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Last time, I wrote about our friend, “Joe the IT guy” and Computer Armageddon. I have been thinking a lot about these things lately, and I have noticed that I’m not getting much sleep. Family responsibilities (and a very active 10 month old) are at the top of the list, but I was thinking about when I was an IT Manager for a medium sized company. I didn’t get much sleep then either.

Twists and Turns

I was always wondering when the email server would fail. Is our Internet connection working?

How am I going to retrieve a file if the backups are not working properly? Will the backups even restore if I tried it? I hoped (many often times prayed) that the data would be safe.

And what about the VPN, especially when the CEO wants to connect and retrieve that important presentation. The VoIP phones in the call center, are they working? I sometimes would lie in bed looking at my cell phone on the nightstand, wondering when it would ring, or when the monitoring system would send me a page telling me something was down.

It’s a Thankless Job

Working in the IT department is one of the coolest jobs in the world, at least to me. Working with people, technology is always a good work environment. I enjoy people and I enjoy technology. However, there is a drawback to working in IT. It’s a thankless job. Unless you can get by with patting yourself on the back once in a while, it can be quite frustrating.

No IT Department?

“I don’t have an IT department”, you say. Even more reasons that you are losing that precious sleep. As a previous business owner, I know how stressful running a business can be. You worry about the financials, sales, inventory, hiring, managing, and sometimes firing employees and a list of other adventures that wait for you everyday when you walk into your office.

Not only are you worrying about your business, but also now you are worrying about things like email, installing software, incremental and full backups, and phone systems not working. “Did that important quote get to our major customer?”

Outsourcing your IT Department?

Outsourcing has become a dirty word in some circles. However, if you don’t have the resources to hire an IT staff, and you definitely don’t want, “Joe the IT guy” coming in and reeking havoc on your server you only have two choices. Wonder when everything is going to break down, to the point of looking like ground zero at Chernobyl. Or outsource.

Outsourcing to a local company is always a good idea. It keeps the revenue within the community and helps other companies grow. However, you have to be a little choosy.  Picking a company because they are inexpensive might be a good criterion, but as always you get what you pay for. How about the “Joe the IT guy and his buddy” company? I would pass that opportunity up.

You have to look at what your needs are. Do you need someone to come in once or twice a month and service your servers to make sure all updates and patches are applied? Do you need a company that is agnostic in the technology arena? Maybe you have a bunch of Mac’s, but now you have a few PC’s floating around and don’t know how to deal with integration. Do you have web servers that need constant updating of copy and images? Choosing the right company can be a difficult task. Here are some tips that can help you decide:

1)     Does the IT company support the operating systems I have running?

2)     Can the company perform an audit of my network and workflow to make sure everyone is performing?

3)     Can they deliver hardware and software? Can they install and support the hardware and software?

4)     Do they have 24×7 support?

5)     Do they have a toll free number you can call?

6)     Do they use the “Glass House” theory? In other words, do they document what they have installed and then give you the documents so you also have the same knowledge of the network you do?

7)     Do they charge for going over the hours you have signed up for?

8)     Do they charge for hours that are not used?

I’m sure there many, many other questions you could ask, and this is probably the tip of the iceberg.

So, they next time you are twisting and turning, worried about those backups and Internet connections, think about a company that can do the able and more. Then pickup the phone and call them.