Tag: technology spending

  • 5 Reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider and how to make the most of it

    5 Reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider and how to make the most of it

    If you’re a small business owner and you work with an outsourced IT provider you’re not alone, statistics vary but it’s estimated up to 60% of small businesses utilize a third-party resource for their IT.

    This can look different depending on your particular size and needs, for some businesses it can look like support for existing IT staff, for other businesses their entire IT needs are shifted onto a third party IT resource. There is no one size fits all solution, the needs of your business are unique and your IT support provider should be a resource for helping you grow your business and keep up with the technology demands of modern work places.

    That is why it’s so important you meet with your IT team at the minimum annually, although we really could make a strong argument for quarterly (especially during times of intense growth or change within your business). Keeping them in the loop allows them to provide for your business adequately and on the opposite end you can learn about their recommendations for your business, which are often times free or low-cost solutions and improvements to your technology infrastructure and security.

    Even for recommendations that carry a cost you can plan for these things in advance rather than having it come up as an unpleasant surprise later on, an example would be let’s say their reporting has discovered your on-premises server is struggling to keep up with your demand or even showing signs of failure. This could be talked about in a meeting ahead of time but instead it might become a major headache when the server fails spontaneously and has to be replaced on the spot. Maybe you would have thought about making the move to the cloud this year or could have planned out your hardware purchases to coincide with more favorable timing, you’ll never know but hindsight is 20/20 and you will probably make a different choice going forward.

    So, what are the 5 reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider?

    1. Future Planning: As we outlined in the scenario above, having this meeting allows you to create a plan for the year ahead. If your business has a busy season (most of us do) you can schedule any maintenance or downtime during the off-season. You can plan out hardware purchasing, software upgrades, cybersecurity improvements and more.
    2. Review Documentation: Your annual meeting is also a great time to review any reports your IT service provider has created for your business. At Valley Techlogic we’re constantly tracking items we’re doing on the back end for our clients, the regular maintenance, our 24/7 cyber security monitoring, backup and data services we provide just to name a few.
    3. Project Planning: We also suggest touching on any projects you would like to complete, such as switching out your traditional landline system to VoIP, security cameras (if they provide that service) and any installation or infrastructure projects. Even if you’re not ready to commit to them now, keeping your IT provider in the loop will allow them to plan for these projects on their end as well and keep them in mind when doing their own scheduling.
    4. Service Delivery Improvements: Whether you’re currently happy with your IT providers’ services or not, are they aware of it? Your annual meeting is a great time to review the services you have with your provider and whether they’re currently meeting your expectations (if they’re not, maybe it’s time to make a change and our Switching IT providers kit can help you do it).
    5. Reviewing Past Work: In the same vein, this annual meeting should also be used for reviewing the work they have done for you this last year and any follow-up requests. Despite all the tools and widgets we use in the IT industry, we’re still not omnipresent and sometimes a request is better delivered verbally. They will probably have in their meeting notes items they wish to go over and revisit to make sure you were satisfied with the outcome as well.

    We could address even more benefits of having this an annual meeting with your provider but these five will greatly improve the services they’re able to provide for your business and get you the most value out of the service you’re paying for.

    If you’re working with an IT service provider who doesn’t give you the option of meeting annually, it would be our recommendation you look for a new provider. Our Switching IT Provider’s kit makes it easy to switch (we even provide you with a template letter for discontinuing your service) and if you’re looking for an IT service provider who makes meeting with clients regularly a priority, than why not give Valley Techlogic a shot by clicking here or the image below.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • 5 Ways to Reduce Your IT Costs and Eliminate Wasteful Spending

    5 Ways to Reduce Your IT Costs and Eliminate Wasteful Spending

    In 2023 it feels like the cost of everything is skyrocketing, from eggs being $10 for a dozen, to the price of a used car being up 61% compared to 2019.

    Consumers and business owners alike are scrambling to cut costs where they can, and as a business owner you may be tempted to target your technology spending.

    While technology spending is usually a tiny fraction of the overall cost of running a business (4-6% annually is the average), it’s still a commonly targeted sector. This is usually because it’s one of the least visible items business owners spend money on. While tangible products your business needs day to day are more obvious, a good bit of the money spent on technology in a business is for prevention or maintenance.

    Whether it be software upgrades, new peripherals that function behind the scenes, or money spent on cybersecurity efforts, these are purchases you may not see the obvious immediate benefit from especially if you’re not tech savvy.

    These “invisible” costs occur and leave business owners wondering, do I really need this service or product?

    The answer is a resounding yes, for the most part. While money spent on preventative measures is often a tough pill to swallow, the money you would have to spend recovering from something that could have been prevented will be even tougher (and costlier).

    However, there are some areas of technology spending that are worth taking a look at. We have found that many business owners who utilize our services are already paying for redundant IT services, they just didn’t know it.

    Another example is we have had many clients that sign up with Valley Techlogic, and upon reviewing their internet bill or phone bill we find that they’re drastically overpaying.

    Here are the five ways we suggest cutting your IT spending in 2023:

    1. The first one is touched on above, check your internet bill. As with consumer internet services there are often specials that can be taken advantage of to reduce your overall cost, but if your internet service costs have ballooned out of control it might be time to look for a new provider.
    2. The same is true for your phone service, especially if you’re still using landline phones. Switching to a VoIP service could save your business a substantial amount, but if you’re not ready for that yet you can also just see if all of the lines you’re paying for are being used. We’ve found during customer audits they often have phone lines that ring to nowhere and can be safely disconnected.
    3. Another thing you can do is look for redundant services, if you have several programs aimed at cybersecurity they may have overlapping services – allowing you to cancel the one with the least features. Also, if you’re a Microsoft 365 customer you could consider switching your users to Premium to take advantage of the security features provided by Microsoft directly (at an often greatly reduced cost to stand alone products).
    4. Consider whether virtualization will reduce your hardware costs. There’s a lot of talk about “moving to the cloud”, but for many business owners that’s a nebulous topic. To put it in a nutshell, there is a significant upfront cost to moving your business’s data to the cloud, but you will reap the reward on the backend from reduced infrastructure costs.
    5. Finally, consider whether it makes sense to hiring internally or outsource your IT help. For larger businesses hiring IT staff can make sense to handle the load of their business, but for medium to small businesses hiring a dedicated person is often much more expensive then having a technology service plan through a provider like us. Even for larger businesses, having a technology service plan from a provider can make more sense than continuously hiring additional staff to address an additional need for help.

    If you need help reviewing your IT spending to find out whether it’s in line, or whether a service plan through us can help you address this topic and many more – schedule a consultation with us today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.