Congratulations! Your business has grown large enough that you’re considering a full-time IT support professional for your small business team. Up to this point, most business owners are put in the boat of managing computer support themselves, or struggling through troubleshooting with a small team of tech-savvy novices, patching together IT that works, but doesn’t work for your business in the long run.
So now, you’ve got computer issues that are piling up and long-term projects that keep running into software and hardware issues, but nobody you can rely on to come in and fix it all.
Why You Should Consider A Small Business Computer Support Professional?
Before you can decide whether you need an in-house computer support person, or the assistance of a professional small business computer support service, consider the cost of not having a full-time IT professional at your disposal.
Every hour that your business is hung up on an IT issue costs you money. Every file lost to a system error; every time an email delayed because of a faulty server issue. And in today’s world of viruses, hackers, malware, and ransomware, you could lose everything without proper IT protection in place.
In-House Tech Professionals are Expensive
Typically, a small business begins to notice a pressing need for a full-time, permanent IT solution somewhere between having 15 and 30 employees. You may find that your business computer services needs vary, depending on how much your business uses different technological platforms. But, we guarantee you that no matter your industry, service, or business model, you will be more efficient with updated, maintained computers, safe and secure networks, and updated servers.
Depending on your location in the country, the small business computer support you need, and a few other factors, the starting salary for an IT professional can be between $60 and $80,000 per year. And salaries can be higher for more experienced techs who are certified in more or different kinds of systems.
Although having a single person on your staff to handle all your IT needs is a nice idea – it may not be the reality. Or, it may be very costly to find someone qualified to provide the support your business needs.
Try Small Business Computer Support Consulting
When you bring in a consulting firm to handle your computer support, network maintenance and server protection needs, you get more than a single person’s expertise. You gain the knowledge of an entire staff – an entire crew – who work together to make computers their one-and-only focus every day.
Consultants are flexible
The beauty of working with a consultant is that you can bring them in when you need them, for as long as you need them, and their hours can fluctuate within your contract terms. Many small business computer support services offer round-the-clock IT support, with a limited scope of hours that each business can access it. Most IT support consultants will negotiate an hourly rate, with or without a retainer to guarantee service when you need it.
As-needed scheduling
Only need computer support when you have a new employee, or when the system needs updating, or when there’s an emergency that no one on your existing team can troubleshoot and solve? Talk to the computer support team about accessing support on a certain schedule, or under specific terms. It should be easy to coordinate to bring in someone as needed.
Regular and preventative maintenance
Every computer system, network and server – as well as most types of software – require regular updating to fix errors in the way it operates, and run more smoothly and efficiently. Not performing updates can cause more computer operating errors, system crashes, and make your equipment vulnerable to attacks.
Spyware, virus protection, & more
Your business must have a protected computer system. While many basic actions that your employees take can be vital safety measures, there is no excuse for not having a professional small business computer support tech ensure the safety of your network and every device that accesses it.
Remote and On-site Consultant Support
Because so much of what goes on with your small business computer support system is virtual, much of the maintenance and even workstation clean up, can be done remotely. The best small business computer support can provide many services from any distance! When you do need an IT consultant to visit your small business in Waco, Texas, and provide hands-on support for your computer issues or help you set up a new server correctly, we can be there.