Many companies like the idea of having a single internal IT manager; it means their technology needs can be addressed in-house, which theoretically relieves stress and resolves problems quickly. Ideally, these things are true—but in practice, most companies with an internal IT manager (or even a small IT team) suffer an entirely different experience. As technology grows more influential each year, it also grows significantly more sophisticated; keeping up requires time to study, learn, and certify in that new technology. Unfortunately, the more complex nature of technology also inevitably leads to more potential problems, not to mention the increased risks of cybercrime. An internal IT team simply cannot keep up with it all, and quickly find themselves pinned down, on the defensive, unable to move forward.
Without support from another resource, your internal IT resource is like the Spartans at Thermopylae: working valiantly for the good of your company, but doomed to fail.
Overwhelming Numbers
The first and arguably most visible problem posed by relying on an internal IT resource is the burden of the helpdesk: dozens, if not hundreds, of minor issues disrupting the day-to-day operations of your business. These could be anything from a password reset, an email connectivity issue, an application update and so on. Individually, these things are of small consequence—but they take valuable time, energy, and focus away from your IT resource. With some additional support, that time could have been better spent improving your networks, standardizing your application installations, or researching new technologies to help your company grow.
Your IT manager is a capable individual and can likely manage these problems well enough on their own—but for how long? How long before routine maintenance becomes too expensive to support, and you’re unsure how to upgrade your systems? It’s a tough job. Holding this line will become much more challenging when cybercriminals find a way through your defenses and into your system.
Flanked and Routed
When the entirety of your IT manager’s time is dedicated to managing your daily needs, they don’t have the time to research or implement other crucial IT staples; specifically cybersecurity. Most IT managers don’t have enough time or expertise to stay up to date with cybercrime and cybersecurity best practices while also supporting the work stations, networks, applications, access points, phone system, etc… , which risks leaving a fatal opening into your network. For example, if your company is using a work-from-home environment, then there’s a chance your employees are using their personal computers for work. This is an immediate security risk: uncontrolled workstations are almost always more vulnerable than secure company workstations. Any data that is sent to, from, or through these uncontrolled workstations can open the door for hackers, allowing them to steal your data and damage your network.
The Spartans lost at Thermopylae because they were flanked via an unknown back passage—don’t make the same mistake.
So how can you solve this problem? The most efficient way to support your existing IT team is to reinforce them; working alongside an external IT resource like 10D Tech can allow you to meet all of your technology needs without taking any risks. Our job would be to cover the technology needs that your IT manager doesn’t have time to do. For example, we could enhance your cybersecurity requirements or helpdesk, allowing your internal IT team to focus on helping your company grow. If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to book a meeting with us
-we’d love to work with you.