Any idea who's in your system?  I'm not sure how many people really think about this and if so, usually not until it's too late.  The reason I ask this is one of the hot topics floating around in our industry these days is outsourcing.  And by this I don't mean outsourcing your IT services.  I mean IT service providers who outsource some of the services they're selling to their clients to 3rd parties.  There's a whole growing industry of companies providing white-labeled services to IT service providers who then resell them to their clients.

One of our strengths historically has been our size.  Because we're bigger than many of our competitors, there are a lot of pluses that come from this - redundancy of staff, knowledge sharing, wider swath of capabilities and experience, etc.  One of the things that I didn't really consider till late was that in addition to all of these things, one plus that's actually a pretty big one is that we DON'T outsource anything we do when it comes to managing our clients' networks.  Everything we do from end-user helpdesk support to the NOC services we provide is performed by our very own talented staff.  This is a key factor for our clients in the financial services industry.  We're the only ones logging in to their systems and accessing their information.  As it turns out, this is a HUGE differentiator for us.  I don't know how many competitors I've spoken with recently who outsource monitoring, alert response, patching, troubleshooting, or helpdesk support services.  I've met some who even outsource ALL of these services.  Some of these companies are here in the US while a majority are offshore.  This certainly makes sense from a cost basis (of the service provider), but how does this really help the client?  The savings really isn't passed on to the client.  It's about operational efficiencies of the service provider.  And what about security and compliance issues?  I'm not sure any of these are really being considered.

One of our strengths too has always been assuming responsibility for our client's networks.  And there's no way you can reasonably ensure that you can be responsible for something if someone else is touching it (regardless of the security concerns).  Now don't get me wrong - I'm sure there's a place for these sorts of setups out there in the world (although from a client perspective, I'm still having a hard time really seeing it).  That said, I'm hard pressed to see a majority of our clients being ok with this.  This is why they hired us: to take care of them - NOT to offload our responsibility to someone else.  Rather than looking at this as a burden, we see this as an advantage and an opportunity.  Core Value #1 - "Take Care of the Client".

So, do you have any idea who's in your system?  Our clients know.

When it first came out, the iPad had everyone stumped - at least from a business perspective. How can we use this great new technology in a real and meaningful way? One of the great attributes of the iPad is it's ability to present integrated information in a great, new way. What I mean by "integrated" is that all types of media (ie: text, images, and video) can be accessed all from the same venue.

I recently ran across one of the most creative ways to take advantage of all that the iPad has to offer. And it's being done by none other than the NFL. That's right. A few of the teams in the National Football League are leveraging iPads like never before. It used to be that players were issued a playbook that came in a big, heavy 3-ring binder. Now, a couple of teams have reengineered this process and replaced their paper playbooks with iPads. For now, the Baltimore Ravens and the Tampa Bay Bucaneers are the only two teams who have moved in this direction, but it seems to be a wining move (at least for the Ravens). Not only does this give the players an easy to use way to access all the information they need and in a great medium, it also allows the team to manage and control the information available. Rather than the manual (paper) system of old, updates can be pushed out at any point in time and everyone now has the same, exact information. Game day video is downloaded right after the game and now everyone can study the same film from anywhere.

In the old days, God forbid if a player ever lost their playbook. Let alone being fined by the team, all of their secrets would be revealed to their opponents. And for the rest of the season that player would be shunned by his teammates. Now, that's no longer an issue. Nick Fusee, the Ravens' Directory of Information Technology, was quoted as saying "If Ray Lewis loses his (iPad) in a McDonald's, I can click a button and remotely wipe it. That's peace of mind."

For the these two teams at least, iPads seem to be a winning technology that's showing results off and on the field.

“But these go to eleven!”  If anyone’s seen Spinal Tap, you’ll know what I’m referring to.  Everyone has a Top 10 list.  But, I couldn’t quite narrow things down to just 10.  So, here are our top 11 questions to help evaluate a prospective IT Solution Provider:

1. How long have they been in business?

This may not seem like that big of a differentiator, but it’s a great place to start.  And, it could be a big differentiator.  We’ve been around since 1991 and have seen it all.  We’ve lived through all the different flavors of Microsoft Windows and all the related upgrade challenges. While we're up on all the latest and greatest, we've also seen Novell and WordPerfect come and go.  We understand the purpose of technology and Get IT!  Business Before Technology!

2. How big are they?

In this case, size does matter.  We’re 22 strong and have over 15 dedicated technical staff ranging from remote desktop support staff to network engineers to senior project managers.  We staff our own help desk and Network Operations Center (NOC).  We don't outsource any of the day-to-day functions you'd be expecting from your IT Service Provider.

3. What is their background and expertise?

How did they get to where they are?  What is their background like?  Why are they doing what they’re doing?  Are they “techs” who started out playing with computers or are they computer professionals?  Do they carry industry standard vendor certifications?  And are they current?  While our staff certainly has all the technical chops needed (if not more), our unique approach has always been our business first approach.  Our unique perspective was founded on our initial approach from being software developers and system implementers.  We've always approached things from the application side of things and how the system impacts the business.  We've always thought of the underlying technology as a tool, rather than the end-all be-all.  First and foremost - we're business consultants.

4. What is their business knowledge?

Beyond supporting technology, how well do they truly understand running a business?  As a small business ourselves and with the track record we have we truly understand all too well the day-to-day factors impacting the goal of running a profitable business:  planning, budgetting, managing, leading, hiring, training, retaining, spending, investing, managing growth - the list could go on and on.  Fortunately, because we view ourselves as our clients' trusted advisors we believe we that we offer more than simply technology services.  We're constantly framing everything we're involved in from the business perspective.  Our discussions with clients utilize business terms.  We're constantly looking at ways to help clients become more effective, more efficient, and ultimately more profitable.  Business Before Technology – We Get IT!

5. How accessible are they?

What are their hours?  Do you get voicemail or do you get a live person.  What about after hours?  How can you get in touch with them then?  Is there anyone on-call?  Our hours are 7:00am - 7:00pm.  We're open when you need us.  When you call us, you will get a live person.  After hours, our voicemail system will send an email to our on-call staff as soon as you leave a message.  Our on-call staff are the same people you talk to during business hours.  They're not outsourced!  And they're not a message service.  We're accessible.  If you need help, we're there.

6. What does their hiring process look like?

Do they even have a hiring “process”?  We’ve honed ours to provide only the best and brightest with the technical chops, business acumen, and innate character needed to excel at the highest levels.  In addition to the standard interviews and background and reference checks, our process includes an in-depth online and in person technical assessment, an online workplace assessment, a DISC assessment and multiple levels of interviews.  We call it “running the gauntlet”.  We do this to ensure that we're starting with only the strongest and most capable candidates out there.

7. What does their training process look like?

Do they have a formal process around how they get their staff "up to speed"?  And how do they measure what, exactly this means?  We have our own FPA University which in addition to technical classes also contains classes detailing our processes, systems, and methodologies as well as classes covering consulting techniques, business applications, vertical market specific concepts, and detailed ways to improve their individual work flow (ie: how to be more effective in Office apps, how to better multi-task, how improve communications, etc.).  Then only after passing all of these classes, performing a minimum number of onsite shadowing visits, and developing required documentation, they must pass a technical and consulting Final Exam.  Then once onboard, every one of our staff has an individual training budget reinforcing the need for personal growth through continuing education.  Our staff rocks!

8. What does their staff retention look like?

How long do people stay with them?  If there's turnover - why?  While everyone who’s growing always has new staff, how long has a majority of their staff been there?  We have staff who’ve been with us 5, 10, 12, 17 years.  That’s right YEARS!  This is pretty well unheard of in the technology field.

9. Do they do the work themselves or do they outsource key parts (like HelpDesk or NOC)?

Everything we do, WE do.  I'm starting to see more and more so called "MSP's" outsourcing these key functions.  While it may make sense on paper, we feel that it's not in our clients' best interest to farm this out.  We OWN our networks.

10. What do their references say about them?

Everyone can (and will) say great things about themselves.  Ask for a list of references.  Then, ask the references the tough questions.  What happens when things don't go right?  How do they handle it?  What happens when one of their staff leave suddenly?  How do they transfer the knowledge to the new person?  Ask them the last time they didn't come through for them.  Ask them what they think their Solution Provider should do more of?  Or less of?  Or what they should be doing better or more of.  Find out why they went with them in the first place and then what keeps them with them.  I think you'll be surprised by the results.

11. Do they deliver?  Really deliver?  And if so, what do they deliver?

At FPA, Core Value #1 is “Take Care of the Client”.  Note the use of the word “Client” (not “Customer”).  This is a significant difference.  Most, if not all, of our competitors use the word "Customer".  We build meaningful relationships with our clients that stand the test of time.  We're not out to sell them anything.  We make sure we’re doing what we say we’re going to do.  We’re open and honest.  We provide our own proprietary Client WebPortal so that our clients can access every piece of information about their networks at any point in time.  They can see what we see.  We provide a dashboard so that clients can see metrics about their network and about our performance.  Beyond the behind the scenes maintenance, we provide network status and performance reports every month emailed to our clients’ inbox.  We make sure that we provide value in everything we do. Above and beyond all the platitudes, simply put - we come through.

While on the surface having a friend, neighbor, relative, or someone at work in charge of your IT may not seem like that bad of a move, I would think only when it comes to dog walking would you think this is ok in any other aspect of your life.  Imagine having your nephew who's "really good" at math do your tax returns for you.  Or imagine having your butcher giving you a second opinion (or a first for that matter!) on the best way to remove your gall bladder (remember, he's really good with knives).  Or imagine bringing your mini-van in to your local bike shop to fix your brakes (they're just brakes, how hard should it be?).  All of these scenarios may seem far fetched, but in reality the comparison's not that far off from your nephew building your website, your receptionist installing your ERP system, or your office administrator being "responsible" for patching and upgrading your workstations and servers.  Assuming someone is capable of such responsibility just because they can download and install software is a bad move.  An under-qualified person is never a good move both in the short term or the long term.  Certainly they're not qualified to give IT advice. A good IT person is always trained, certified, and experienced enough to work within the complexities of a business IT environment.  The fact is while technology is sold over and over again by the big boys (Microsoft, Cisco, HP, etc.) as being easy and no different from a home appliance, in a business setting it's really so much more.

It's clear that people who use under-qualified people for their IT a) sometimes don't really know they are and/or b) are thinking they're saving money by doing this.  In actuality, this couldn't be further from the truth.  Because they've fallen into this trap, most small businesses who do this actually end up spending more money just to correct the mistakes of this approach.  Every "best in class" business I've ever seen or heard of takes their technology seriously, allocates appropriate resources to it (ie: quality and quantity), and invests in the long term.  Rich people get rich by investing - not cutting corners.  The same is true when running your IT.  Cutting corners will always cost you more in the long run and take you to places you really don't want to be.  And having under-qualified people providing your IT service is one of the fastest ways of getting there.  And as they say, "Don't go there".

This one actually ties in quite nicely to Mistake #3 (Going Cheap), although it may be the chicken and the egg syndrome - not sure which comes first.  Are you going cheap because you're overextending the lifecycle of your technology or are you overextending the lifecycle of your technology because you're going cheap?  Because many businesses tend to "go cheap", their first inclination is the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  With technology this actually turns out be a more costly approach.

I'm big on analogies and I think all too often too many people think that technology is like operating a car.  If you're driving along and it stops working, you simply pull over to the side of the road like you ran out of gas.  No big deal.  But really, technology is actually more like flying an airplane.  You simply can't afford to run out of gas - it's life threatening.  While I get that server crashes, data breeches, and downtime certainly aren't exactly life threatening situations (for the most part), they could actually be very threatening to the life of one's business.  It's been said that 50% of businesses who suffer a significant data loss are out of business within a year.

Way too often we've seen clients pushing the envelope on how long they keep technology in production (see my blog post on the Really, Really story).  These are usually NOT the Best in Class performers in their industries.  There's a reason why Dell  warranties servers for only 3 years out of the chute.  They know their own failure rates.  Beyond the cost of dealing with picking up the pieces after a crisis, most of these companies don't realize (or want to even consider) the performance gains by replacing 3 and 4 year old equipment.  Because technology continues to improve exponentially, 3 to 4 years is an eternity in performance gains.  Just because something's "still working" doesn't necessarily mean it's as effective or productive as it could be - which actually decreases staff productivity.  Increasing the performance of a staff member by 5% by upgrading their workstation can bring about a 200% return on investment in a year.  Unfortunately, most business owners don't factor the hidden costs into the equation as much as they should.

The most effective businesses leveraging technology these days ALWAYS have a proactive approach to their technology.  And overextending the technology lifecycle is NOT a proactive approach.  Like I said, you can view technology as though it's like a car or like a plane.  It's your choice.  Just make sure you pack a big enough parachute if you choose to fly.

This one actually ties in quite nicely to Mistake #3 (Going Cheap), although it may be the chicken and the egg syndrome - not sure which comes first.  Are you going cheap because you're overextending the lifecycle of your technology or are you overextending the lifecycle of your technology because you're going cheap?  Because many businesses tend to "go cheap", their first inclination is the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  With technology this actually turns out be a more costly approach.

I'm big on analogies and I think all too often too many people think that technology is like operating a car.  If you're driving along and it stops working, you simply pull over to the side of the road like you ran out of gas.  No big deal.  But really, technology is actually more like flying an airplane.  You simply can't afford to run out of gas - it's life threatening.  While I get that server crashes, data breeches, and downtime certainly aren't exactly life threatening situations (for the most part), they could actually be very threatening to the life of one's business.  It's been said that 50% of businesses who suffer a significant data loss are out of business within a year.

Way too often we've seen clients pushing the envelope on how long they keep technology in production (see my blog post on the Really, Really story).  These are usually NOT the Best in Class performers in their industries.  There's a reason why Dell  warranties servers for only 3 years out of the chute.  They know their own failure rates.  Beyond the cost of dealing with picking up the pieces after a crisis, most of these companies don't realize (or want to even consider) the performance gains by replacing 3 and 4 year old equipment.  Because technology continues to improve exponentially, 3 to 4 years is an eternity in performance gains.  Just because something's "still working" doesn't necessarily mean it's as effective or productive as it could be - which actually decreases staff productivity.  Increasing the performance of a staff member by 5% by upgrading their workstation can bring about a 200% return on investment in a year.  Unfortunately, most business owners don't factor the hidden costs into the equation as much as they should.

The most effective businesses leveraging technology these days ALWAYS have a proactive approach to their technology.  And overextending the technology lifecycle is NOT a proactive approach.  Like I said, you can view technology as though it's like a car or like a plane.  It's your choice.  Just make sure you pack a big enough parachute if you choose to fly.

Continuing on with the "Mistakes" I've seen in my travels...

Mistake #2: Using Mass-market Equipment to Run Business-class Tasks

Second to the "Set it and Forget it Mentality", we see this mistake in way too many new prospects (and some clients too!).  Maybe that's why they're calling us in?  While they're trying to save money by using inappropriate or outdated levels of a particular technology solution, they end up costing themselves more in the long run. 

For example, as I discussed in my previous blog, everything requires ongoing maintenance and administration - so there are always related costs to anything you implement.  This (ongoing maintenance and administration) is one of the most significant components of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).  Again, being penny-wise and pound-foolish means doing something like buying a firewall from Fry's that's meant for your home computer rather than your business.  These things increase your exposure to viruses, malware, and hacks - let alone the increased cost to administer, let alone diminished performance.  Then you invariably get the question as to "why is our internet so slow?"  I don't know - maybe it's that firewall that you're running 25 users on that's meant for 2 home users!  So, rather than replace the firewall, the business owner will spend more than they need to for their internet connection.  The same thing can be said over and over again when it comes to servers, backup solutions, workstations, and the like.

Over the length of it's life "cheaper" components break down sooner, cause more problems for your IT support staff, and perform significantly worse - which means more cost to you.  Unfortunately, these are the sorts of "hidden costs" that don't get connected when the owner only sees the cost of the hardware when he's writing the check.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm not saying everyone needs a Cadillac when an Acura or a Toyota would do.  But, I can tell you too many companies rely on technology that's closer to a Schwinn than anything near what it should be.  This costs them more than they care to know and it's only a matter of time before it comes back to bite them.

I was recently asked by a new prospect what I thought were some of the most important things to keep in mind when dealing with technology for a small business.  Immediately, my mind went into a flurry of thoughts - from backup to security to over extending life-cycles to under-funding to over-simplifying requirements.  I was a whirling dervish before I sat down and documented all of my concerns.  So far I've come up with a Baker's dozen of "mistakes" negatively impact technology that we see over and over again when we take on a new client.  I thought this would make for a great series to share, so (and in no particular order) here's "Mistake" #1:

Having a "Set it and Forget it" Mentality

This is probably the most common mistake small businesses make with their technology and probably one of the hardest habits to break. Make no mistake about it: hardware and software require routine and regular maintenance.  Without it, it's only a matter of time before something bad will happen.  Unfortunately, small business owners bring their consumer mind-set when viewing their technology.  Because most small businesses start out as a one or two person shop, they're still carrying around the mentality of a single, home user.  Unfortunately, it's hard to shed this mentality as the business grows and the technology needs grow with it.  As a consumer, they've been sold all along that their computing needs are the same as the cell phones they carry in their pockets.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Every large business knows this.  Unfortunately, it usually takes a serious blow to their systems before it trickles down to the small business owner. 

Think of your IT infrastructure as you would your car. If you forget to put oil in it or keep up the regular service, your engine will die. Servers, workstations, and related software applications need continual care and maintenance so that they can perform at optimal levels. Similar to a car, the more time and energy you spend in caring for your systems, the better they will perform and the longer they will last.  This has been proven time and time again.  Unfortunately, too many small business owners are penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to their IT.