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Ask why you are changing IT support provider

There can be any number of reasons why your business will want to switch IT support companies. The CTO and CFO need to work together to determine what IT support the company needs to meet current demands while fitting into the overall business strategy for growth and development, but they also need to work within agreed budgets, and often the decision will come down to costs. If the current IT support service is too expensive, the company will understandably want to look for a better deal elsewhere, and consider an OpEx model.

It can be beneficial to revisit the contract with your existing IT partner to see if you can agree on more favourable terms, but if this is not possible, shopping around is advisable.

It may be that your current supplier is simply not up to the job at hand, is unable to adequately protect your business from cyber security threats or prepare for data protection standards as set out by GDPR, or is failing to comply with the contract, in which case switching is the obvious move.

It can sometimes happen that a business expands or changes, so that the IT support provided no longer meets your needs. This can happen, for example, when you decide an IT infrastructure overhaul is needed, and the service provider will no longer be able to handle your new requirements, such as if you make the decision to move to the cloud, but they traditionally support only on-site hardware and software.

Most importantly, you need to know exactly why you want to find a better fit for your business – to have an in-depth understanding of the company’s strategic reasons for outsourcing in the first place - so that you can outline what you need to stay competitive, and what to look for when putting your IT support out to tender.

Learn from your experience

If your previous or current IT support service hasn’t worked out, you need to understand why, so that you can find the right outsourced IT partner now. Assess what worked to expectations and what didn’t. Did your IT support team fail to meet your standards? Were they good at break-fix scenarios but not so good when it came to acting as a virtual CTO? Did you fail to put an adequate and comprehensive service level agreement in place that would meet your needs? Did you just not rate them?

Gather information from across your business to find out what IT support is required from each department, what needs were met by the services offered by your old or current provider and what ones were not. It is also advisable to run an IT audit to outline priorities, and where you can improve your IT support. If you can’t do this in-house, it can be the first point of engagement with a potential IT service provider, who will be able to do it for you.

From this, you should learn the type of questions you need to ask an outsourced IT partner, in order to make sure you find the right one for your business.

Reclaim your business IT

Before you start looking for a new supplier, your business needs to ‘reclaim’ all of its IT assets. IT support forms a central cog in every business, and as such, your outsourced service provider will have had access to much of your business-critical systems and IT infrastructure. They may even own the equipment on which your files are processed and stored. This can be an unsettling notion if the relationship turns sour, as they would have the ability to interfere with files, settings, your network, etc, if they proved to be that unscrupulous.

It is unlikely that they would take that step, but it is always best to be safe, and to run regular back-ups, especially when moving to a new IT support partner.

Having found a new service provider, you should also ensure that all passwords for all systems, networks, devices, etc are changed, so that your old provider no longer has access to anything.

Share your IT support needs to get a proper scope

Having discovered your IT support requirements, you should talk to potential service providers to find the one that can most adequately match your needs now, and into the future. A proper scope that outlines your IT infrastructure, the services and processes you need on a daily basis, and the areas in which you are looking to innovate and grow, is vital, so be clear on what you are looking to buy and what your supplier is willing and able to take on.

Clarify the nature of your proposed deal with your supplier, and the underlying cost. It is also important to get buy-in from your CFO and other relevant stakeholders, and keep them informed of any changes.

When it comes to future plans that may change your requirements over time, outline what defines a change in scope and requirements, whether this will result in increased costs, and define what those costs will be.

Document everything to hand over

Your IT audit should give you a comprehensive picture of exactly what IT assets you have, but you should also make sure to document everything regarding your systems and network in order to make the handover as quick and painless as possible to ensure business continuity. This should include an inventory of all of your software and hardware – including remote devices – as well as network diagrams, usernames, passwords and log-in addresses, etc.

It is also useful to supply a new IT support team with your support log from the previous outsourced partner, as this will help them to understand the main issues faced, how they were resolved (or not), and give them a better view of the overall scale of the operation from an IT perspective.

Ideally, in an amicable handover, your old IT support team can work with the new one to ease the switchover, but you should expect to pay both for this part of the process, and the old partner may not always be open to this arrangement.

Prepare to collaborate, especially at the start

Just as providing all of the necessary documentation will help your new outsourced IT service in the handover, your CTO needs to be prepared to play an integral role in the switch. It is not enough to simply hand over the reins and let them take on the task.

Your business still owns all of its IT assets, and so must act accordingly. Putting the agreed outsourcing arrangements in place as quickly and seamlessly as possible requires an initial hands-on approach that ensures your new IT support partner has everything they need to take on the role.

This relationship between the CTO and support team needs to be ongoing, with IT support in constant communication and collaboration to ensure that needs are being met and innovation is made possible.

It is also important to relay information and updates to all staff members regarding changes to processes and the timelines associated with them.

Prepare for hiccups

It is natural to expect some disruption while the handover takes place, but by working with your new IT support team you can iron out any problems and get back to business as usual quickly. In the end, if you have chosen the right outsourced IT service provider, it will all be worth it.

If you’re looking to switch your IT support in London, or need to find an outsourced IT service provider to help your business innovate and grow, Optimity can provide everything you need. Get in touch to find out how we can help you, and get started by booking an IT audit.

The biggest difference lies in the fact that cloud storage allows multiple users to collaborate, share and edit information at the same time, while online back-up tends to be used by businesses who want to store information safely until they need it again.

What is an online back-up service?

As the name suggests, online back-up is made possible by a programme that makes a back-up copy of your files and saves them on a secure online server. It’s a failsafe that means if something were to happen to your computer, you could simply load the programme again, hit restore, and your data will reappear, just as before.

It’s one of the simplest ways to back-up your computer, and because the information is held off-site, it’s secured, encrypted and maintained by teams of professional administrators, so you can rest easy, knowing it’s in safe hands.

Its simplicity might also be called out as one of its biggest limitations however, because it’s designed to simply back-up and restore in the case of a disaster. But… the back-up will be computer specific, so it won’t sync files across other computers or devices, which can make the restoration process a lengthy one.

And, while online back-up offers unlimited storage, because you’re backing up information that sits on your computer, you’re essentially limited to your computer’s storage.

Who uses online back-up?

That could be anything from family photos or personal finance information to a business’s sales figures, accounting information and HR files.

It’s about having a safe place for information that you don’t need universal access to, or want to continuously amend or update.

What is cloud storage?

While online back-up stores a copy of your files, cloud computing provides online space to store whatever you want, and allows unlimited access from any internet connection and from any device. That means you can tap into cloud-stored information whenever and wherever you want, using computers, TVs, game consoles, or remote working devices such as laptops, mobiles and tablets.

It’s genuinely unlimited in terms of space too, because there’s no restriction to the amount of data that can be stored on the cloud.

Lots of cloud services are supported by apps, which means users can access information via secure links and use the information freely as part of their normal working day.

Services such as Dropbox and OneDrive will integrate with your computer, so you can access information on the cloud just like any other folder on your desktop or laptop. The services go one step further than access too, syncing all activity so documents are automatically updated if edits are made.

Unlike most online back-up services, many cloud storage service providers offer a free starter plan with a limited amount of space that might well be enough for the average person or even a small business.

The key is working out your requirement before you dive in and sign up, and understanding the licensing agreement, as the costs can mount up if storage is a big issue for you. So, do the sums first and act with figures in mind, so you don’t get any nasty surprises down the line.

Who uses cloud storage?

Cloud storage is a go-to for businesses who work with active data – information that flows in and out, and is subject to frequent change at any time from multiple users.

That could be a publisher and a writer working at separate ends of the country, or a business with offices dotted across Europe that need to share information and facilitate team collaboration across multiple cities.

It’s a much more interactive solution for users who are on the go, but need all the same reassurances around security, encryption and protected access.

Advice from the IT professionals

If you are unsure which option is best for your business, you should seek the help of an IT consulting service, who can assess your needs and advise accordingly.

By asking all the right questions up-front, a good IT consultant or service provider can get a detailed understanding of how your organisation operates now, how close you currently come to reaching your business and operational objectives, and what your IT roadmap for expansion should look like.

Using this, they can help identify where any gaps exist, where IT improvements can be made, and which services will support your technical needs and employees best.

By taking a full business view and applying the insights gained from working with other businesses in your industry, an IT consulting service can create tailored back-up and storage solutions that will not only save you time and money, but add to overall business effectiveness and give you a future-thinking plan that allows for growth.

Find out how the right IT solutions can help your business grow.

Challenges and Rewards of Cloud Computing

Any investment in IT requires evaluating not only the current and future needs of the business, but also the company’s capabilities when it comes to migration, staff training and access to new technology. With cloud computing solutions, it is no different. The company’s resources, compliance needs, ability to expand and in-house IT support capabilities all need to be taken into account. Making the switch can therefore seem daunting, but the rewards are significant, and include:

• Increased productivity
• Better collaboration
• Reduced costs
• Improved customer/client engagement
• Faster growth and innovation
• Improved cyber security
• Ability to implement remote working policies

The big decisions in adopting cloud computing revolve around what elements of the company’s systems should be placed there - are you prepared to migrate all data and systems, or just some of them, such as email, back-up or data recovery? – and whether to opt for a public or private cloud platform.

The Cloud Solution Options

A public cloud platform, upon which your company buys space on a provider’s shared server can be fast, relatively easy and scalable to meet growing or reduced needs. On the other hand, companies with an eye on data protection and stringent security requirements, such as meeting GDPR compliance, might prefer the enhanced security of a private platform that enables them to retain full control of their data.

There is a third option: adopting a hybrid approach that includes both public and private cloud platforms, while retaining elements of your current in-house tech solutions. The big advantage of this is cost-efficiency, but it also enables the business to retain control of their data.

Many SMEs don’t have the necessary resources and IT expertise to adopt, integrate and manage a private cloud, but regardless of their size, they still need to know exactly where their data is, how it is stored, and have access to it at all times, not just to keep the business running, but to comply with GDPR’s demands for data protection and governance. These requirements should be met across the board, whether you opt for public, private or hybrid solutions.

Deciding on the right cloud solution for your business requires looking at your IT needs, and finding the right fit based on your organisation’s priorities.

Public Cloud Solutions

Public cloud solutions are a good fit when your business needs to:

• Establish server and data centre resources quickly
• Find an efficient, flexible and scalable option
• Support business growth
• Maintain and improve business communications and collaboration
• Improve security requirements
• Use the cloud as an OpEx, or pay as you go model

Private Cloud Solutions

Private cloud solutions may be more expensive and have less ability to scale, but they can meet specific needs, including:

• Secure control and management of the IT infrastructure
• Increased and secure storage space for all data
• Enabling the in-house IT team to maintain control of all business-critical operations
• Improving the efficiency and productivity of internal IT staff
• Compliance with data protection legislation

Hybrid Solutions

A company opting for a hybrid approach can, for example:

• Migrate email to a public cloud platform while storing financial data on an on-site server
• Use a public or private cloud service to back-up data and communications while using the traditional server to store and back-up the personally identifiable information of consumers, customers or clients
• Set up access to useful information for customers and clients on a file-sharing service while keeping all confidential company information on a local network server

The important thing to remember is that if your business does choose to go with a hybrid approach, a policy and process agreed by the IT team and all relevant stakeholders needs to outline:

• What data and systems are to be migrated to the cloud and which stay in-house
• Who should have access to each

Processes then need to be put in place by the IT team to ensure that the right people have access to the right data and systems, and that any unauthorised access can be monitored and blocked.

Each company has its own unique needs and goals, so the right cloud solution for your business will only be found when you:

• Know the requirements of each application you use
• Have an agreed vision of future growth plans by establishing a clear IT roadmap
• Have the IT resources you need, whether that’s in-house or by outsourcing to an IT support service, to oversee and manage migration
• Understand the costs and potential value and return on investment
• Create an implementation plan that ensures business continuity while migration takes place

Help to Make the Right Decision: Your IT Support Service

Deciding on the right option for your business can be a major challenge. Individual departments may vie for priority, while the process of researching, choosing and implementing your solution can take up time and resources you can’t afford to spare if you want to keep your business running.

That’s why hiring an IT support service in London is advisable. They can offer the unbiased and expert advice you need to make the right decision, assessing your current IT infrastructure and plans for future growth, and matching them to the cloud option that suits you best. They can also oversee deployment and provide the management services and IT support you need, so you can avoid getting lost in the cloud conundrum, and keep a clear vision of where you want your business to go.

Find out how the team at Optimity can help your business find the right IT solutions by getting in touch, and discover what tech support need to stay ahead of the competition by booking an IT audit with us:

IT budgets always attract attention, and for good reason. Investment in technology is expensive, making it just as important to manage the costs after your initial spend, by:

• Staying on top of running costs
• Leveraging operational efficiencies where sensible and
• Applying strong cost-benefit rationalisation when it comes to new initiatives and system development

Good IT management and cost optimisation is an ongoing discipline and any business that treats it like a one-off exercise will soon realise the negative effects, and not just on the P&L.

A well-oiled machine performs best when all the parts work together and knowing when and where to attribute spend is essential to serving the best interests of the business, especially when that business or agency is growing..

That’s not to say it will always be easy. If you’re working hard to make progress on your business IT roadmap and the budget throws a spanner in the works, it’s going to be frustrating. But, it’s much better to be part of the longer-term solution and accept when it’s right to make money-saving changes or press pause on a project, than dig your heels in and find your project taken off the table altogether.

To that end, here are our top five tips around IT costs and keeping them tight for the greater good.

1 - Keep IT costs transparent

As well as having a definite idea of the IT requirements of your business, keeping decision makers in the loop is always a good idea. If IT-related costs are transparent and you can benchmark them against competitor or peer spend, all the better. By doing this, you can see where costs fall below or sit above industry averages and help those who don’t have as much exposure or experience as you, to see where and why money is being spent.

2 - Use shared services wherever possible

Multiple offices, vendors, agencies, consultants and varying service contracts, can duplicate costs unnecessarily. By making shared services the norm, standardising costs, agreeing service levels up-front and locking in competitive terms, you can improve the cost and standard of service in one smart move.

Small businesses can make huge savings if they’re prepared to share their workspace with like-minded businesses. All-inclusive office packages are another viable option, allowing businesses to set-up shop in a space that comes with furniture, hardware, internet, phone lines - even receptionists, conference facilities, kitchens and IT support - in some cases.

3 - Standardise technologies

And don’t worry, parity doesn’t mean you lose the ability to create unique network capabilities for employees with very specific roles such as accountants or IT developers, for example. That’s perfectly doable, it just means the bulk of the business can be managed as one and individual updates don’t take excessive amounts of time or create gaps that leave your network open to risk.

4 - Optimise software licensing

With vendors moving licensing models from one-off charge to subscription-based accounts, it’s a good idea to review your agreements and take stock to make sure you’re getting value for money and not paying over the odds for services you don’t need or won’t use.

That means:

• Revisiting your business needs
• Shopping the market and comparing providers like-for-like
• Reading the small print and
• Talking to a provider such as Optimity if you need help working out what’s best for your business

Remember, there are lots of free and competitively-priced office software and IT support options out there too. The software market has been booming and innovative programmes are now available on everything from accounting to project management for businesses that need IT support in London, for example. Most offer free trials and all of them promise to save time, money and resource, so it makes sense to get in on the ‘try before you buy’ offers and test a few.

5 - Leverage cloud services

Cloud computing allows companies to avoid up-front IT infrastructure costs such as servers, and allows them to focus on their core business and the things they’re good at.

• It offers new levels of flexibility: letting businesses scale the service to match changing needs, and simplifying decision-making around storage, system access and security.
• It’s efficient: helping businesses get their offering to market quicker, and, because it relies on remote resources, organisations save on hardware and storage and negate the need for data centres.
• It adds strategic value: allowing business to collaborate better, offer remote working and bridge time zones with ease. It means always having access to the most up-to-date software and technology without paying for upgrades and streamlined processes that increase productivity.

There are many other ways to reduce your business IT costs, and investing in the services of an IT consultancy will help you create an effective and efficient IT infrastructure that works for you.

Discover how the right IT can help your business or agency focus on achieving success.

The Benefits of Cloud Computing

Replacing ageing servers and devices with cloud computing, or even adopting a hybrid IT approach, can seem like a no-brainer decision for CTOs looking to keep within the IT budget or even reduce costs. Instead of having to invest in high CapEx costs to purchase and install, then monitor and perform machine maintenance on the IT infrastructure necessary for business processes, using a pay-as-you-go service whereby you rent the capacity and services you need from a cloud provider makes a lot of sense.

You get all the functionality and IT support you need, without the cost of investment, and can scale up or down to suit your business needs so that you only pay for what you plan to use.

However, keeping cloud computing costs down can prove to be very difficult, and here are some of the main reasons.

Business buy more than they need

Many organisations go with the ‘better safe than sorry’ approach to cloud computing, thinking that it’s better to have extra capacity and not need it than to need extra capacity and not have it. That approach, however, contradicts one of the major benefits of cloud computing – the ability to only pay for what you use – and can represent an unnecessary expense.

The simplicity with which cloud apps can be added to a company’s IT infrastructure also represents a challenge to keeping costs down. A new project or business expansion can see a company add on cloud solutions to an ever-expanding portfolio to meet immediate needs, and this can quickly lead to spikes in usage that often go beyond the basic service levels and licenses, leaving businesses paying premium costs, until they suddenly face hefty bills they hadn’t anticipated.

In order to understand the amount of functionality, capacity and IT support your business will need from a cloud provider, it should hire an outsourced IT support team to run an IT audit so you have a comprehensive overview of your processes, systems, devices and IT roadmap, to outline what is needed now, what may be needed in the future, and what is no longer needed. With these insights, your organisation can make the right decisions and keep cloud computing costs within budget.

Your IT support team can also monitor cloud solution and general IT infrastructure activity, implementing governance tools to track usage and costs and alert stakeholders of any impending limits that will result in premium costs.

In theory, cloud computing should be seen as a godsend by businesses in the UK. Its flexibility and scalability should provide organisations with ways to reduce their operational and IT support costs, while also improving efficiency and productivity. In theory. Many businesses who implement cloud computing into their IT infrastructure actually end up doing the opposite, and face costs they didn’t anticipate. Here are a few reasons why this is the case, and how hiring an outsourced IT support team in London to manage your cloud capabilities can prove to be the solution you need.

Cloud Option Confusion

Cloud computing has really taken off in the last decade, with 88% of UK business now adopting it, according to the Cloud Industry Forum, and is only going to get bigger. But with that growth in popularity and usage comes a level of complexity that makes it hard for IT managers or CTOs to make the right decisions regarding what solution is best for their business.

Major players such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services have a dizzying array of service options that can include storage, backup, processing, analytics, etc, all of which offer various products to make up an endless selection of potential service configurations. On top of that, service charges and agreements change like the wind, so it becomes increasingly difficult to find the most efficient and effective cloud solution for your business amongst the sea of options.

This doesn’t have to be the case. Hiring an IT consulting service to assess what your business needs, and to provide their expertise regarding the best cloud solutions for you, is a wise move here. They can also help to reduce costs by offering volume licensing, passing their savings on to you.

Lack of insight and visibility

Many businesses make the decision to implement cloud computing into their IT infrastructure, but don’t take the important first step of assessing what IT assets they need in order to accommodate this and provide the functionality and service cloud apps can bring.

As a basic example, there is no point in investing in cloud apps that will help your company adopt a remote working policy if it doesn’t have the necessary mobile devices among its IT assets.

As mentioned above, an IT audit will help you assess what you have and what you need in order to run the business efficiently, but you also need to have the tools in place to monitor and analyse usage so that you can identify where cloud support and services are most needed, and where they are not.

In-depth and ongoing analysis will also help to identify the cloud solutions that are no longer needed or used efficiently, and this can provide even more cost-savings. Cloud apps that were once adopted for a specific purpose may sit idle and forgotten about once the business has moved on to new projects, so having the right monitoring solution from an outsourced IT support team that can identify and replace the apps that are no longer cost-effective, means you can continue to only pay for what you need.

As your outsourced IT support experts in London, Optimity can provide the cloud and virtualised services your business needs, advising, deploying and managing your cloud computing solutions, and providing the secure off-site backups that will help your company improve efficiency and productivity while helping you to solve the cloud conundrum.

Get in touch to see how we can help your business, and start the process by booking an IT audit with us:

Even companies with IT resources on-site can struggle to stay on top of everyday issues, and the machine maintenance required to keep the show on the road - leaving little time for strategic, innovative thinking that will future-proof your business. As any business in the cut-throat London market knows, keeping pace on the IT front will keep your head above water, but to swim in bigger ponds among bigger fish, you need to do more than simply stay afloat.

That’s where a Virtual CTO or Chief Technology Officer, can play their part.

How can a Virtual CTO help your business?

A Virtual CTO offers a portfolio of IT solutions, delivered by an expert team of service providers. They can take on the role that would normally be filled by a business’s Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer and/or technology consultants, making them:

• Ideal for businesses that don’t want to develop an in-house tech team or
• A smart addition to an existing team that’s focused on more immediate, day-to-day issues such as break-fixes

Why use a Virtual CTO?

1. Virtual CTOs take care of everything from IT infrastructure management, firewall and virus protection, to WAN/LAN health monitoring, disaster recovery and scheduled on-site support. The list goes on, but their main objective is to keep systems and data safe, secure and accessible, while keeping your IT costs down.
2. Virtual CTOs are proactive, not reactive, and that’s important for fast-paced city businesses, because they’re fastidious about monitoring, measuring and sharing insights that can help improve the way you do business, or give you a competitive edge.
3. A good outsourced IT service provider will be at the forefront of IT innovation too, and offer a wealth of knowledge on new business technology, industry trends and the competitive landscape. That means you’ll reap the rewards of what they can do functionally, but you’ll also benefit from the experience they’ve gained along the way, which can be invaluable.
4. They can provide remote IT support or work on-site. So, if having an expert opinion in the room is beneficial for workshops, consultations with clients, or you want them in the office or worksite to troubleshoot issues as they arise, that’s all within the realms of possibility.

Virtual CTOs understand how to:

• Use IT as a tool for business growth
• Optimise IT budgets
• Manage the cost of IT maintenance
• Customise business processes and
• Design IT infrastructures to keep businesses lean and efficient

4 more good reasons London-based agencies are using Virtual CTOs

#1 Great IT support can take you from mediocre to magnificent

Strong IT management and maintenance is key to uninterrupted productivity. Virtual CTOs deliver this in spades, keeping the day-to-day operation in good shape, while planning for the future. It’s not about throwing huge amounts of money at IT to make it great, it’s about smart use of what you can do within your means, so spend is not only justifiable, but reflected in returns on the bottom line.

#2 Tech road-mapping

The most successful businesses are agile, innovative, and have a clear vision of where they want to go. Virtual CTOs can help realise those ambitions with immediate improvements and longer-term strategic plans that use technology to meet operational and commercial goals. As such, their skills can help build the business in a very tangible and accountable way.

#3 Fool-proof security and disaster planning

Conversations on the best ways to tackle international fraud, global terrorism and even natural disasters are on the up, and disaster recovery and security are particularly hot topics with the GPDR set to kick in, in May 2018.

As the details of the GDPR begin to sink in and the legal obligations of businesses that rely on personal or sensitive information start to mount, expert help (even if only temporary) may be the only way for some businesses to get ship shape and compliant, in time for the May deadline.

#4 Unlimited expert help

Specialist full-time IT consultants are expensive to recruit and notoriously difficult to retain, but even having in-house resources is no guarantee you’ll always have the right person to resolve a specific IT issue.

With a Virtual CTO, there’s total peace of mind that you’ll always have access to the expertise you need to handle any tech task.

At Optimity, we can offer you the full range of IT support services you need to keep your business on top, and bring the experience and expertise you need to grow.

Find out what we can do for you by booking an audit with us: