John Ahlberg |
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I frequently encounter business leaders for organizations of 100+ people who share a common complaint – how do I find IT that’s just right for my business? They are experiencing what I call “the Goldilocks Effect.” You know the children’s story where Goldi takes three tries with the porridge, chair and bed to get it just right? These executives are experiencing a similar situation, finding it hard to get the right technology support – great coverage at a reasonable price. If they hire all the support they need, it costs way too much. If they manage to a reasonable technology budget, they get inadequate support, lurching from crisis to crisis and never planning for the future. The chair is either too hard or too soft – never just right. What these executives need
The chair is too soft and the porridge is too hot Some companies staff up to get all the support they need. I need a help desk guy. Check. I need a network expert. Done. Now I need someone to manage these people. OK. Custom software? Need another person. It costs a ton of dough to have all these people on payroll, and it can be painful to manage the department. Here’s the final kicker: some of these people may be underutilized, and yet you are still missing pockets of expertise. Oh, and did I mention that nothing is being documented and you need to worry about turnover and having to figure it out all over again? The chair is too hard and the porridge is too cold I’ve seen other companies go the lean route. They hire an IT employee or two and maybe use a consultant to fill the gaps. Now everything is a fire drill and it seems that nothing ever gets done quickly. Planning? It’s a luxury that never seems to get done. Sure, this executive is spending less financially, but the reactive mode is taking a toll on productivity for the larger organization. The new reality is that one or two people cannot act as an entire IT team because technology needs have become too complex. No one can effectively act as a helpdesk tech, network admin, software specialist, and strategic counselor. Oh, and did I mention that nothing is being documented and you need to worry about turnover and having to figure it out all over again? Just right Let’s try a different approach. Instead of owning the IT employees, the executive taps into an expert team like Waident that delivers the necessary breadth of support without the costs of full-time resources. One or two of those team members sit on-site and they are a part of a larger, virtual service team. How does this model stack up to the checklist of needs from above:
So pick the “just right” bed and get a good night’s sleep for a change. It’s what Goldi would want. Contact me if you want to learn more about the Just Right approach for your business.
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I need to have some IT people onsite – You have people there, but not the headaches of hiring, training, providing benefits for or managing them.
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With a tear in my eye, I finally retired my trusty Droid for a new Galaxy Nexus. When I say tear in my eye, I mean it quite literally: the screen on my Droid was just too small for these aging eyes to read without glasses. It was time for a larger screen. The Galaxy Nexus 4.65” screen is huge compared to my Droid 3.7” screen. I’ve had the Nexus since its mid-December release date. After just a day I was over my love for my Droid and ready to embrace my new Nexus. The Good
The Bad Size – It is pretty big which is no surprise given the large screen – it looks like the 2001 Space Odyssey monolith when turned off and sitting on the desk
The Ugly
What is next on the smartphone horizon? Hard to tell since a new smartphone comes out every month and another dozen rumors every week. Bigger screens, faster processors, thinner, and lighter are all common themes for new devices. Speaking of bigger screens, below is a picture comparing the Galaxy Nexus with the Galaxy Note. The Note makes the Nexus look small with its 5.3” screen. The Note is also pen based for very accurate note taking and drawing. Seems like it might be a good hybrid option between smartphone and tablet. I want one! Too bad the device has not been released in the US yet.
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Do you want to know my dirty little secret? One that I think is shared by millions? For years I have not very securely managed my personal passwords. You know the list -- everything from login information for shopping websites and personal bank accounts, to passwords for different programs. In my defense, I do have unique, hard-to-crack passwords, and have scrupulously documented them, creating an Outlook contact for each site or system and adding the username and password in the notes section. It was somewhat secure since you needed to login to my email to access any of the information. But if I ever lost my smartphone…yikes! I had password night sweats for a while, and finally kicked myself to find a better solution. I started using LastPass (http://lastpass.com/), and I’ve been very pleased so far. It is in many ways easier than using Outlook, and is much more secure. Below is more information about the system.
If you are keeping your critical login and account information in an Outlook Note, Contact, Word/Excel document or something else that is not secure, take the time and effort to use a better tool. There are a lot of programs that can help. LastPass seemed to do what I needed, was rated highly by others, and was cost effective. Just do it – you will thank me later.
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Fight those winter doldrums with some cool technology -- or anti-technology!
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Do you or someone you know feel dissatisfied with your current IT support? If you identify with many of the statements below, it may be time to fire your IT department! Responsive Business Support 1. Your IT team defines what is supported and what is not based on what is easy for them to support 2. Your IT team focuses on fixing computers versus helping your users 3. Your IT employee only helps during working hours 4. Your IT team does not support you after hours, weekends, and holidays 5. Your IT team isn’t responsive – what should take minutes, takes hours – hours, days 6. Your IT team isn’t proactively suggesting ways to better use your systems with “did you know” helpful tips 7. Your IT employees cannot block non-corporate applications from being run 8. Your IT vendor can’t remotely support your users no matter where they happen to be 9. Your IT team doesn’t support home computers 10. Your IT employee can’t monitor and help recover a stolen laptop 11. You ask your IT employees for something and they say that it cannot be done 12. You have users with iPads or other tablets and they cannot get support from your IT people 13. You find yourself setting very low expectations for your IT support 14. They are setting policies about what they’ll support versus being guided by what the business needs 15. There are frequent changes in helpdesk staff and no continuity 16. Your current IT vendor refuses to make house calls 17. You regularly wait for your IT vendor to return your calls or email 18. When you contact your IT support team, they make you feel like you are bothering them 19. You can’t contact your helpdesk about anything (IT related or not) and get the help you need 20. Your IT vendor nickel and dimes you to death, so you’re reluctant to call 21. They are not eager and willing to run to the AT&T, Verizon, etc., store to pick you up a new smartphone if needed 22. They don’t communicate the status of projects 23. They seem to delight in baffling you with techno-speak 24. They do not consider the user’s schedule when planning computer fixes 25. They hide behind email versus picking up the phone and calling you directly 26. You got a “bait and switch” – the expert salesperson is nowhere to be seen when it’s time to get actual support 27. Your IT support spends more time badmouthing each other than helping you 28. Routine tasks like setting up new users and making phones work take days instead of hours 29. The helpdesk doesn’t answer the phone when you call or get back to you right away if you leave a message 30. When you contact the IT team for support, they don’t get back to you within 15 minutes or fewer 31. You have an outstanding IT request that has never gotten completed and no one seems to care or be working on it 32. Your IT team works on your requests when it is convenient for them, not when it is convenient for you 33. They’ve neglected to save your work-in-progress when they’ve serviced your computer 34. They don’t set clear expectations for when your request will be handled and completed 35. Your IT vendor force marched you through technical instructions over the phone instead of remotely accessing your computer and taking care of the problem themselves 36. They remotely access your computer without first asking permission 37. They said your problem was fixed, but they didn’t test the fix before telling you everything is working again 38. Your IT team simply doesn’t communicate well, let alone over communicate 39. Your IT Support Manager doesn’t hold regular meetings with you to ensure you are getting the support you expect and deserve 40. You don’t have online real-time access to all of the open and closed tickets for your company 41. Your IT vendor worked on a computer problem for so long that it would have been cheaper to buy a new machine than to pay for the time to fix a broken one 42. Your IT vendor won’t help you decide what is the best smartphone for your needs 43. Your IT people won’t help your users buy a new laptop, PC, tablet, smartphone, etc. for home? 44. Your IT team doesn’t treat your requests like they are urgent and important Complete Documentation 45. Your IT team cannot give you full technology documentation in real time 46. Your IT vendor is not documenting regular aspects of your key business systems 47. They don’t have a checklist for setting up a new hire 48. They don’t have a checklist for all of the steps to complete when an employee is terminated 49. You can’t get a simple report on the status of all of your computers and their MS Updates 50. You can’t easily get an inventory of all of your computers and servers 51. Your IT people can’t give you regular reports on the hard drive space status and growth of your servers 52. You do not regular get reports for helpdesk activity to show you who has been making requests and for what reasons 53. You work with random IT people and have to explain things over and over again to each one 54. You’re been left hanging when the person working on your IT issue goes on vacation Diligent Monitoring & Management 55. They are not backing up everything on your servers (EVERYTHING, not just select folders) 56. They do not do test restores from your backup files regularly and provide reports on success 57. They do not force you to keep backup data offsite 58. They cannot tell you how long it will take to recover from a disaster event 59. You don’t have at least triple backups for your data 60. Your critical servers and system are not monitored 24/7/365 61. Your failover and redundant systems are not being tested on a regular basis to ensure they will work as expected 62. You do not have any extra computers or laptops around to be used for backups if one fails 63. You do not have extra peripherals on hand to act as a backup (e.g.,: smartphone, batteries, keyboard, etc.) 64. Your critical equipment does not have the manufacturer’s warranty up to date 65. You have an inordinate amount of system downtime 66. Your server room is a mess of cables, equipment, and boxes 67. You don’t have any redundancy with your core technology (e.g., Internet, phones, servers, routers, switches, etc.)? 68. You feel like your current technology is paper clipped or Band-Aided together 69. Your server has failed and taken days to get back up and running 70. Your IT team gives anybody access rights to sensitive folders without first asking for management approval Protection from Viruses/Malware/SPAM 71. Your users get a lot of spyware infections 72. Your current IT vendor doesn’t manage your anti-virus installs and updates 73. Your IT team can’t provide real-time anti-virus reports so you know the status across all your users 74. Your Microsoft Windows computers don’t get updated with the weekly MS Updates 75. You get an inordinate amount of spam email 76. Your complaints about getting a lot of spam are dismissed as normal Broad Expertise 77. You have only one IT person who is good at some things but not others 78. Your IT team is made up of “cowboys” versus team players 79. You do not respect your IT people like your respect your attorney, accountant, or doctor 80. You do not implicitly trust your IT team 81. You consider your IT vendor computer geeks who don’t speak your language 82. Your IT vendor doesn’t manage your copiers 83. Your IT vendor doesn’t support and manage all of your technology 84. Your users don’t have anyone to contact with questions on how to better use Office and other applications 85. Your IT team doesn’t support iPhones, Android, Blackberry and any other smart phones you and your employees want to use 86. Your IT people can’t handle the general needs for SQL and other database systems while having a reliable resource to turn to for advanced needs 87. They provide helpdesk support, but aren’t managing your servers 88. They refuse to support custom applications Proactive Planning & Advocacy 89. They do not proactively point out critical systems and risks 90. They do meet with you on a regular basis to discuss your business goals and technology 91. They do not have a robust strategic partner network to satisfy all of your needs 92. Your server has run out of hard drive space and caused downtime 93. Their rationale for recommending server or equipment upgrades because “it’s old” versus because the business actually needs it 94. Your IT people get kickbacks from 3rd party consultants if they come in to help with a project 95. Your IT vendor doesn’t share best practices gained from across their client base 96. You ask your IT team for information to upgrade a server or other equipment and they do not respond with something like “Let’s start with whether it makes sense to upgrade the server…” 97. Your IT team is not leveraging the helpdesk activity for proactive measures (e.g., the copier has broken down X times in a month so call for expanded service to get reliability back) 98. They don’t do regular telecom audits to see if there are opportunities to save money 99. They have not proactively recommended a copier and printer audit recently 100. Your IT people are not leveraging the “cloud” strategically and giving you impartial direction about it
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Stressing about the rapidly approaching holidays? Here are a few off-the-beaten-path technology gift ideas. Whether you're buying for others or indulging yourself, plug in and have some fun!
My 2010 holiday gift list has more good ideas: http://www.waident.com/component/content/article/44-jahlberg/475-some-holiday-gift-ideas
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Chicago, IL (December 1, 2011) – Waident Technology Solutions announced today the addition of Libbey Paul as Marketing Manager. Libbey brings 20+ years of passionate advocacy for growing the business through client need identification, crisp positioning and clear communication. “I am thrilled to join the Waident team,” said Libbey Paul. “Happily, the very attributes that attracted me to the company are the ones that it will be my job to communicate broadly. I will be touting Waident’s commitment to excellence, reputation for integrity, and desire to exceed client expectations.” Libbey started her career at Procter & Gamble where she honed her consumer research, business analysis and communication skills. The next 13 years were spent helping to grow a start-up company called Spectra into a valuable division of Nielsen. While there she held roles in client service and product management/marketing, helping a diverse range of CPG and retail clients apply consumer insight and targeting to grow their business. Most recently, Libbey worked with local small businesses to strengthen their brand positioning, marketing communications and business planning. Since its inception, Waident Technologies has largely grown through word of mouth, with happy clients referring new business. “I am extremely pleased to have Libbey join the team. She will help us reach beyond our existing client base, attracting new Midwestern small to mid-sized businesses to our services,” said John Ahlberg, Waident’s Chief Executive Officer and founder. About Waident: Waident Technology Solutions acts as a client’s virtual technology department, providing responsive helpdesk support, comprehensive technology management, and strategic IT planning. Their small to mid-sized clients tend to be in the commercial real estate, finance, healthcare and professional services industries. Waident delivers better performance at decreased costs, and has offices in Glen Ellyn and Chicago, Illinois, as well as Kansas City, Missouri. Contact:
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They say that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I often see companies doing crazy things. They hire a single IT person to handle all of their technology needs. That person hasn’t got the breadth of experience (or interest) to handle all the company’s needs. Fire IT guy! Find better IT guy. Repeat. What’s going on with this cycle? Is it a bad hiring process? No. In today’s fast-moving environment, experience matters. Unfortunately, no one person can be help desk guru, network wiz, and expert planner with information on the latest innovations. Think of IT people like doctors or attorneys – each has his or her own expertise and specialty. But a company, no matter its size, needs all these technical skills and more. What’s a business leader to do? We call it a shared team approach to technology. A team of support professionals can more efficiently bring you the expertise your business needs. It’s hard to get this teamed approach internally, which is why so many small to mid-sized businesses are relying on 3rd parties to manage their technology. Suddenly these smaller companies get the wisdom of a large company IT department without the costs or management headaches. Stop the cycle of madness. Find an IT partner committed to teamed support, superior documentation (see blog posting from Nov 9, 2011) and outstanding service. I’ve witnessed this return to sanity – better economics, better support, happy client.
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I consistently hear the same technology concerns from business owners and executives: they don’t know what they don’t know. Do they have the right IT team in place (internal or outsourced)? Do they have the optimal technology solutions for their business? How, they ask me, will I know if my technology is on the right path or headed for disaster? I call this the “canary in the coal mine” question. Miners’ caged canary would die if there were dangerous gases in the mine, warning the miners to get out while they still could. And guess what? We have an IT canary -- ask your IT department (or vendor) for documentation, and see how long it takes to get it. This question will tell you whether your IT people are on top of things and working for you. If they cannot give you the documentation in close to real-time, they do not have it and I can guarantee you there will be something that doesn’t smell right about your support and systems. What is documentation? Your IT vendor or in-house team should continually document everything from the mundane management of passwords to the more sophisticated troubleshooting of key business systems. They should also have checklists for regular tasks, like processing new hires/terminations, doing backups, installing programs, etc. Without these procedures documented, something will always get missed. You have a right to ask your IT team to document everything and have checklists for almost every repeatable task. Documenting the everyday tasks helps to free them up to use their brains for troubleshooting new issues, developing strategy, and being generally helpful guys or gals. Here’s something else I know. Most IT people are certain that they are smart and above the tedium of documenting because they can figure anything out “on the fly.” This neglect of process never works long term. Eventually someone quits, taking all your hard-won knowledge with them and leaving you holding the bag (and a little chaos to boot). Often the new person needs to reengineer the system, which can be costly in terms of both time and money. So if your IT team gives you documentation that’s a single page with a list of passwords, consider yourself underserved. Your little canary is feet up. Documentation is the cornerstone of everything your technology department is doing for you. If it’s not rock solid then you have a weak technical foundation, which should undermine your confidence in everything else they are doing for you. Check the health of your IT solutions and ask for your documentation today. If your canary is looking puny, give us a call for a technical assessment -- and a little peace of mind.
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