In Part I of this series we outlined the Service Team component of an outsourced IT vendor. The Service Team tends to see the most day-to-day activities from clients since they handle incoming help desk calls and emails. They resolve issues remotely or on-site at the clients’ locations. Plus, they proactively monitor and maintain client networks to address as many potential issues as possible before end-users ever notice a problem. As you evaluate the benefits of working with an outsourced IT vendor, you’ll want a good understanding of the process for requesting assistance and their guaranteed response and resolution times. Additionally, you’ll want to understand what proactive steps the team takes to resolve issues before they impact business processes and productivity. But it doesn’t stop there - the Service Team is just one component of the relationship you’ll have with a quality IT vendor.

You've reached the point where you know your business needs some more sophisticated IT support than your current model can provide. You've evaluated the options, and are considering working with an outsourced IT vendor or managed service provider. An outsourced IT vendor can handle a lot of different functions for your business, but you're struggling to evaluate the return on the potentially significant investment you're about to make in their services.

Gone are the days of Nick Burns Your Company’s Computer Guy showing up at your desk shouting, “MOVE,” so that he can sit in your chair to solve whatever computer issue is keeping you from your work.

Most businesses launch their operations on a shoestring budget and manage the business on readily available technology.

If you're planning to upgrade hardware or networking infrastructure in your business this year, you may see significant cost savings by purchasing that equipment soon (i.e. this month) thanks to increased tariffs on Chinese imports.

From basic desktop computers to complex network infrastructure, all businesses need some sort of technology to operate. With the amount of technology necessary to compete in today's economy, how do businesses maintain margins and absorb ever-growing IT costs? Leasing is an option that reduces your initial investment and allows for the flexibility to adopt new technology based on your business needs and not capital budgets.

Do you have computers in your business operating on Windows 7? Do you feel like you just upgraded away from Windows XP? If that’s the case, you were most likely utilizing Windows XP beyond its April 8, 2014 end of life date and managed just fine without upgrading immediately. So, it makes sense that you are probably not too concerned about upgrading away from Windows 7 any time soon. You survived the last end of life date just fine, and you’ll get through this one too, right? Wrong.

Many organizations, especially those experiencing growth, find themselves at a crossroads where they must decide to expand their own internal IT department, or perhaps hire their first full-time IT staff member. Small and medium-sized businesses typically have a ‘technical’ employee or two who perform the daily duties of managing the organization’s equipment with varied results. These ‘involuntary IT managers’ often perform duties that go well beyond the scope of their actual job description. As a result, neither the job they were hired for nor those extra responsibilities are performed adequately due to time, budget, and/or knowledge setbacks of those individuals being pulled in multiple directions.

Do you know how much your business spends on print and copy expenses? If the answer is no, you are not alone. According to a Gartner Group study, 90% of businesses lack an understanding of the total financial impact of printing and copying. The two biggest reasons for this lack of clarity are: Printing and copying expenses are often split between office equipment costs and office supply expenses. Printers and copiers are often managed separately yet used interchangeably. Considering the average employee prints 34 pages per day at a cost of around $725 per year per employee, printing and copying expenses are typically the third greatest business expense behind payroll and rent.

Alternatives to a business server: Workgroup Sharing Network Attached Storage (NAS) Device Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) Cloud Hosted Server (think Microsoft Azure or AWS) File Sync and Share Applications (think Drop Box, Google Docs) A server allows businesses to point all users toward a centralized location to access files and applications. There are some considerations when deciding if your business needs a server. In general, servers offer many benefits, and are a common approach for businesses that want consistency, centralization, or compliance with PCI, HIPAA or other industry-specific requirements. If you're not sure that a server environment is right for your business, there are other alternatives to consider, each with their own pros and cons.