Posted by: Sean Desvousges, Sales Manager, Minneapolis
Most business owners tell me “I don’t budget for IT support” or “It depends…some months I spend $0 and some months it’s $2,000.” Reactive, pay-as-you-go support leads to missed maintenance and updates, unpredictable downtime, non-technical employees fiddling with IT, and erratic unforeseen month-to-month expenditures. If your business is currently in reactive IT support mode you will probably agree it’s almost impossible to budget for.
The better alternative is a fixed-price package including all routine maintenance, all updates and patches, constant 24/7 monitoring, unlimited helpdesk, and regular on-site hours – all accomplished by trained professionals with the latest technical expertise and tools. Benefits of proactive managed support include reduced cost and downtime, increased productivity, and ability to predict one’s budget.
Smart business owners know their IT support budget. It’s steady, reasonable, and lets them focus on running their business.
Sean Desvousges, Sales Manager - Corporate Technologies LLC, Minneapolis
Posted by: Dan Rosedahl, General Manager
Ask any business owner what they need to mitigate risk and overcome unforeseen challenges and they usually rattle off their go-to partners: a trusted lawyer, accountant, banker, and probably a good insurance agent as well. What key ingredient are they typically missing in that mix? An IT partner with the expertise to advise the business owner before disaster strikes.
We’ve witnessed the disruption and pain for clients when faced with damaged equipment, even an entire office carted off by thieves. We recommend as a starting point for all our clients a technology and cost agnostic “3-2-1” strategy.
3. Have a minimum of 3 copies of your business critical data: The primary data itself, the main restoral backup copy, and a third disaster or archival copy.
2. Keep those copies at 2 locations: Your office counts as the first location. Get the second location as far away and secure as possible or consider an online backup solution.
1. Have 1 written plan in place: Craft a detailed action plan so you know how to respond in a time of panic.
How much you spend up front and what technology you use to accomplish your desired results will vary by risk tolerance and budget, but start here to insure your business won’t be one of the 90% that ultimately closes its doors after a significant data loss.
Dan Rosedahl, General Manager - Corporate Technologies LLC
