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How To Interview An IT Provider

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Companies rely on technology for different aspects of their business. From sales and marketing to purchasing and payroll, just about everything is done with online systems. If any of these systems fails, the business flow is disrupted, leading to a loss of customers and profits. This issue is why you must have a reliable IT service provider to fix and prevent such mishaps. Interview and hire the right team.

Awareness of the Red Flags in the IT Industry

Before you start looking for an IT managed service provider, you must learn about the red flags in the IT industry so that you will know which IT companies to avoid. For instance, some companies will nickel and dime you for every little thing or charge you unnecessarily for services you don’t need. Look out for those who communicate poorly or can’t assist you with cybersecurity insurance. You can read more about all these red flags in our Top 5 Red Flags in the IT Industry blog.

Employing an Internal IT Guy vs. using the Break-Fix Method vs. Hiring an MSP

These are the three common ways a business might hire tech support. Each method has its pros and cons, as we’ve discussed in our Your IT Guy vs Managed Provider blog, and you should weigh these pros and cons carefully to figure out the best approach for your business. However, in most cases, hiring an MSP proves to be the most cost-effective and practical way to get high-quality IT support.

Possible Reasons for Firing Your IT Guy

There is a noticeably high rate of premature termination of tech support specialists these days. It’s not necessarily because of lack of skill or competence, but mostly an attitude or lack of professionalism that leaves companies with no choice but to fire their IT guys.

Some are not transparent with their fees, and the client will be surprised to see unexpected charges come due at billing time. Some will communicate with a condescending tone when discussing technical matters, and some will give you poor customer service. In our 5 Reasons Why Companies Fire IT Guys, we talk about these possible reasons and how they can affect your business in a very negative way.

Important Questions to Ask During the Interview

Now that you know the potential problems that can arise with hiring the wrong IT specialist, it is even more important that you find the most suitable person for the job. A lot of it depends on the interview and the questions you ask. Depending on the answers, you should gauge whether the person is worthy of being hired or not.

Customer Service

It is important to know the quality of customer service they can provide if you hire them for your company. Are they easy to contact, and will they get back to you immediately if they are unavailable when you call? Do they offer guarantees of completing tasks on time and budget? Can they explain technical matters in simple language and enable the client to understand what is going on?

Network Upkeep

Find out what kind of service they will provide when it comes to the upkeep of your network. Will they do continuous monitoring of your system and provide regular status reports? Will they have exclusive access to your system, or can they provide your in-house staff access as well? Is their network support plan all-inclusive, or do certain services come with additional fees?

Disaster Recovery

In the event of a data disaster, will they be able to restore the system with minimal downtime? Do they perform regular tests on backup data to ensure that everything has been saved correctly? Do they offer a contingency plan that will allow your business to continue operating even while they restore your system following a disaster?

Providing Support

Do they have the expertise that matches your business needs? Do they provide 24/7 support, or do you need to wait for office hours before getting assistance? Is their support team based in the US, or do they use remote tech specialists in other countries?

Cybersecurity Insurance

Many tech companies do not offer adequate assistance with cybersecurity insurance applications. Ask right away what kind of help they can provide when you apply for cybersecurity insurance. Will they help you get approved, and will they help when you file claims?

These might seem like a lot of questions to ask, but they are necessary if you want to find the best IT managed service provider for your business. In addition to answering your questions, a qualified IT provider must be able to give you a list of references when you ask for them. Once you interview and pick the right candidate, you can avoid stressful problems and focus more on the primary goals of your business when IT issues are off your plate. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you!

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5 Reasons Why Companies Fire IT Guys

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The IT industry is brimming with so many IT guys and experts with various specialties these days. You would think it’s an easy task hiring one for your company. Finding an IT guy is not the problem. Finding a competent, reliable, and affordable IT professional can be challenging for many businesses. When you think you have found the right person, issues start to come up, and you have no choice but to fire them and start the search again. 

There are several possible reasons why companies end up firing their IT guys. Here are the Top Five issues most commonly cited by company owners and why these issues can be very detrimental to a business. 

Poor Response Time

A timely response is important in most aspects of a business. Particularly when it comes to the crucial areas where downtime can be costly or cause the operations to stop, and because of this reason, you should avoid working with IT specialists that are consistently late for scheduled tasks or who do not show up at all. 

Unexpected Charges

There are tech experts that are incredibly proficient and good at what they do. But when the bill arrives, it includes unexpected charges that were not in the initial quote. Aside from being highly unprofessional, such surprise invoices might also cause you to go over budget, which is certainly not good for your business.

Scope Creep

Sometimes also known as feature creep or requirement creep, scope creep is becoming more rampant in the IT industry. It is an extension or expansion of an IT task because the hired expert can’t resolve the issues immediately. Instead, the original problem branches out into several other issues, so the scope of the task keeps increasing. By the time everything is resolved, it will have taken up much more time and cost much more money than expected. 

Speaks in Very Technical Terms

Some IT professionals speak in very technical terms. This practice is a problem when talking to clients who are not tech-savvy. Perhaps they are so used to geek-speak that it has become part of their daily language, and they assume that everyone else understands what they are talking about, even when the client has no clue. 

Some IT guys intentionally speak in technical terms to show that they are the expert and know more than the client about technical matters. While this may be true, taking on a condescending tone will not help anyone. It is much better to hire an IT guy to educate the clients about the system instead of making them feel dumb.

Bad Customer Service

The IT industry is a service-intensive industry, so it can be perfectly natural to expect that you would get great, or at least decent, customer service from them. You are paying for the service, so you should not settle for anything less. At the first sign of bad customer service, many companies would not hesitate to fire the IT guy because so much time is wasted. 

Conclusion 

The best way to avoid hiring a bad IT guy would mean being more meticulous in your search. Don’t be afraid to be choosy when selecting from applicants. Read through their CVs very carefully and pick only those that seem reliable and professional. And always check references.

During the interviewing process, screen the applicants thoroughly by asking them the right questions. Based on their answers to these questions, you will be able to decide on whether they are the right person for the job or not. Considering hiring someone to manage your IT? Contact us today!

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Your IT Guy vs. a Managed Service Provider

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There is no question that reliable IT support is a necessity for all of us, including small businesses. The reason is that most transactions and business functions are completed online. Business owners need to decide on the type of IT support they need. Whether that be an internal IT department or a Managed Service Provider. Let’s take a look at some typical IT scenarios.

Internal IT Support

This protection means keeping an in-house IT person on your regular payroll. It’s straightforward, but this is a practice that is not frequently considered unless your business uses a lot of technology. For one thing, having someone on your payroll that you don’t need regularly is not the most economical approach. Also, you will be limited to the skills and expertise of the individuals in your team.

The Break-Fix Model

Small businesses favor the break-fix IT model because it is a simpler option. What this means is that you only hire an IT professional whenever your system fails or there is some tech-related problem. In other words, when something breaks, you hire someone to fix it. 

When working with the break-fix model, you don’t have a regular IT support team to keep things running. This setup sounds like a feasible and more economical plan if you are not expecting to encounter many system problems. But this approach is also idealistic because the truth is that things will break, and more often than you would like. That usually translates to unexpected costs and a runaway budget.

Managed Service Provider

Larger companies that have more complex online systems will hire a team of experts in the form of a Managed Service Provider, or MSP, that can offer complete and diverse IT solutions. Small businesses don’t follow this path because they focus on the monthly bill and not the benefits. The typical reasoning would go like this: What if nothing breaks this month? We would still have to pay the fee for nothing, and that would be a waste of money! 

But here’s the thing. When hiring an MSP, you get to choose the kind of services you pay for. It’s not a one size fits all offering. You can decide what kind of IT services or support your business needs, and the monthly flat-rate fee will be computed based on only the services you choose. 

And what if nothing breaks? Well, that’s the goal of a good MSP. Your Managed Service Provider will be proactive and keep your technology operating and not approach things reactively, like a break/fix service.

Advantages of MSPs over the Break-Fix Method and In-House Tech Support

If you are still on the fence about hiring an MSP for your business, take a look at some of the advantages MSPs have over other types of IT support.

Expertise

A Managed Service Provider consists of a team of highly skilled experts in practically all areas of business technology. If you hire an MSP, you will have access to this vast pool of professionals to help you with any tech issue you might encounter. This approach is in sharp contrast to having your own internal IT guy who may be very capable, but his skill set pales to a team of experts from different backgrounds. 

Convenience

With the break-fix method, you can hire top professionals for your issues, but the process of locating them and getting them on board takes time. With an MSP, all you have to do is call and tell them your problem, and they will immediately send someone over to fix whatever is wrong. 

Cost-Effectiveness

Most businesses that use the break-fix model do so with the assumption that this method will save them money, but as it happens, they usually end up spending a lot more than if they went for an MSP instead. MSPs will charge a monthly fee – that is true. But this is a flat rate. No matter how many services you ask them to perform or how arduous some of the tasks may be, you won’t have to pay a single cent more than the monthly rate. On the contrary, the break-fix model requires you to pay for each service separately, and the expenses can quickly pile up faster than you would have anticipated.

Many businesses perceive the monthly flat rate for IT support to be high. But when you take a close look at your total monthly expenses that go to IT-related services, you might be shocked at how much you are spending. 

Reduce Your Expenses by Switching to a Managed Service Provider 

Your flat-rate fee will vary depending on the extent of IT support you require. Contact us so we can calculate the monthly fee that fits your requirements. Chances are it’s lower than what you are spending now, which means that hiring an MSP could save you a considerable amount. Ready to find out?

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The Top 5 Red Flags in the IT Industry

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All businesses today rely heavily on IT support. Some have their own in-house IT experts, while many others choose to hire managed service providers, or MSPs, to perform specific IT functions for their company. These services are needed to oversee the office hardware and software and stay ahead of the competition. Like all industries, the IT industry has a few red flags that need to be addressed.

With all the available services, you wouldn’t think that it would be that difficult to find reliable IT support for your business. We live in an almost entirely digital world, so tech services are available around every corner. The IT industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and so have the red flags in the industry. These issues make it harder to find reputable service providers that will give you the quality service you need.

So what are these red flags, and as a business owner, what can you do about them? Read on to find out.

Red Flag #1: Your business is getting nickel and dimed

Many business owners today do not have extensive knowledge or skill in IT. This technology gap is the primary reason they hire MSPs in the first place. Unfortunately, many providers are taking advantage of this. They will charge businesses for extra services that they do not need. In other words, they end up spending more on additional services even if they are not necessary for solving the problem at hand.

The Solution

Make sure to do your research and find out exactly what IT services you require. Search for a provider that will deliver these services without trying to hoodwink you into paying for other services you don’t need.

Red Flag #2: Lack of communication

Clear and constant communication is essential in any business relationship. But for some reason, many IT service providers are failing in this department. Many of them will take your specs and get to work right away, probably because they are confident that they know what they are doing. More than likely, they are hoping to impress you with a fast turnaround. This approach can lead to more problems like wasted time and resources.

The Solution

Choose a provider that communicates well. The MSP should assign someone from their team to act as a point of contact to communicate and coordinate with you at any time.

Red Flag #3: No consistent business reviews

What previous clients say about a service provider is one of the best ways for you to gauge the quality of their performance. If the reviews are inconsistent, would you still want to risk hiring them for your business? The same is true for MSPs with very few business reviews because they are new. There might be a chance that they are good, but when it comes to your business, it is better to be safe, especially when hiring service providers for the fundamental processes of your business.

The Solution

Look elsewhere. Finding a company with perfect feedback is quite impossible. The occasional irate client leaving a 1-star review is inevitable. But at least, you should search for a provider with a large number of consistently high ratings.

Red Flag #4: Response time is too slow

Time is of the essence in any business, and quick results are highly preferable. There are a lot of service providers these days that provide excellent results but have a slow response time. These delays can be costly for your company and cause you to lose clients and eventually lag behind the competition.

The Solution

Quality results are great, but not when they come too late. Choose an IT service provider that does not keep you waiting when you have concerns. And make sure they guarantee the fastest possible turnaround when you need them.

Red Flag #5: They do not know how to help you with your cybersecurity insurance approval process

Cyber attacks are getting more rampant by the day. Because of this, every business with an online presence needs to have a reliable cybersecurity insurance policy to protect against the possible damages resulting from a data breach. And who should be in a better position to help you with the approval process than your MSP?

The Solution

Right from the start, you should ask the managed service provider if they have cyber insurance and can assist you in applying for your insurance policy.

Steer Clear of Red Flags and Choose Your MSP Wisely

Beware of these red flags and any possible implications for your business. If you know of anyone who has experience with an “iffy” managed service provider, have them contact us right away! We can show them the value of working with a reliable MSP.

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Is your data prepared for a disaster?

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Should’ve seen it coming…

You’ve invested in a BDR and now sleep more soundly at night, but the hardware itself is really only part of the solution. You want to ensure your provider does preventative maintenance, periodic testing, multi-location storage, and staff training. Having these things in place will help avoid downtime if the worst happens.

Preventative Maintenance: In addition to the hardware itself, a solid backup solution also has its own backup including generators, backup batteries, cooling systems, fire detection, suppression systems, and redundant cloud storage. You can’t necessarily head to your provider’s office to see for yourself, but you can read the fine print on your contracts as well as have meaningful conversations with potential providers.

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Periodic Testing: Consistently ensuring everything is running as it should will allow you some peace of mind as well as lay the groundwork for successful backup. This goes beyond simply testing backup software or cloud storage. A good backup provider will run regular testing and provide reports on the health of the backup, size, and any glitches that you might be facing. This testing should also include 24/7 monitoring and alerting of any potential issues including cyberthreats or outages.

Multi-Location Storage: Regardless of how safe a location may seem, data needs to be stored in more than one location. Think about it; if the backup server for your company is sitting in a location that sees seasonal hurricanes or is located on top of an active earthquake fault, your data is still in danger. It’s about backing up your backup.

Team Training: Don’t leave it all to your IT company. When it comes to backup, security, and other breaches, employees truly are the weakest links. Cybercriminals are going after these individuals rather than attacking at a network level because they are easier to infiltrate. Make sure you have regular cybersecurity training in place for all employees to limit these potential breaches. Creating a strong disaster recovery plan is not all about the recovery part, prevention is equally important too.

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What Could Happen Without a Plan

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Backup Disaster Recovery is one of those things that all businesses need to have in case of disaster. Whether it’s a natural disaster such as a tornado, a hardware failure, or even an attack from a hacker. Anyone of these could permanently disable your business if you aren’t prepared or have a proper backup plan. For those of you still backing up data manually on tapes or *cringe* not at all, here are some reasons why you need a BDR solution and should stop tuning out potential disasters.

First of all, a data disaster is more common than you might think. Currently, 58% of SMBs are not prepared for data loss. Even worse, 60% of SMBs that lose their data will shut down within six months. Something that could have been prevented could potentially wreck your business, especially scary to think about when 29% of hard drive failures are caused by accident. It would be silly to have human error or a simple mishap put your company out of business.

You may have security protocols in place and your employees are well versed on avoiding things like malware. Well done. However, you’re still not protected. Human error is a large culprit in data loss. It could be unintentionally deleting items or accidentally overwriting data, but these “oops” can hit hard. Human error can result in other kinds of hardware damage like liquid damage from spills or even accidental reformatting. All of these things are possible and have happened to many SMBs before you. Sometimes recovery is possible from the software platform you were using, maybe your computer has your back and caught these things. It’s still a time consuming and money wasting error to fix, even if you are lucky to recover some of what you lost.

Viruses and malware can be a significant cause to software or hardware damage depending on what kind of bug found its way in. Usually, this can be avoided with proper employee training as well as an awesome firewall that will help filter malicious attacks. Yet another prey in the night is social engineering – the art of conning people. Hackers have been known to get into server rooms and other data-centric areas of the business. Employees may not even notice their mistake until it’s too late. I guess the “HVAC guy” turned out being a hacker in disguise.

Sometimes software corruption can come from unknown viruses lurking around your computer. However, most of the time it is due to improper usage. Things like not shutting down the computer properly or leaving unsaved documents open. Sometimes even a power outage can trigger corruption. Once the software processes are interrupted and damaged, it’s virtually impossible to recover data stored in the software.

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Did you know that 140,000 hard drives crash every week? With that kind of number, it’s just a matter of time until it happens to you. That is not a comfortable position to be in if you know you don’t have backup. Unfortunately, hard drive corruption is usually due to mechanical issues. Things like age and dust build up can (and will) cause technology to fail. We’ve all used the old laptop we still have that’s been on its deathbed for months, freezing frequently, taking for-ever to load a webpage, and of course, acting as a heater for your lap or desk. All of these things are signs leading to a crash. You may not care if it’s an old hand-me-down laptop from the ’90s, but you will care when it’s your pricey equipment with all of your product data and client information stored on it.

Finally, good old-fashioned acts of God. You can’t necessarily prepare for a natural disaster. Even if you hear the tornado siren, backing up your servers to tape will take longer than it will for the tornado to hit your business. Then what? That tape is left amongst the rubble, destroyed. This may seem like an exaggeration, but it has really happened to businesses. And even if only hypothetical, it makes for a great metaphor for any other crash within your business. This is also proof that on-site BDRs may not always be the final protective cover to your business. You may want to consider off-site or cloud data storage to ensure protection, so your data is safe even if your equipment is destroyed.

Protect your business and keep it running smoothly and successfully. Backup Disaster Recovery options are available for all kinds of SMBs and their needs. Don’t wait to be taught a lesson by the “big one” (as most California residents say). Protect your important data and enjoy the peace of mind that comes along with it. You’ve worked too hard to get your business where it is. Protect your hard work.

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Cyber Extortion: Don’t Be a Victim

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We’ve all seen movies where a couple of thugs in trench coats walk into a store, take a look around and say something like, “Nice place you got here, shame if something were to happen to it.” Many people might think the days of extortion went away with the end of mob-run New York and Chicago, but it’s still alive and well on the internet — in the form of ransomware.

To make things worse, as the world has been buckling down with the COVID-19 pandemic, hackers have been working overtime to take advantage of lax cybersecurity. But before we get into how to protect your company from ransomware threats, let’s see how we got here.

Understanding the Problem

For those unaware, ransomware is a form of computer virus that allows a hacker to enter your system and lock you out of every file and program you use. Then, out of the goodness of their hearts, the hackers give you two options: pay them a set amount of money or lose access to everything forever.

Ransomware has been around for decades (and we’ve written many blogs on the topic) but it has proliferated exponentially in recent years. The main reason for this is because it works. Merely stealing your information and then selling it can make them money, but not nearly as much as ransoming that same information to its rightful owner.

Over the course of just a few months (Q4 of 2019 to Q1 of 2020), Forbes magazine stated that overall attacks rose by 25%. Why such a rise? Well, it could have something to do with payouts also rising by 33% within that same timeframe. With that kind of increase, it’s no wonder why hacking is a growing industry.

Ransomware in the Age of Covid-19

When the pandemic started, many people began working from home. For many of us, working from home presents no problems at all, but for others, it creates a whole list of issues that won’t be resolved until their whole department can be back in the office.

This has especially been the case with IT departments. While it’s true that they can do a lot of their work remotely, sometimes they just need to be in the server room to do their job. And don’t think for a minute that hackers don’t know that.

With so many fractured IT departments out there, businesses have been getting swarmed with attacks. For example, the city of Florence, Alabama was attacked just a few weeks ago and said that paying the $300,000 demand was better than having its citizen’s information exposed and for sale.

Even more recently, Honda was attacked by a cybercriminal that actually ended up shutting down production. Ransomware is getting more dangerous by the day.

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The New Frontier

The recent pandemic has taught us that we don’t need as many people in the office or even at the factory as we thought we did. Work can be done via automation or with remote workers and keep the business running. That means that our businesses can become even more efficient than ever before. It also means that if a hacker were to get into your system, the damage can be even more devastating.

With the way businesses are depending more and more on technology, your entire business can grind to a halt from a single bad decision someone took when opening the wrong email.

Lighting Can Strike Twice

Imagine your company has been a victim of a ransomware attack and the crisis passes. Perhaps you paid the hacker or were able to gain access to your system again some other way. Now imagine that life has gone back to normal until one day the unthinkable happens: you get hacked again with a ransomware demand.

Sadly, this is not a one-off situation. In fact, not only can this happen to a single business, but it can happen to multiple parts of an organization. One of the most famous examples of this is when a single school is hacked, then multiple other schools in the same district get hit with the same ransomware, one by one.

The reason this is somewhat common in the tech world is that organizations can have similar (or identical!) safety protocols across the board. It’s a lot less work for a hacker to work this way than to go search out other targets every time they want a hit. However, we all know one of the biggest reasons we’re unprepared is because we all think it can’t happen to us. The harsh reality is that’s what all the businesses who were hit thought too.

What Can You Do?

While it’s true that hackers are getting more sophisticated every day, the majority of their attacks are opportunistic. Hackers take the path of least resistance, so if they can enter your system by Carol in accounting falling for a phishing scam, or if your IT department did not update their protocols after a previous attack, they’ll take that route.

That’s where we come into play. By dealing with a company to work on your behalf, you don’t need to worry every time someone logs into your system. And why should you waste all that time? Any effort you put into protecting your system is effort that could have been spent growing your business. By having us go over your current system and helping you implement a better one, you stand a much better chance when the internet goons come for your data.

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How Secure is your Data?

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How Secure is Your Data?

Hacking, Phishing, Ransomware, and over-all Data Breaches are on the rise. It seems that every advancement we make with data security, hackers are able to find a way through.

In this blog, we will discuss the importance of keeping your data secure. While we are using Medical Offices as an example, this information crosses over to almost every industry. If you use cloud storage, proprietary software, and store personal data, this blog holds valuable information for you.

Your Clients Put Their Trust in You

Medical professionals are not only entrusted with caring for the health of their patients, but also for keeping their information private. Given that, it’s no wonder why physicians must be some of the most trustworthy people in our communities.

However, on the other end of the spectrum are those who actively look to take advantage of the information that medical practices and hospital systems have accumulated over the years. But why are medical records so valuable and what can be done to protect them?

Richer Than You Think

Medical databases are among the top targets for hackers with more and more breaches taking place each year — but why? CBS News reported that while a social security number may be worth $1 and a credit card number $110 on the dark web (average numbers), a single medical record can be worth a whopping $1000 or more!

The reason for the value is that your medical records typically have more personal information than any other source out there. This may include your social security number, address, phone number, banking information, and a lot more. With so much at play, it’s no surprise why hackers are starting to focus more on these records than any other.

Who’s Bears the Responsibility?

Everyone in the healthcare industry in the US is aware that HIPPA prevents sharing medical information except under particular circumstances. But what if that information left your hands and was spread involuntarily? Although it may be a gray area, there’s still the strong likelihood that the medical office could be held liable, at least in a civil court — especially if they haven’t done everything possible to avoid the hack. Don’t forget that data breaches cost the healthcare industry upwards of $6 billion per year.

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How to Protect Your Patients — and Yourself

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are often used by the medical industry to help avoid such situations. One way we do this is by helping these customers when it comes time to update ICD codes, (International Classification of Diseases). This can be tricky since HIPPA approved systems aren’t always the easiest to upgrade. Not only is the computer update important, but the people updates are as well.

Also, there is plenty for your MSP to do in helping you avoid HIPPA violations. For instance, any device used that contains or has access to patient information needs to be encrypted. In 2016, one iPhone that was lost at a single facility ended up created a $650,000 fine. Remember: it’s not your fault if the device is lost or stolen, but it is your fault if you failed to encrypt the information beforehand.

In a similar vein, when you dispose of older devices, you can’t just toss them in a dumpster and go about your day. These devices must be wiped clean, often in a way more substantial than just deleting records. While that might be acceptable if you want to dispose of your personal devices, those who understand computers can quickly get access to files that weren’t properly deleted. A good MSP can make that happen as part of their standard service.

Who Watches the Watchers?

Where you store your data is also a major part of data security. As we previously mentioned, some medical practices have used standard cloud storage and paid a heavy price when data was easily breached. While it’s true that cloud storage is easy and often a more inexpensive option, you have far less control over the information and the security of that data if it is out of your hands. Unless you use a top-of-the-line service, your data will be vulnerable as weaker services make prime targets for hackers. After all, why go after an individual when you can get data from thousands of companies at once through a cloud service?

Even if you decide to go with local storage, who has access to your data? With the genuine value of these records along with the absolute risk of liability, if things go sour, you need to be very careful with whom you allow access to the database. MSPs make sure that not only will your information be safe, but that the people who oversee your databased have all the proper education and certifications to avoid any problems down the line.

Bottom Line

Let’s get real for a second here. Medicine and medical technology are advancing at breakneck speeds. Would most people feel comfortable with a physician who hasn’t been to a class or conference since graduating from medical school? Of course not!

Data security is exactly the same. As hackers become more and more advanced, MSPs must stay one step ahead of them to protect our clients. That’s why we make it a point to continually train our team on new security options and protocols.

If you don’t have a robust security plan in place for your office or business, don’t wait to give us a call. Every moment you’re not protected is a moment of opportunity for a pirate to rob you over your clients’ trust and confidence.

If your organization is starting to fall behind over a lack of attention to your IT, contact us today. Our expert team will be more than happy to evaluate your needs and help you implement and maintain the most reasonable and secure solution. The only thing you have to lose is sleepless nights.

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Is Cost Holding You Back?

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Managing expenses is one of the core tasks of any business owner or manager. Nothing is free, so if you want to keep the lights on and your office staffed, you need to know what’s coming in and what you’re paying out.

But to run operations profitably, you might find yourself having to prioritize your expenses. When you do that, what gets bumped up-front and what gets pushed to the back? A mistake that many businesses — especially medical offices — make is to give IT a lower priority.

In this blog, using medical offices as our example, we’ll discuss why most offices tend to place too low of a priority on their IT budget and what can happen as a consequence if they’re not careful.

Why Such a Low Priority?

Many types of businesses think nothing of dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on diagnostic machines or specialty equipment, yet they drag their feet when it comes to upgrading outdated computer terminals. In all honesty, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise as CEO’s often have an “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. After all, how often have you been to a doctor’s office and have seen a scale that looked like it was manufactured during the Nixon administration?

While imaging systems and other medical equipment offer tangible benefits to physicians when caring for their patients, some feel that if the computer system can still do what it’s supposed to be doing, then what’s the point of upgrading or expanding? Additionally, and we’re just being frank here, new medical equipment can often mean more money in the pocket of the practice, whereas giving the reception desk updated terminals doesn’t seem to offer any real profit.

That being said, there are other reasons for not wanting to upgrade other than just dollars and cents. For instance, finding good hardware or software can be difficult as everything used needs to be HIPPA compliant — something that not every system can claim. As a result, upgrading can be a nightmare, especially when the current system that’s being used was installed decades ago.

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The High Cost of Low Budgets

With many types of investments, including IT purchases, the less you pay upfront, the more you’ll pay in the future. In the example mentioned above of the old scale, as long as it’s accurate, it doesn’t matter how old it is since it does its job. But if you’re running older computer systems that don’t have modern safety protocols, for example, your system is exceptionally vulnerable to attacks.

While hackers wanting to steal credit card numbers is no surprise, what is surprising is the apparent value of medical records being sold inside the dark web. In last May alone, there were 28 reports of hacks stealing more than 500 records from medical systems nationwide. HHS’ Office for Civil Rights reports a 59% year-over-year increase in these sorts of attacks, with much of it blamed on outdated systems and hardware. Not only is it difficult for the patients whose privacy has been violated, but it also opens up these healthcare providers to a sea of liability.

In addition to security risks, you may also face the risk of being left behind. Patients are now treated at a higher level of service than ever before. For instance, who ten years ago could have ever dreamt of a world where you could receive your test results at the same time your doctor does, on your phone? These and many other services can be provided via patient portals, which are a major example of how the future is now alive in healthcare. A significant emphasis has been made making patients and doctors partners and the only way to do this is by easy access to information.

Lastly, modern IT just makes everything move faster. Whether it be billing, insurance claims, scheduling, or any other aspect of running a medical facility, there’s no doubt that the fewer resources that are dedicated to non-medical tasks, the better and faster your patients can be cared for.

Modern Solutions to Modern Challenges

Even with all these benefits made clear, the challenge is still in the acquisition, implementation, and upkeep of a modern IT solution that will work best for your operation. With so many options at so many price levels, it can be a major undertaking to know what will work best for you.

That’s where a quality Managed Service Provider comes into play. MSPs work well with healthcare organizations since we do all the IT work for you, allowing you to get back to taking care of your patients. We go over what you currently have and work within your needs and budget to see what will make your office run at top efficiency.

By using our experience and know-how, we cure your issues so you can cure the rest of the community.

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Who makes your IT purchases?

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This month we’ve been discussing the value of updating your current technology. We are using Medical Offices as our example, but in reality, this information is important to all small businesses. In this week’s blog, we will discuss the pitfalls of sticking your head in the sand by being resistant to change.

Let’s assume that everything we’ve said about upgrading your technology resonated with you, and you agree 100% — now what? Well, decisions have to be made. What kind of hardware will you be using? What about the software? When do you plan to make changes, and what’s your budget? Do you plan to hire new people for this undertaking or do you plan to use a vendor? But perhaps the most crucial question of all is, who will make the final decision?

While this might seem like an odd question, the truth is that many offices don’t have a go-to person for these types of decisions. Or maybe the person who is currently in charge of this may be too busy, too distracted, or not the best person to do so.

Who is your Decision Maker?

One of the biggest problems with a lot of medical practices is that they often don’t work like your typical business. While most traditional companies might have an owner, a president, or simply a manager, this isn’t always the case when it comes to doctors.

Medical practices, like attorney firms, typically use a partnership model where they may have more than five or six doctors who own the business and are in charge of making most of the larger decisions. While it’s true they often use office managers, these position holders usually handle the day-to-day operations and aren’t given the authority to make decisions for large purchases or contracts. But even if there’s only one person at the top, the decision may still not be an easy one to make.

A Question of Qualification

There is no doubt that doctors are qualified to do their jobs. Few professions require as much education and experience before they can start their career path. Even so, that expertise does not extend to understanding technology in their offices. Why is it that someone with the skills to cut you apart then put you back together can look like a deer in headlights when confronted about server clients, cloud systems automation, and WANs? Probably because this was never a taught to them in their years of medical school.

But in defense of these physicians, there is a lot more to IT than simply understanding computers. For instance, understanding budgeting is an essential part of any IT desision. Even if you have the money, just buying everything there is does not a good IT system make. Having a thorough understanding of the specific needs — including future needs — of the office is crucial before spending a single penny.

In addition, healthcare systems are some of the most difficult to set up and manage because of strict government regulations regarding patient privacy. While there are plenty of great software programs that can help the office run smoothly, HIPPA compliance should be at the front of your mind before implementing anything. Sadly, it seems that many software programs (and even operating systems) don’t go out of their way to answer whether or not they are HIPPA compliant, so you need people who can find out that information to help you make the correct decision.

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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

It’s no secret that technology is moving at breakneck speeds these days, so if you’re not making efforts to keep up, you can fall behind in a blink of an eye. New solutions for storage, operating systems, and security are being developed almost daily. Also, there may be a need to upgrade systems for other reasons, such as when it’s becoming clear that your needs are growing or evolving.

Again, this process is difficult for any business but much more so in a medical environment, mostly because of HIPPA compliance. This may either lead a practice to fall out of compliance or choose to forgo upgrading in general to avoid a situation like that, even at the expense of efficiency. A major reason for this is a lack of guidance, with people having a very specific specialty being unaware or unsure of what needs to be done to upgrade.

This can cause major problems down the line as the most common solution to this problem tends to be a piecemeal replacement process. A computer here or a printer there may seem like a reasonable way to get things done, but the fact is that it ends up costing a lot more than making regular replacement of all outdated equipment at once. Additionally, it can make migrating files and systems much more complicated in the future since all these different pieces of equipment will be running various operating systems or in other ways be non-uniform.

If you find yourself in this situation, it could lead to security breaches, lowered employee morale, and downtime that will lead to a loss of efficiency. If the problem started because there wasn’t a single person taking charge, it would be a lot more difficult to resolve these issues.

A Streamlined Solution

The best way to get your office on track is to make a formal decision as to who handles IT across the board. While you may want input from the various departments, a single, qualified person should be pulling the lever on these decisions.

Since medical facilities tend to be such busy places, many have chosen to go with an outside vendor to provide these IT services, such as us. From our experience, when having a single person or group meet with us to address the needs and current status of the office, we’re able to quickly work out a solution. Not only are we able to make sure that the needs of everyone in the office are met without all the hassle usually needed to maintain such a system, but that system ends up being well within their budget.

If you find yourself being the person responsible for making these decisions, contact us to see how we can be of service. You’ll be amazed by the positive atmosphere you can create with just a few changes to your IT. But don’t worry — we’ll let you take all the credit!

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