How a managed IT strategy can increase productivity

Four simple steps to save money and grow your portfolio

By Mark Rossi

Imagine a stock investment that saves you money and grows your portfolio at the same time. It doesn’t seem possible, but that is exactly what a managed IT strategy can do for your business, starting with these four simple steps.

1. Invest in technology 

Real-time collaboration is really important. Older technology and old-school work methods hurt your business performance as well as your employees’ morale. Employees want to be able to do their job as efficiently as you want them to, but when they don’t have the tools they need, they can become frustrated. At a minimum, your employees should be working in real time together, syncing and storing in one place. There are a variety of tools and solutions to help your team collaborate, which results in a higher, more productive outcome.

2. Stop the workarounds 

Time is money. Imagine living without your phone or computer for a day or two. You may come up with some work-arounds to help you get by or make do. Equipment has a lifecycle, breakdowns, repairs and changes are frustrating time-wasters. It is usually best to stop putting on Band-Aids and fix the wounds. Every time an employee has to stop what they are doing to reboot or find a file in the old system, your company is losing money. 

3. Periodic maintenance 

Prevention is the best medicine. Just like your car, computers need service and maintenance to keep running smoothly and prolong their lives. Three simple things you can do are: one, check your startup programs and remove unnecessary programs; two, make sure updates are set up properly and working; and three, turn your computer off and on (reboot) at least once a week.

4. Be proactive 

Don’t wait for a rainy day to fix the roof. Take a proactive approach by developing an IT strategy for your business. A strategy will help reduce the frustration of unplanned downtime. When you’ve planned for growth, technology can assist, and fixed fee services will allow for budget planning so you won’t have unwanted surprises.

Mark Rossi is president of KML Computer Services. Since 1996 he has been immersed in the technology field, working in various positions, from hardware technician and network manager to network engineer and IT consultant.