Tag: it

5 Things to Consider When Buying New IT Equipment

new IT equipment

Your IT systems are the backbone of your business – how do you know if your equipment is helping or hurting your organization’s productivity? We believe that IT should serve business operations; if your infrastructure doesn’t support your business goals, then it’s just a waste of time and precious resources.

Purchasing new equipment for your business can be a daunting task. Our approach when recommending hardware to our clients follows five assessment points.

Functionality

Determine what features are necessary and which ones are nice to have. Our team works with yours to understand the functional needs of your organization. Different jobs often require different solutions.

Performance

Determine the tasks this equipment will support to find the best balance of cost/performance. Back To Business I.T. recommends hardware based off business needs – not what has the most blinking lights. We account for current needs and growth and find solutions that make the most business sense.

Storage

Memory has come a long way in just a few short years. We estimate how much data you will need now and what you anticipate your business might need in the future. How is the data that is stored protected? We can help.

Mobility

More companies are opting to offer remote flexibility to their workforce. We work with you to consider staff needs and potential changes in the future that may impact how this equipment will be used.

Budget

All businesses face budgetary concerns. We are experts in working with businesses to understand what constraints they face and put together solutions to work with them.

We understand the importance of making smart investments in your business technology, as well as the obstacles many small businesses face maintaining modern equipment. Whether you need help getting new equipment or want an assessment on your current infrastructure, we are here to help. Our team has helped thousands of clients with their technology needs.

We do not resell equipment, so you can be sure that our recommendations are based on your business needs and best interest, and not on commission.

Contact us today for an evaluation on your current hardware, and request a quote for new equipment!

Battling the Myths of How Businesses Control Their IT Infrastructure

IT Infrastructure

In order for businesses to stay ahead of the competition, they need to be innovative. One word that is often associated with being innovative is technology. A business’s technology stems directly from their IT infrastructure. This includes their server(s), hardware, technology, managed services, software, network, etc. In order to allow innovation, businesses need to have a stable, secure and up-to-date IT infrastructure. By having this, it will allow technology to help the business operate smoothly.

Back to Business I.T. helps businesses to create, monitor and maintain their IT infrastructures. After helping many clients, we have experienced a lot of different IT environments. Through these environments, we have noticed there are some common myths that businesses believe regarding how to control an I.T. infrastructure. Below we discuss three myths and explain the realities to these situations.

1) Myth: A business can hire one person to run their entire IT infrastructure.

Reality: This may be true in some very rare cases but for most businesses, they find success in having a team of experts to control their IT infrastructure. IT managed services firms have a team of experts who work together to monitor and maintain these infrastructures. This is what allows technology to continue running for a business. So, outsourcing a business’s IT department to an managed service provider is needed.

2) Myth: An employee considered to be “tech savvy” can take on a business’s technology issues.

Reality: Taking an employee, who already has responsibilities in their current position, and throwing them into an IT environment can be dangerous. Monitoring and maintaining an IT infrastructure is a full-time job. It should not be given to someone who does not have the time to put in the work that is required. Also, being considered “tech savvy” does not mean they have the expert knowledge to provide the stable, secure and up-to-date IT infrastructure that every business needs.

3) Myth: Outsourcing a business’s IT department to a third-party managed service provider is expensive and not worth the high costs.

Reality: Outsourcing a business’s IT to a managed services firm can take up a major portion of their IT budget. However, when looking at the big picture, it can save the business money. For example, if a business’s IT network is invaded by a major threat that their one-man IT department or “tech savvy” employee cannot handle, the business is going to acquire substantial losses. Not only will they have to find and pay an IT expert or firm to resolve the issue, they will also lose a lot of important data in the process. Yet, if the business had outsourced their IT infrastructure to a managed services firm before this happened, they could have contained the threat in a much more cost and time saving manner.

In order for businesses to keep up with the competition and become innovative enough to stand out against them, they need to start investing in their technology. By doing this, they will be gaining access to opportunities that will help their business to grow.

If you are interested in learning more about what an IT managed service provider can do for your business, let’s start a conversation.