Your computer is running slow. Your screen is frozen. An application crashed. You need help now, and you’re going to reach out to tech support before you have a meltdown.
Matt Rose, co-founder and chief experience officer of Tech Rage IT, knows all too well what headaches tech problems can cause. It’s the reason he started his company eight years ago, and the origin of his company’s name. “People get so frustrated and overwhelmed with their computers at the office, and there are lots of reasons for that."
One of the ways to help mitigate that is to encourage the development of internal leadership at a company, he added. Rose said the understanding of and confidence a firm's leaders have about IT issues has a trickle-down effect on the company as a whole.
But the thing that best assuages panic, he says, is good communication. “An empowered client is one who really knows how to ask for support and what information to provide.”
In a recent article, CIO — a web magazine for chief information officers — pointed out 12 major IT topics affecting the workplace today. From incorporating AI into operations to effectively leveraging data to cybersecurity, addressing most of the issues that made the list requires high-level expertise that may need to be outsourced, but knowing what the issues are puts a company in a better position to make decisions, like hiring an IT director or contracting for managed services.
That's Rose's goal, to communicate and explain so well that clients are in the driver's seat as much as possible. His tip for businesses seeking tech support? Be open to growth, become tech savvy and give yourself a reason to be confident in the tech-related decisions you make that steer your company.
Director of Educational Technology Evelyn McCulloch at i-Tech Support Inc. also encourages clients to be open to sharpening their IT chops and owning decision-making.
Her company did an in-depth educational technology assessment for Holy Cross Lutheran Academy in Sanford, which led to a five-year strategic IT plan. But the work wasn't done independently. The team at Holy Cross was in the mix every step of the way.
“They involved everyone: our students, staff and administration. They interviewed people and did surveys. Then we sat down and developed strategic goals in regards to IT,” said Holy Cross Executive Director Cindy Moon. “We’ve started implementing the action plans that came out of that.”
One of those action plans involved buying Promethean boards — interactive display tools — for all classrooms on its pre-K to 5th grade campus.
Meanwhile, IT services encompass a much broader scope than ticket support. IT teams work with businesses and organizations to build, optimize and protect their digital infrastructure, processes and devices.
Director Brandon Eisenberger of ThreatLocker Labs in Maitland — who has more than five years of cybersecurity experience under his belt — said his company takes the long view, too. He and his team want to set clients up for success by helping them avoid catastrophes. “We conduct audits so we can make data-driven recommendations. We don't like to give opinions. We just give facts.”
Earlier this year, a client asked for a document that would display the recommendations in a way that’s easy to understand, and ThreatLocker’s health report was born. “We built it around that request and we’ve been evolving since, testing it with about 10 clients and improving it every time,” said Eisenberger.
With graphs and other visuals, the client is shown where their security vulnerabilities may be, and short, clear descriptions spell out the issues. A list of applications to review is provided, along with risk mitigation strategies for each area of concern. The language used in the report is intentionally accessible and does not require expert interpretation.
“The people who receive the report can show it to a finance officer or CEO so they can better explain why they might need new security measures,” said Eisenberger.
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