Current Events and Technology News
Choosing An IT Person
by Mike Dauphinee - CTS Team
Finding an IT Person
Every now and then, everybody needs a little
help with something. Sometimes we are afraid to call out and get
help. There can be many reasons for this, it could be time, cost or
perhaps embarrassment or pride.When it comes to computers, a lot of
us just don't know who to trust. We know things are not working
right, but they seem to get work well enough so it is not the
problem of the day.
So we put it off . . . and things get
progressively worse. And worse, and worse until one day your
computer just no longer works right, if it works at all.
We all procrastinate. We all postpone, we all prioritize.
But put off computer problems long enough and you might reach
the point of no recovery!
You may be forced to just start over!
Starting over, on a computer system, is very
time consuming and time is money. If your computer has important
data on it, it is more costly than taking the initiative to get it
fixed by a professional.You don't have to wait until you need help
to start a relationship with a computer professional. In fact, the
best time to start that relationship is when things are working
well. You don't have to shy away from calling or writing a computer
professional and beginning a professional relationship. There are
plenty of competent people out there. But, like doctors, they often
specialize. They have general knowledge in some areas, but are
experts and focus on certain aspects of the computer or technology
that supports the computer.
There are email specialist, security
specialists, server specialists, networking specialists, hardware
and software specialists among many others. And like doctors, there
are other who are general practitioners. They understand all of the
above and even perform some of it, they are the ones that you want
to see on a day to day basis to keep your costs low and to help you
when you do need a specialist. They are the ones you trust and have
a relationship with. They serve your best interests.
So how do you select this person whom you will
trust with all things geek? How do you know the person is qualified
to work on your computer? Doctors are licensed and tested, do geeks
get certified too? Yes! There are certifications in the computer
world that demonstrate that someone passed a test on computer
knowledge, but this alone is not enough.
All the certifications in the world are useless if the
professional lacks communication skills or business knowledge.
If they're brilliant but undependable, unresponsive and not
punctual -- they're not a professional.
Communication & accessibility is
important.
When your computer has problems, you may be
under a tremendous amount of stress. You need someone that can bring
the technical down a level to something meaningful to you. You want
competence, but you also need communication.
You also need someone who is accessible. Using
the doctor analogy again, what good is a doctor that requires you to
make an appointment 3 months ahead of time when you have the flu and
need help now? Your
business is not going to wait a week without a critical system
working. Downtime is money, money is lifeblood for your family and
the families of those that work for you. Do you have the cell number
of your IT guy? Do they answer when you call and do they respond to
your needs?
What about cost?
Aren't computer professionals expensive?
Can I afford this?
Costs these days are a big factor in every
business decision. We all want to save money. Money seems to drive
everything business, but it does not have to be everything in life,
other values are important too. IT people normally charge by the
hour, their time is how the value of what they provide is monetized.
Which brings us to another important point, value. Rather than shop
by just the hourly rate, put in place the above factors in your
evaluation. (Competence, Communication & Accessibility) These things
will bring you to a true cost and value of your IT person. Will they
have the above factors and then will they bill you fairly. Some
folks charge less, but bill you for every minute they think about
you and your problems. Others charge more, but only bill for time
they are in front of you. Some allow free phone support and only
charge when you have them doing a project. There are many variables,
but cost is a product of time. Establish up front what is billable
and what is not and plug it into the other factors to determine the
value of the services.
Last, but most important, is results.
You can find the nicest, most accessible and
cheapest IT person, but in the end, what you really want is results.
You don't want to pay someone just because you like them. You like
them because they deliver the results you want for a price that you
can afford and they make the process palatable if not even
enjoyable. How do you determine results? Don't you have to actually
get them to do something before you know? Well, yes and no. You can
work through find someone who is accessible, valuable, and candid by
just reaching out and talking to them and trusting your own
judgment. But how can you tell if they get results and quantify the
type of results? There are a multitude of ways, online referral
services, word of mouth, length of experience and old fashioned
references.
Start the relationship before the
crisis hits!
When you find the right IT person, you tend to
want to keep them around for some time. You will trust them with
critical and often sensitive information. You will want to develop a
strong relationship. You would benefit to share the visions you have
for your company. Technology is a foundational thing in business
today. I t also takes time to build a strong foundation. As such, it
should be not be an oversight or taken for granted. In fact, the
cost effective way is to create a foundational vision for technology
and work towards where you want to be and making adjustments as you
go according to changes around you in your business. The foundation
you set forth will support that and not require a rebuild every time
you change something on the surface. This way you can spread costs
and be flexible to changing trends. Like medicine and doctors, there
are many practices in technology that will yield results in cost
effective ways.
Establishing this relationship before an
emergency is essential!
Your competent computer professional needs time to get to know your
system, your business processes, your needs and other critical items
that sustain your business. Getting the right practitioner of these
is a task worth undertaking. Keeping them is a valuable asset to
your business. This will help insure your success.
We hope you choose wisely and we hope you
choose CTS. Call, text
or email us.
Mike
Complete Technology Services
www.cts-cfl.com