Seventeen years ago we opened IntelliSystems, and initially we started a career as firemen. Clients would call with their IT problems and we would respond with sirens blaring in hopes of putting out the fire. We occasionally would offer advice, but mostly we waited at the firehouse for the four alarm calls to come in.
Companies like IntelliSystems that deliver computer services have recognized for a few years now that customer expectations are changing – whether it’s a small five person accounting office, a twenty-five employee physician’s practice, or a credit union with a staff of fifty.
What is driving these changes is that out of necessity business customers are demanding a proactive approach to keeping their technology as productive as possible. At IntelliSystems we started the process a few years ago to adopt the software tools and the philosophy that these clients where craving.
Service providers all over the country including ours have been trying to automate some of the means of maintaining customer computers and networks. The ultimate goal is to make systems more reliable using:
monitoring software
preventive software and hardware maintenance
attentive system design
effective backup and disaster recovery systems
and by encouraging clients to adopt ‘industry best practices’
The result is less ‘fixing’ of recurring problems that rob organizations of employee productivity. It also means fewer bills for the same problems over and over.
It gives employees the time to focus on the business of managing the business, and less time dealing with ordinary technology issues.
In fact, many organizations are abandoning the notion of trying to maintain a fully staffed IT department due to:
the cost of salaries and benefits
turnover
the ongoing expense of training
and the difficulty of continually challenging the talent required to manage high tech gear
A theme I have continued to hear from clients is “we need to do more with less”. The tools we are able to bring to bear includes software that performs certain mundane functions automatically, and allows an outside service provider like IntelliSystems to resolve mostday-to-day software and networking issues utilizing remote control problem solving tools.
This often leaves client employees, in larger firms this might be the IT manager, more time to deal more effectively with higher level strategic planning and problem solving.
The changes occurring in the technology services business may be summed up best with an analogy we have become fond of at IntelliSystems: We would rather be paid to work as a fire marshal than a firefighter, much less as the arson inspector.
