Stephen Warrilow |

Author: Stephen Warrilow

The True Cost Of “One-Off” IT Support

To many small business owners it may seem perfectly logical to bring in an IT support specialist as and when you have an identified need. But the reality is that the one-off approach to IT support issues leaves many holes and doubts and it can prove expensive.

We work with business owners and senior management of organizations with less that 200 staff providing a one-stop shop for all their IT infrastructure needs. We have been doing since 1996. Over this time we regularly come across the same, repeated concerns facing SME management. Regardless of business sector, the same challenges continue to crop up. One of the big recurring issues is to do with the cost – the true cost – of one-off IT support.

“We don’t know what we don’t know…”

This issue of the true cost of one-off support falls into the “we don’t know what we don’t know” category.

For many owners of small businesses, dealing with IT support and maintenance is the same as dealing with car maintenance. In other words, it’s OK with the “known knowns” e.g. a printer isn’t working/a tire is flat, BUT how do you deal with the “unknown unknowns”? How do you deal with the problems that I don’t know about, like security, malware protection, data leakage?

A lack of consistency leads to cost in-efficiency

Over reliance on “one-off” support can expensive. Here is a typical scenario: You have a problem, for example User A can’t print, so you get external technical support to come in and fix it. They update the printer software and get User A printing and leave. BUT, the very next day, Users B & C can’t print either, so you call the IT support people back in again for yet another fix ….AND yet another fee!

The business impact of your over-reliance on one-off support means that you do not have the consistency and cost efficiency of a centralised and holistic approach that would instead install printers centrally, and roll out appropriate changes and updates to all users via a centralised policy.

Two further examples of how the small business owner’s lack of knowledge is a big exposure for the business:

[1] You bring in external IT support to solve a problem and yet they break other components…and you have know way of knowing.

[2] You can’t determine whether quotes to repair/upgrade are valid, realistic and appropriate.

If you would like to discuss this issue and what it means for your business, please get in touch. Since inception in 1996, PASR Technologies has been providing SME business owners with a level of service and support to the SME business owner that is typically only directly available in very large organisations.

Servicing businesses from 10 to up to 200 employees, our clients range from local SMEs through to regional offices of larger MNCs, and include airlines.

At PASR Technologies, we solve your IT problems before you even realize you have one!

The Qualities Of A Trusted Advisor

There is a lot of talk in consulting circles about the need for IT services providers to move beyond being excellent technicians and become trusted advisors.

So what does this mean in practise?

Business owners of companies with under 200 staff do not have access/budget to have an IT Director. However, by employing the services of a virtual IT director who acts as a Trusted Advisor the business owner can receive timely and appropriate advice for their business situation.

In this context, the virtual IT director will meet formally with the business owner on a regular basis to discuss strategy concerning technology platform and direction. The major benefit of this is that the business owner thus does not need to be IT-literate to make informed decisions about how to use IT to the best advantage in the business.

The alternative – and usual route for so many business owners – is to rely on one-off consultants and vendors who have the obvious agenda of wanting to push and sell their own products/services.

So what’s special about a Trusted Advisor?

Jason Haddock in his excellent blog “What does it mean to be a trusted advisor?” makes the excellent point that what lies at the heart of building a trusted relationship is TRUST!

In Mick Cope’s book, “The Seven C’s of Consulting” he outlines a great acronym for trust:

Truthful
Responsive
Uniform
Safe
Technically Competent

According to a recent survey: first and foremost they are great communicators – “they communicate the invisible well”. They must also display superior creativity in “listening to client issues and creating a solution strategy that clearly shows how it solves the problem quickly and thoroughly”.

Another key quality is the ability to seize the initiative, Trusted Advisors “take ownership of the client more, whereas average performers take ownership of the problem”.

Putting the client first is another key attribute: “always seeking ways to provide a greater value to the customer.”

What Separates Trusted Advisors from Everybody Else?

Jim Alexander is founder of Alexander Consulting and he has conducted research with 80 senior executives to provide some direction in learning how trusted advisors act differently from others holding the same job description. Figure 1 below shows the seven most important categories of responses from 80 executives regarding the key behavioral differences between these trusted advisors and everybody else.

What Does a Trusted Advisor Look Like?

As Jim Alexander says, the term “trusted advisor” is such a catchy phrase, but how do you really know one when you see one? He suggests that you can recognize trusted advisors by these

characteristics:

Clients ask for them by name
They are sought out for advice that goes beyond their described expertise.
They maintain relationships that aren’t just technical.
They have such strong personal brands that outsiders seek them out for speaking engagements, writing articles, or special projects.

Read the full report: What Trusted Advisors Do That Others Don’t

How Can PASR Help You As A Business Owner?

Peter Rigbye is the Managing Director of PASR and acts as a Virtual IT Director for many of PASR’s clients. Peter says:

“With 38 years in the IT industry, from supply, to service management, to service consumption, and with the prior 14 years in a banking environment, I am well aware of the issues that businesses face in operating, securing and protecting their IT assets. Specifically:

I diagnose your root causes rather than just fixing the problems as reported!

I specialise in solving IT issues for SME business owners… once and for all!”

If you would like to discuss this, PASR Technologies has been providing SME business owners with a level of service and support to the SME business owner that is typically only directly available in very large organisations.