Out with the old and in with the new! For far too long, small businesses have taken an old-school approach to IT services and security. In other words, they wait until something goes wrong before they call an IT services company and request help.
Back in the day (think 1990s and 2000s), this approach worked, more or less. External threats, such as hackers and viruses, were still few and far between. Data breaches weren’t yet part of our business lexicon. So, it made sense to wait until something went wrong before taking action.
In IT circles, this is known as the “break-fix” approach. Something breaks, so someone has to come in to fix it. And they charge for their services accordingly. If something small breaks and it takes a short time to fix, you can expect a smaller bill. However, if something big breaks, the cost can be enormous—both in terms of technology repairs, as well as business downtime.
The break-fix approach is 100% reactive. Unfortunately, as the number of cybersecurity threats has skyrocketed and our daily operations have become increasingly reliant on our IT systems, too many businesses have learned that this approach is also very costly. With just about every business relying on the Internet and Internet-connected devices in order to operate, there are countless opportunities for something to go wrong.
This is exactly why you can’t rely on the reactive break-fix model anymore. If you do, you could be putting your business at serious risk. In some cases, the mounting costs and damages of a single data breach could put you out of business completely.
If you’re hit by a data breach or a hacker infiltrates your network (which is a common occurrence), what’s next? You call your IT services provider – if you have one – and tell them you need help. They might be able to restore lost or stolen data if you have been implementing routine backups. However, you don’t want to find yourself in this position, wondering whether your data has been lost forever.
And you don’t have to.
Instead, take a proactive approach to your IT support and security. This is the new way of doing things! It’s also known as managed services – and it’s a far cry from the break-fix approach.
If you work with an IT services company that only comes out when something breaks, it’s time to get them on the phone to ask them four big questions. These are questions they absolutely need to say “yes” to:
- Do you monitor our network and devices for threats 24/7?
- Can you access my network remotely to provide on-the-spot IT support to my team?
- Do you make sure all our data is backed up AND secure?
- Do you keep our network protected with up-to-date malware solutions, firewalls, and web filtering?
If they say “no” to any of these questions, it’s time to look for a new IT services provider.
Far too many small businesses don’t bother with proactive support because they don’t like the ongoing cost (think of it as a subscription for ongoing support and security). They would rather pay for things as they break. But these break-fix services are more expensive than ever before. When your technology fails—and these days, as we rely increasingly on digital networks and devices to do business, your technology will fail at some point—you’ll be left with a hefty service bill, lost data, and costly downtime.
It’s time to take a proactive approach to your IT support and security. Not sure where to start? Contact our team today! Let’s work together to keep your technology running smoothly and safely.