HOW technology is used in a specific industry will accelerate your productivity gains with it.
The impact of technology in the professional contractor industry has changed drastically over the past ten years. The explosion of mobile devices, ubiquitous LTE connectivity, and cloud-based file storage has made a big difference. Running from job-site to job-site with file folders full of timesheets, bill of materials, and progress reports can be a thing of the past with the right use of technology.