Promises of Managed IT: Make Sure Your Computer Repair Company Can Do the Job.

The difference between a company offering computer repair and one offering managed IT is that the repair shop fixes issues after they happen, while a managed IT creates systems to prevent issues before they happen. If the company that maintains your equipment only comes after the problem has occurred, they’re not a managed IT company, even if they say they are.

Katy, and the Houston area in general, has a very prominent need for computer repair shops. Just the colleges alone elicit a significant market for tech support and service companies, but there is also a large pool of single-person home businesses, remote workers, and of course families who need somewhere to go when their computer needs support. This has allowed a lot of competitive computer repair companies to thrive.

All this is good. If you are a student and your laptop crashes, you’ve got a lot of good options out there. However, this has lead to some confusion in the market for businesses looking for someone to come in and manage their IT. Many computer repair shops mention things like flat-rate support and proactive managed IT on their websites, but they don’t practice it the way your business needs it to be handled.

Let’s use a simple 10-computer network as an example. We won’t even get into the servers or network infrastructure, just the actual workstations. Your computer repair shop quotes out a flat rate to support all ten computers per month or year.

However they aren’t deploying monitoring tools, establishing service level agreements with you, or conducting regular maintenance and upkeep. Nor are they monitoring each of those PCs for issues; they are just selling you a block of support time.

They anticipate that problems will happen without doing any prevention, and your employees will be stuck dealing with the downtime. This ends up costing you more in lost time and potential revenue loss, plus when the issue is resolved there is no incentive for the computer repair company to review your IT security or make sure your backups are working correctly. We don’t want to paint a picture that these companies are inherently bad either; they just don’t connect IT with the long-term goals of the business like we do. They see the computers and the tech, and we see the bottom line and production.

If we go back to that 10-computer setup, we would look at everything through a magnifying glass and line it up with your goals. For example, can some users do without access to sensitive company files? Is all of the data getting stored centrally in case a computer crashes? Are backups running? Will the computers be able to run the next version of your line of business application when it updates in 6 months? Is there anything going on that might break any compliance standards in your industry? These are complicated questions that might not get answered if our only concern was the technology.

Some things to think about before entrusting your company’s IT to anyone

If you are not using a genuine managed IT provider to support your business, you’re risking more than just your equipment and a couple of bucks; you could be putting your entire business at risk. True managed IT provides the tools necessary to keep your business running smoothly through the good times and the bad. They support all aspects of the technology that is the foundation of your business. Everything from IT security, to networking, to VoIP, to disaster planning, all designed to help you get the most ROI (return on investment). A managed IT provider will support your business in ways a computer repair shop never could, despite the repair shop’s promises of being just as good as a managed IT.

When considering the benefits of using your computer repairman as your managed IT provider, there are some things to ask them and yourself. Do they:

• Account for the indirect cost associated with loss of productivity while they are making their repairs?
• Regularly monitor and update your systems not just against viruses, but against more advanced forms of attacks including ransomware, inappropriate content, and intrusions?
• Take time to understand any compliances and requirements related to technology in your industry?
• Backup your critical systems and have a plan to get your business up and running if something critical happens? Do they monitor those backups regularly?
• Develop an upgrade plan to take advantage of new technology, while ensuring you get the most return on your investments?
• Plan quarterly or semiannual business reviews and act as your internal CIO with a focus on improving productivity and the effectiveness of the end user?

If any of these answers are no, and they don’t provide these essential services, your business is at risk from hackers, incompatible software, connectivity issues, losing data, and a lot of unfortunate surprises.

Moreover, their lack of planning and insight exposes your business to far-reaching vulnerabilities that can damage your business. A true managed IT provider’s goal is to help develop a plan for your business. One that comes beyond what to do when the printer gets a paper jam; one that is able to plan for your business’ needs today and in the future.

Computer repair is a valuable and worthwhile service to offer. Businesses invest considerable resources into their equipment, and it is understandable that they would want to get as much ROI as they can. In fact, we offer computer repair services ourselves as part of a comprehensive managed IT plan.

While computer repair can be part of a managed IT plan, computer repair isn’t managed IT. Computer repair is just a single service, while managed IT is the collection of different services, including computer repair amongst others. Walsh IT Group combines this collection of services to create a plan uniquely suited to your individual business needs.

Walsh IT Group does managed IT right! We create a personalized plan designed for your organization’s unique needs. We offer industry standards and best practices, such as quarterly reviews, infrastructure planning and development, data backup, and security. Unlike a computer repair shop, our goal as a managed IT specialist is to provide you with the best IT solutions for your specific needs, not just sell you more hardware while we wait for it to break.

Walsh IT Group can show you how the value of working with a true managed IT professional can not only reduce risk but increase your bottom line. Fill out the contact form or call us at (832) 295-1445 today to learn how managed IT can help you.