Business Technology

A couple of weeks ago, a widespread IT issue caused downtime for industries worldwide. This downtime was caused by an update from the cybersecurity application CrowdStrike that crashed Microsoft operating systems.

Ever since the start of the pandemic in 2020, we’ve seen rapid growth in the number of people working remotely. Pre-pandemic, roughly five percent of full-time employees with office jobs worked primarily from home. In 2023, 28.2% of employees had a hybrid work schedule. You’d love to see more of this in your business so your workforce has the flexibility, but you only want to do so if they can be supported.

If you’re trying to run a small business, your day-to-day schedule is probably pretty busy. You’ve got a lot that you’re accountable for, technology included, and it’s causing a lot of headaches. Maybe you have an internal IT employee or a small team, but to no fault of anyone, you feel like your business needs more, and you and your internal IT employees need less on your plate.

Technology is crucial in today’s business world. Sometimes, it takes a couple of issues to really highlight that. Perhaps your business has been feeling this lately. Whether it’s headaches caused by slow devices or just a gut feeling that your business technology isn’t where it needs to be, you know it’s time for something to change.

So, you’re preparing to discuss a possible IT partnership with a new managed service provider. There’s one issue: IT is a very broad and sometimes overwhelming term, and you’re not really sure what services you’re asking them for. You have a pretty good idea of what technology your business needs and you may even have an OK understanding of the services your current IT partner is providing. So why does it seem like this new MSP is speaking a different language?

So, you’re in the DC-Metro area, and you’re trying to decide which IT company is right for you. You know technology is valuable to your business operations, so you want someone who is up to the task. While you might have a pretty good idea of the type of IT company you need, there are a ton of options, and you still need some help differentiating between all of them. What does a good option look like?

So, you’re looking to invest in technology for your business, and you want to hire a managed service provider (MSP). Now the question is, do you work with one of the big national companies or find someone more local? This can be a tough decision, as both choices will each offer something a little bit different.

We can probably all agree that time and money are vital when running a business. You can’t afford to waste either. This is why it can be so frustrating to deal with IT projects that are off-budget or not on time, especially after making such a large investment.

If you’re a managed IT client with Innovative, you may have contacted our help desk at some point. When you do this, you’re opening what is called a “ticket.” Do you know what a ticket is or what the process looks like? Did you know there are different ways to contact the help desk? If this is all new info to you, don’t worry. I’m new to Innovative and just started learning about the help desk myself. There might be a little more to it than you realize. Let’s get you up to speed so you can get the most out of our service.

Be prepared for some sticker shock the next time you go to replace hardware in your business. Computer component costs have gone up 20% to 40% since 2020. Business-grade PC prices have doubled since 2019, thanks to the perfect storm of inflation paired with increased demand and decreased supply.