For many things in life – health, car repairs, appliance maintenance – a lot of people live by the philosophy of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, some things wouldn’t break if they were properly maintained. This is often true with business technology. Proactive IT support is critical, rather than waiting until something breaks to fix it.

What is proactive IT support?

Think of it like maintenance on your car. When something breaks, you take it to your local auto repair shop. Then, you ask your mechanic how you could’ve prevented the problem. The mechanic then tells you about regular maintenance procedures you could’ve done to prevent this particular issue. Now, you’re better equipped to stave off unnecessary vehicle repairs in the future.

The same is true with information technology. A lot of individuals and businesses treat their technological assets like their cars. They wait until they’re broken to ask for help. Here’s a better solution: proactive IT support.

Instead of waiting for an IT nightmare that interrupts business productivity and costs serious money to fix, let’s identify and fix problem areas now to prevent bigger and more expensive issues in the future. In other words, let’s be proactive instead of reactive.

Benefits of proactive IT support

The benefits of proactive tech support are numerous. Here are a few of the most obvious:

  • No loss in productivity – When problem areas are identified before major issues arise, downtime from failed technology is minimized.
  • Reputation preservation – There’s little more embarrassing than when IT issues are apparent to clients. If tech problems interfere with service, they may take their business elsewhere. Keep current clients and attract new ones with technology that runs smoothly and efficiently.
  • Easier to budget – A large bill from an IT emergency can be difficult to plan for. With proactive IT support, the cost is easily budgeted. And, big money surprises that come with a break/fix emergency support scenario can often be avoided.

What is included in proactive support?

The specifics of proactive IT support can vary by provider, but here are a few of the more common elements:

  • Regular or 24/7 monitoring: Have you ever experienced a flood in your home caused by a leaky pipe? Hopefully not, but you can probably imagine the picture. You come home from work to find several inches of water on the floor. It all started with a small plumbing leak. But, no one was home to notice when it was just in the dripping stage. Information technology works the same way. Not every tech failure or emergency can be completely avoided. However, with regular or 24/7 monitoring by IT support specialists, it’s much easier to spot and fix a problem before it becomes catastrophic. This means happier employees and customers, less downtime, and less impact on operations and profits.
  • Proactive updates, patches, and security fixes: With proactive IT support, we keep all of your technology up to date and secure, minimizing the chances for glitches or cyber attacks.
  • Planning for future technology: The systems you employ in business need to function well as a whole. Instead of buying and implementing technology at random, our IT support specialists help you plan for future technology needs. You’ll save money by not buying unnecessary gadgets and gizmos. And, our proactive approach will help ensure you have what you need to address future challenges before they arrive.
  • Comprehensive technology assessment:  As your IT service provider, we provide valuable insight into what technology is working well and what isn’t. It could be malfunctioning software, broken hardware, or procedures that are to blame for inefficiencies and loss of productivity. Whatever the cause, our tech support specialists will identify and fix the problem.

A final word on proactive tech support

Tip of the day: You need to be ready for change. Technology is ever-changing and you can stay on top if you adapt. Next time you get a notification for an update on your phone or computer, perhaps ignoring it is not the best idea!

Are you ready for proactive IT support to improve business productivity and efficiency? Check out our tech support plans and get started today!