Not all IT tasks are created equal. Sometimes tasks can practically be done in a technician’s sleep, while others can be automated. Then there are those tasks that are far more complex. In our experience, we have found that many Detroit IT firms shy away from doing risky tasks, and it comes back to bite local businesses.
Here’s an example of what I mean. At the start of the pandemic, when business owners weren’t really sure what to do—a lot of people were just winging it. Nobody was completely certain how long office workers were going to be working remotely and virtual meeting platforms came into their own.
We helped a lot of organizations (over 200!) get situated remotely and stay in business. We were able to do this because a lot of our methods and best practices already had secure remote access in mind. It’s a fundamental way that we work—if we learn or establish a better way to do something, we apply it to every network we implement. We’re always growing and polishing our internal best practices so that the work that we do is the best work we’ve ever done, and we can repeat it over and over again.
This sets our clients up so they are ahead of the game, prevents bigger issues down the road, and aids with the more complicated stuff like compliance or deeply custom solutions.
Let’s go over a few other scenarios where we see other local, Detroit-based IT firms allow their clients to fall short.
Putting Off Complex Server or Cloud Migrations
This is a huge one, and can lead to chaos if it’s on the backburner for too long.
Let’s look at a simple, fairly common scenario: A local Detroit manufacturing company has been using the same software to handle their production, monitor their machines, track their inventory, and comply with quality standards. Their day-to-day operations depend on this software. The software developer reaches out and lets them know that in the next 12 months, their current version will stop getting support and critical updates, but the new version does everything they need it to, it just requires a newer server OS to run securely. A year seems like a long time to get a task done, but that same year can go by extremely fast. How many of your initiatives were put off over the last 12 months due to the urgency of the pandemic?
It can happen. It does happen.
A year goes by, and the company doesn’t act. Meanwhile, updates to industry compliance standards that aren’t supported by the older version of the software start to come into play. The developer of the software can’t offer much to help. They say, “Upgrade to the new supported version, we warned you a full year ago.”
Out-of-date software and hardware is a major factor in regards to cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and needs to be taken seriously. Suddenly you find yourself needing to rush the migration process, order new hardware (in a time when some computing hardware is low on stock and shipping times are extended), get everything built and configured, move all the data, and get all of your workers acclimated to the new software.
These types of migrations can be complex and arduous, but it’s much easier to plan and implement them when not under a looming time crunch.
Staying Ahead of Industry Compliances
Depending on your field, you likely have numerous rules and regulations you need to follow, including cybersecurity or data security compliances. Take HIPAA, for example (short for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). If you deal with patient medical records, you need to comply with HIPAA. We help our clients meet compliance standards like this regularly, and while we’re not the only Detroit-based IT firm that can, it’s pretty easy for a business to fall out of compliance when something changes on the network.
One of the more common HIPAA violations that healthcare organizations tend to see is failing to encrypt private information (or an equivalent measure) on portable devices. If your organization is brought up to compliance, and then a level 1 tech adds a new device and doesn’t follow the proper steps to ensure that device is also compliant, your organization is no longer compliant.
This gets complicated with the more moving parts you have—that’s why it’s important to audit and evaluate your compliance regularly. That’s also why it’s critical that your IT provider is fully aware of your compliance needs every step of the way. It’s so easy for a user or unaware technician to think they are doing the right thing when they are actually putting your entire organization and its data at risk.
These are just a couple of examples. Detroit businesses need to partner with IT firms that aren’t afraid of going the extra mile. We’ve always made it our focus to pay close attention to the smallest details and constantly re-apply what we learn so that our clients are constantly benefiting from the relationship they have with us.
If you feel like your Detroit-based IT firm isn’t willing to do the hard work you need them to do, give Fuse Technology Group a call at 248.545.0800.
