15 03, 2019

Growing Your MSP Business in the 2020’s

2021-01-27T00:14:19-06:00March 15th, 2019|Tags: , , , , , |

In a highly competitive market and with growing customer demands MSPs must focus on core strengths. MSPs benefit by handing network system configuration and maintenance over to a specialist. Introduction: The Shoemaker’s Children MSPs convince their customers of the benefits of offloading maintenance tasks to third party specialists. Ironically, many ignore the potential benefits that they themselves can gain by making such a change. Terms, like digital disruption and gig economy, illustrate that nowadays, technology evolves at a brisk pace. Consequently, the burden of taking care of all of their customers’ technical needs strains many MSPs’ resources and decreases their margins. What can be done? MSPs must heed their own advice. They need to determine where they add value and focus their energies there. For many, network maintenance has become an onerous burden. Hiring a specialist to oversee customer network deployments and maintenance enables MSPs to expand their reach, improve their service, and reduce their costs. The Network Maintenance Challenge Monitoring customers’ IT systems is a complex undertaking, one that becomes more complicated every day. New solutions, such as the Internet of Things; artificial intelligence and machine learn; and Augmented Reality/Virtual reality, emerge. The traditional office is expanding. The Internet frees employees from desktop systems in central office cubicles. Today, they use a variety of devices, desktops, smartphones, and tablets to access information and work from home, branch locations, customers’ offices, and the local coffee shop. Configuring and managing all of these devices, applications, and connections has become time consuming. MSPs need to maximize [...]

29 01, 2019

How Smart Hands Help Your Business

2020-12-07T21:43:18-06:00January 29th, 2019|Tags: , , , , , , , |

While many tasks can be handled remotely, there are times where you need on-site support. Maintaining enough technical resources with the rights skill sets at each location can be difficult or even impossible for many companies. That's where Smart Hands step in, helping your business thrive and grow without the stress of maintaining a large IT staff. Smart Hands are an integral part of any IT team, providing your helpdesk or IT department with boots on the ground that can function as an extension of your in-house team, filling critical gaps. Smart Hands allow your team to complete more complex tasks and to quickly handle issues on-site. Businesses that utilize Smart Hands can ensure less downtime, lower costs, and higher quality services! Don’t Let Your Business Suffer from Downtime In today’s modern world, businesses rely on technology and require a healthy and fully functioning network. When something goes wrong time is of the essence. That’s why our full-service field management department is always ready to answer your call. Our team works with you to quickly determine what your needs are, and then jumps into action to create a ticket and deploy a resource. Furthermore, our ticketing system can be fully customized for clients with a large number of requests. Our team creates custom client portals and trains your staff on how to use them so that you can quickly and easily put in a service request. Be Everywhere at Once Without Increasing Your Costs Now you don’t need to worry about hiring a large [...]

20 11, 2018

Investing in IT: How to Choose the Best Option

2020-12-07T21:43:37-06:00November 20th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

One thing we see a lot at ImagIT is that many people don’t think about the true cost of a job well done. When we submit a proposal for IT services, it’s always based on our real experience of the work and resources required for a quality solution that meets your needs. But for people who aren’t working in IT day in and day out, it’s hard to know the true cost of dependable, skilled IT services. When someone tells you about cheap IT services, it can be tempting to assume the best about the integrity and experience you’ll get for your dollar. Unfortunately, this often results in higher overall costs when all factors come to light. Is it Apples to Apples? It’s important to understand what is and isn’t included in the proposals you receive. Begin by making a comparison chart of primary aspects such as price, delivery time frame, and services so you can truly compare apples to apples. Look for proposals that spell out exactly what you will receive, rather than ones that make broad or vague statements. Companies that are not detailed about what is included in the contract, such as hours of training, change orders, on-going costs, etc., will not deliver what you think they promised. Don’t Assume All IT Companies Are Equal Price quotes can vary for a multitude of reasons, and so can a company’s experience. When it comes to IT services, and especially large-scale projects, you want the most qualified company for the job. A lesser-experienced [...]

28 09, 2018

Windows 7 End of Life Countdown

2019-07-05T17:22:05-05:00September 28th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , |

Windows 7 is nearing end of life yet is still in use by almost half of businesses. Many organizations have yet to develop a strategy to migrate to Windows 10 and some are not even aware of the impending deadline. Read on to learn more about preparing for Windows 7 end of life and scroll to see our infographic with key information about the countdown. windows 7 end of life Mainstream support of Windows 7, in which Microsoft provided security patches and new features, ended on January 13, 2015. Windows 7 moved into extended support at that time, ending complimentary support and active development of the product. During extended support bug fixes and patches are still deployed to ensure the safety of the operating system; however, the product is being phased out. Once the extended support ends on January 14, 2020 the outdated system will be unsupported and a risk for any machine that runs it. For companies using Windows 10 Enterprise or Education that do not complete their migration to Windows 10 by 2020, Microsoft has announced that it will offer Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESUs) through January 2023. The ESUs will be sold on a per-device basis (with the price increasing each year) and provide a short extension during which organization could continue to use Windows 7 as they complete migrations. We strongly recommend that businesses purchase ESUs if they need to continue using Windows 7 past January 14, 2020 in order to protect machines from threats. The end of life for [...]

6 08, 2018

Determining the Best Internet Option for Your Business

2019-07-05T18:08:52-05:00August 6th, 2018|Tags: , , , |

Understanding your organization’s internet needs and selecting the right service provider is a key component for success in today’s connected world. Reliable business internet is crucial to many business functions. Establishing the needed bandwidth speed to fulfill your office’s needs as well as how many access points your office requires is key to ensuring your office runs smoothly. Your IT service provider can consult with you to determine the required Internet bandwidth based on known factors such as number of employees, square footage, teleconferencing and voice setup, and additional features of your specific location. Determining the right Internet Service Provider (ISP) for your company is vital to ensure reliable and stable internet and voice connections. Conducting research and consulting with your IT service provider and various ISP companies can help you make the right choice. Your organization may also choose to go with two different ISP companies for Internet redundancy and high availability, ensuring that your employees always have maximum speeds and zero downtime. The primary factors to consider when asking for recommendations are reliability, stability, and cost. When assessing your needs, it is important to keep in mind both standard internet usage and voice (phone) internet usage. Internet is essential to keep your organization connected, but hard-wired connections and Wi-Fi both come with pros and cons. Wi-Fi is often used in business due to its flexibility. Changes in the network can be managed without cords and cables and employees are able to easily connect to the network from any company device. However, Wi-Fi [...]

17 05, 2018

Six Important Benefits of Project Management

2020-12-07T21:42:51-06:00May 17th, 2018|Tags: , , , , |

If you want to ensure your project’s success, it is important to use dedicated project managers to oversee your project from conception to completion. Project management helps balance a project's timeline, budget, and scope as teams work to meet their objectives. Project managers oversee the individual tasks that move a project toward completion, so the ultimate success or failure depends in large part on the skill and competency of the project manager. Effective project management techniques can help your organization carry out large-scale projects on time, on budget, and with minimal disruption to the rest of the business. Here are some of the key benefits of project management: leadership and direction Project management provides the vision, control, purpose, and coaching that enables a team to do their best work. In addition, project managers seamlessly integrate resources across several departments, vendors, and other involved parties. With a project manager in place there is no confusion about who to turn to for direction. Project managers enforce process and keep everyone on the team in line because they are accountable for whether the project fails or succeeds. Organizations that use project management to monitor processes and schedules can more effectively complete their projects on time and on budget. Quality Control Projects are usually under enormous pressure to be completed according to a set plan. Without a dedicated project manager who has the support and ‘buy-in’ of executive management, tasks are underestimated, schedules tightened, and processes rushed. The result is a project that exceeds the timeline or budget, [...]

26 07, 2017

The Fine Print: How Inexperienced IT Technicians Can Cost You

2019-07-16T22:15:43-05:00July 26th, 2017|Tags: , , |

Lower costs don’t always equate to a good deal. When it comes to your IT needs, there are plenty of businesses out there who offer lower upfront prices to complete a variety of projects. “Spend less for the same great service,” is a phrase you’ve probably seen tossed around before. The question is, where are these savings coming from? Most often, these savings come in the form of less-knowledgeable IT technicians, who are less expensive to hire than their more skilled counterparts. This means the people working on your IT infrastructure may be learning by trial-and-error while on the job. As you might imagine, working with inexperienced IT technicians can often lead to bigger costs down the road – some of which could potentially dwarf the budgetary restraints which kept you from working with a more experienced person. Let’s take a look at where some of these unplanned costs can come from and how you can avoid falling victim to them. Obvious Errors The simplest way under-trained IT technicians can cost you is by making on-the-job errors. Now, if you are working with an official-looking IT provider, you’ll likely assume this isn’t something you have to worry about. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t the case. Technician vetting across the industry can vary wildly. Some companies, for example, will allow basically anyone to register as a technician through their online portals. There may be some vetting down the road, but obviously this the process your business deserves. If you do happen to get stuck with an unknowledgeable technician, you [...]

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