The Datamax Thinking Blog

IT service partners often fail for one (or all) of these reasons: data loss, poor communication / customer service, downtime, and security breach. How's your partner doing?

Not every service partner will meet your expectations.

I know, I know; not a particularly shocking or unexpected revelation. We've all been disappointed in business services, whether it was the company that built your deck or the one that attempted to manage your network.

Sometimes you choose the wrong company. 

Establishing quantifiable, standardized benchmarks which are then scored will allow senior business executives to begin assessing, and managing, their technology infrastructure as a whole.

Working with small and medium-sized businesses and helping manage their technology is as challenging as it is rewarding. Although every business is different, there are aspects common to all. For example, the business of an architect is different than a CPA, yet each must communicate, each must meet payroll, and each must be able to manage finances.

While here at Datamax we don’t believe there’s a secret sauce, we do believe in technology and think there are a few key “ingredients” that are critical to our clients’ achieving success.

IT projects don’t fail because of the information technology – and if they do it’s rare. Most IT projects fail when a company thinks they’ve found some sort of “secret sauce” of technology; as if ineffective business processes are going to magically be fixed or improved and employees will immediately be able to adapt and use the new tools. On the contrary, research from the Project Management Institute shows that changing mindsets and attitudes is viewed as the greatest barrier to new project success by 58% of people. 

There aren’t many shortcuts in life, especially when it comes to changing attitudes (those of us with stubborn children can relate).

Managed network services is more challenging than most people think it is. You know that though, don’t you?

Well guess what? You’re fired!

And thank goodness for it! There are a few truisms in life, and I believe one of them is that no matter how easy something may appear on the surface; it’s almost always at least twice as hard to actually do it (and twice as hard is just for starters).

81% of the respondents reported that negligent employees or other insiders have been responsible for at least one unintentional data breach within their organizations over the past two years. - The Human Factor in Data Protection Study¹

While companies will always be fearful of the malicious ‘bad apple’ employee, numerous studies have shown that most internal security breaches are accidental or unintentional; mostly a result of clever phishing tactics. Phishing is a scam featuring a malicious program posing as legitimate – an email seemingly sent by someone in your contacts, but the actual address is unfamiliar. Inadvertently, a well-meaning employee could succumb to such a scam by not realizing that something isn’t right. By properly identifying these causes, companies can not only inform employees of the risks, but can also reduce their exposure to these cyber-attacks. If employers take the time to educate employees on how to identify these threats, small business with limited resources can drastically reduce their own exposure at little to no additional cost.

“We have met the enemy and he is us.” – Walt Kelly

Poor communication?  In the top three?  Really? That's not a misprint ... poor communication.

There are many benefits from embracing this new network management paradigm: improved uptime, enhanced customer service and end user support, more efficient operations, and improved budget management to name a few. These benefits are realistic and attainable, yet many managed service providers struggle to deliver the promised benefits. Given the advantages provided by new technology, what else is required to be successful providing managed network services? Experience in the marketplace has shown that companies will fire technology service providers primarily for one of three reasons:

Any device that can access your network is a potential security loophole. Close it.

Look around your office. How many printers, scanners, copiers, computers, laptops, webcams, tablets, and smartphones do you see? Every one of them is a ripe target for hackers. 

We must be vigilant regarding the Internet Con Artist because eventually we will be confronted with his scams.

“A Crying Shame” is written in large headline type across the cover page of a recent issue of Consumer Reports magazine. The byline states, “Seniors and their families lose $3 billion a year to con artists. What can we do to stop them?” The magazine contains an article focused on senior citizens who, as a group, are frequently targeted by con artists and their scams - often with devastating financial consequences. Several seniors are profiled and they share their stories of being duped in the hope that they can help others and prevent future pain and loss.

Introducing multiple manufacturers into a technology infrastructure increases support complexity, which means extra costs.

One of the best things about working with companies in the SMB space (small and medium-sized businesses) is that there is never a dull moment. Technical people tend to be problem solvers and the interesting business models, creative growth strategies, aggressive goals, and unique challenges presented by these firms are part of what makes working with them so rewarding.