These days, small businesses are more dependent on IT systems than at any other time in history. Because of this, even the slightest technological hiccups in our cyberspace-centered workflow can have expensive, lasting consequences. Perhaps the most dramatic illustration of this occurred back in 2013, when Amazon went dark for half an hour. Sure, it was a paltry 30 minutes, no big deal, until you consider the mega giant was theoretically hemorrhaging nearly £50,000.00 every 60 seconds, based on their quarterly revenue!!!
Of course, your company probably isn’t a staple of international commerce like Jeff Bezos’s beloved brainchild. Because of this, many small business owners think that a server down or small security breach here and there won’t matter too much for their bottom line. For these unlucky few, IT takes a back seat to more “pressing” issues, and they go the inexpensive route with their technicians. This cost-cutting solution seems like the idea of the year, and will undoubtedly work great for the business - until it doesn’t.
Maybe your long-term technicians fail to notice a piece of outdated equipment, and your server gives up the ghost during peak business hours? Virtually all work grinds to a halt, and your employees are forced to while away the two hours it takes to fix it, playing with their Nerf guns. Add up the two hours of wasted wages for your entire team, the financial cost of missed business, and the much more intangible loss of customer goodwill as they struggle with diminished service on a workday, and you’ll come up with a sum that disabuses any business owner of their illusions about “cheap” IT.
That’s not even close to the worst-case scenario. Imagine, for a minute, that your technicians assure you, despite the lack of regular monitoring and maintenance that your network is secure. These words of comfort sound nice until the day a team of expert hackers actually attempt to access your systems, and the inadequate security solutions you have in place are basically a front door left wide open. At that moment, your business becomes a criminal’s playground. They’re free to access financial information and personal data of your customers and employees, hijack your business to send out floods of malicious software and spam, hold nearly every aspect of the company ransom for thousands of pounds, and cause chaos to their heart’s content.
The fact is, fixing problems is a lot more expensive than preventing them. When you cut corners and utilize below par IT professionals (in house or outsourced), you’re paying for an array of shoddy, plaster solutions that will be applied piecemeal, and usually too late, like a finger plugging a hole in a dam. But when you make a substantial investment in your IT support, you’re investing in the most basic aspects of the future of your company.
Robust network security, dependable computers and servers, consistent Internet access, and other fundamental components of your company network are far from luxury items. These days, technology forms the scaffolding upon which businesses run. If any piece of the operation fails, the whole system suffers, usually accompanied by a large financial penalty.
There is an ever-growing, endless list of potential technological pitfalls that can have permanent consequences for your business: teams of hackers zeroing in on vulnerable small businesses, rogue employees with a grudge, lost laptops, aging and unreliable hardware, fire, natural disasters, and IT “professionals” that have no idea what they’re doing, to name just a few. As technology progresses, and companies depend increasingly on it to stay competitive, it simply doesn’t make sense to relegate IT to the neglected corners of your budget.
When it comes to business, there’s a lot to worry about these days. A total collapse of your company’s technological infrastructure doesn’t need to be one of them. Invest in a robust, managed IT package from tried-and tested professionals and leave the worrying to the experts. You can rest assured that our IT team of experts truly has you covered.
At Vermont our passion is to educate and support you in every stage of your IT journey. This ensures secure, stress free IT that works and grows with your business.
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If you have any questions regarding this article or if there's anything else that I can help with, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Chris Ward, Technical Director, chrismward@vermont.co.uk, Vermont Systems Ltd, IT Support & IT Services