The Value of an IT Assessment

Here at Novatech, as a Managed IT services provider, we offer prospective clients complimentary IT and Network Assessments. The assessment gives the business-person a good look at where the company’s IT infrastructure stands at that moment regarding a number of potential security issues as well as understanding where it stands in terms of updates and upgrades. We then ask people to consider four questions:

• Wouldn’t you like your IT investment to not be just an expense, but be an asset?
• How harmful would it be to have your IT network “go down”?
• What would be the effect of total data loss?
• Are you willing to accept 2^nd rate service because you are a smaller company?

We’re not going to review these one by one because the answers are pretty obvious. What may be less obvious is where to start, and that is with the Assessment. The Assessment serves as a roadmap and without it, a Managed IT services provider is likely to recommend unnecessary changes, and miss some that would be highly beneficial, in the end creating a framework that does not accomplish what you are looking for.

There are some basic yet important goals that your IT services company should be helping you accomplish:

Availability

Does 99% uptime sound good? Not by our standards. That is 1% downtime, or 5,256 minutes annually. Our goal between 99.99% and 99.999% uptime, or 5 minutes to one hour downtime per year.

Security

As a Managed IT services company, we are very much aware that the majority of cyber crimes are now committed against small to mid-sized businesses. Cyber criminals know that “enterprise” size companies have invested millions of dollars in protecting themselves, so small to mid-sized businesses have become the low hanging fruit.

Mobility

Everyone is on the go. Employees work from home, in airports, hotels, clients’ offices, even on vacation. Mobility today means a lot more than having a smartphone. It means being able to access your files anytime, anywhere. It means being able to collaborate with your team members no matter where they are. Again, this is a subject worthy of discussion on its own, and we would be happy to speak with you.

Productivity

People want to be productive and ensuring that your IT infrastructure is functioning at peak levels is necessary. In fact, studies show that millennials who are interviewing for all levels of management positions frequently inquire about the tools with which they will be provided to accomplish their jobs. An assessment will help here, too.

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What we have discussed in this week’s blog is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the information that can be gleaned from an IT Network & Security Assessment.

At Novatech, we have been providing Managed IT services for more than a quarter century and we would love to start a discussion with you, so please give us a call at 770.569.4600.