So, you have an IT Guy

The Managed Service Provider space is fascinating. Many many successful small business owners and organizational leaders focus on improving their operations, while wondering if they're getting enough out of their IT services. 

Many I meet seem to rely on one of two IT support models. Here’s the first. 

Let’s call it: “IT Guy.”

You’ve built your organization mostly from the ground up, and now you’re seriously wondering about bigger IT needs. You rely heavily on a couple of key software packages, but you do have this nagging feeling you might be missing some capabilities. Or efficiencies. Or security. 

You could use some guidance.

But it's not like you can afford a dedicated IT Manager, so instead you rely on a single contractor, your own trusted IT Guy. You enjoy a good relationship with IT Guy. He knows you. He seems to do good work. Of course he has other clients, so he usually slots you into a regular visit. 

If you have a problem it'll wait until then, right?

When he does show up he does a bunch of stuff like patching (whatever that is), helping your employee who forgot their password (again), and checking on the anti-virus software – as long as your computers are here. He also visits the backroom to work on the server or router or whatever that box is called. 

Sometimes he gives you a report.

Overall you think your computers and software run OK. You hear stories about cybercrime and you wonder if you’re secure, but IT Guy says your anti-virus software is current. You think most of your team changes their passwords from time to time - which is a good reminder for yourself.

You probably have insurance that covers this, right?

Meanwhile there's all this AI talk going on and you wonder if you should be checking into it. And what's Windows 11 all about? Frankly you’re spending too much time looking at your phone costs so who has the time to worry about this stuff? 

You pay for every hour IT Guy spends with you. You haven’t compared his rates in a while, but you trust him. Maybe you pre-pay for a block of hours, so he bills you for any extra time or he just stretches out the next visit. 

You hope nothing goes wrong until then. 

You can always text IT Guy if you’re really in a bind. He’s pretty good about responding, unless he’s on vacation. You do find your team is reluctant to call him because they’ve heard the clock is running and the charges keep growing. Which is true. 

It also means your team spends time trying to solve IT problems instead of doing their jobs. 

Anyway. You don’t have time to think about all this right now. You’ve got a board meeting coming up. A reminder: where should they keep their confidential minutes? You’ll have to ask IT Guy about that next time he comes by. 

Come to think of it, there's about a million things you'd like some direction on. 

Maybe it's time to build a plan?