We’re going to go out on a limb here and guess that of all the activities that keep your IT staff busy, putting out fires is at the top of the list.

After all, when business systems go down, so does the business. In fact, even a relatively brief server outage can mean missed connections and lost opportunities – both of which translate to lower revenue.

When CA Technologies ran a study to measure the impact of downtime, they found that this dreaded problem costs North American businesses $26.5 billion per year. And according to the research, small businesses suffer more than any other market segment in terms of lost sales.

As CA Technologies found, businesses that experience major downtime struggle to maintain productivity as they scramble to recover lost data and repair the damage. The typical approach is to throw as much IT staff as possible at the problem and hope that customers, suppliers, and partners are understanding about the inevitable delays and miscommunications.

Wouldn’t it be easier just to prevent these incidents in the first place?

Why You Should Consider Remote System Monitoring

There’s a reliable way to prevent the most common IT problems. The best IT support partners now offer remote system monitoring services.

With remote system monitoring, you have a team of experts that are on your system and on your team, with the experience to prevent problems before they happen.

As your business users work, your IT partner can see where problems may be brewing behind the scenes. They can then take steps to intervene and correct issues before they result in system downtime.

With remote system monitoring, you can:

• Get more value out of your IT investments. Let’s face it: your hardware and software are worthless when they’re not working. More uptime means greater payback on your capital expenditures.
• Make life easier for your IT team. As they watch your system, your IT partner will be able to intervene in many situations without even needing to notify your IT staff.
• Focus on strategic IT. Your in-house IT experts deliver the most value when they’re coming up with new ways to increase the productivity of your entire workforce. The more you have to pull them off these projects to get your system back up and running, the longer it will be before the truly strategic projects benefit your company.
• Enhance your IT budgeting. System downtime is costly not only in terms of lost revenue, but also in terms of funding data recovery and other “cleanup” activities. Preventing downtime means avoiding these unexpected IT expenses. That means you can devote more budget to the areas that really matter.

Your Healthier Infrastructure Can Start Today
Getting up and running with remote system monitoring is surprisingly quick and easy. It’s also one of the best decisions you can make for the long-term health of your IT infrastructure. To learn how iTech Solutions’ remote monitoring services can help you get more from your network, call us today at (203) 744-7854. Or email us at info@itechsol.com

Are your IBMi systems running at optimal performance? Find out with our IBM i Health Check.

IBM System i Support Strategies

When you stop and think about it, adding more IT talent to your staff is easy.

You post ads on all the major IT job websites. You get the word out in your social networks that you’re hiring in IT.

You collect, review, and categorize the hundreds of resumes that come in. You hold several rounds of interviews and hire the most qualified people. And then you set them up in your payroll system, give them network credentials, and let them loose on your IT infrastructure.

It’s that simple – as long as you have unlimited financial resources.

But we’re assuming you don’t. So we’re suggesting an alternative approach.

The Value of a Good IT Partner
If money were no object, you would build an in-house IT staff that could handle any issue. You’d find the most experienced professionals for each type of technology in your server room and make it worth their while to stay with your company for as long as you needed them. You’d create a team of experts, with knowledge, experience, and know-how.

But this approach isn’t realistic for small and midsized businesses (and let’s face it – even many Fortune 500 companies are tightening their belts these days).

What if you could get access to a high level of IT expertise without having to commit to paying annual salaries and providing benefits packages? You can if you find the right IT tech support partner.

The best IT consulting firms are totally focused on supporting their clients’ implementations of today’s leading technologies, such as IBM i (System i, AS/400, iSeries) servers. They retain a staff of industry veterans who have worked with the same technology for at least 15 to 20 years. And they’re willing to hire out these professionals to you on an hourly or per-project basis.

That means you can get the technical savvy, project-planning insight, and hands-on experience you need, when you need it. You’ll pay only for the resources you use. And you won’t have to make a long-term financial commitment in the process.

Four More Benefits of Your Partnership
The advantages of working with a reliable technical support partner are many. Your partner can help you:

• Get access to a higher level of IT expertise. Ever wondered where all the good IT help has gone? Many of the most skilled professionals are working for technology consulting firms. These experts would be too expensive to add to your full-time staff – but if you only need them for a few hours per month, they’re actually quite affordable.
• Ramp up your IT staff during peak periods. Ever been in a situation where you expect your IT workload to double over the next two months? Asking your IT consulting partner to send you a few experienced technicians on a two-month contract can be a cost-effective way to meet the demand.
• Fill IT skill gaps. Some IT teams have put together a strong group of database gurus or RPG programmers, but they’re a little weak in system administration. By working with an IT partner, you can bring in experienced system admins as needed.
• Educate your junior IT staff. There’s something to be said for sending your IT staff to training – but there’s also much they can learn by working alongside the credentialed and certified IT professionals provided by your technical support partner. You can’t put a price on the kind of skills transfer that will occur during every day of even a short project.

Don’t go it alone in IT. Your business systems are too important not to have the “best of the best” working to improve your IBM i infrastructure. To find out more, email iTech Solutions at info@itechsol.com, call us at (203) 744-7854, or take the first step with our IBM i Health Check. For all of your System i support needs in Connecticut contact iTech Solutions.