Turning IT From a Cost Center to a Money Saver

IT is usually a CEO’s least favorite word. The thought of anything tech related, regardless of what stage of business you’re in, typically causes some mild panic. Whether it’s confusion, uncertainty, security fears, and so on, the main reason for the alarm tends to surround the topic of money. Cyber security has become a significant necessity for businesses in today’s world, where cybercriminals are on the rise. Money, however, shouldn’t have to be your reason for not taking the next steps to a safer, secure environment.

When you find the right IT company, whether through your staff or a hired managed service provider like Protected Harbor, fears of how much you will spend will soon dissipate. Today, we will go over how you can turn your IT from a cost center to a money saver with a strategic approach.

Our Steps for Finding a Reputable IT Company:

In Sync with Your Business Goals: Your future IT partner should be aligned with your organization’s business goals to ensure that your technology investments support the overall mission of your organization. This can be easily figured out by having a thorough interview with your IT partner and discussing what you actually need versus what your company can do without.

Focusing on Value: Your IT partner should focus on delivering value to your organization rather than just providing technology solutions. This means understanding the needs of your business by figuring out what is currently lacking in your team’s IT processes. As a result, they will find ways to improve your processes, increase efficiency, and reduce costs.

Flexibility: There are many ways to solve IT issues, and we know that. However, your IT team should be deploying solutions that can solve multiple problems. For example, when upgrading to a new system, your IT partner may recommend or automatically add multi-factor authentication to your new system, increasing security. They should automatically find ways to solve future potential problems even if they don’t exist yet.

Implement Cost-Saving Technologies: Your IT partner can and should implement cost-saving technologies such as cloud computing, virtualization, and automation. This will reduce hardware and software costs, improve productivity, and reduce the need for manual labor either from your staff or your IT team.

Optimize IT Operations: IT can optimize its operations by using best practices such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) to streamline processes, reduce downtime, and improve efficiency.

Use Data Analytics: IT can use data analytics to gain insights into the organization’s operations and find ways to optimize processes, reduce costs, and improve performance. This way, your partner will only ever recommend to you what you need versus what you don’t.

Adopt a Continuous Improvement Approach: Your IT partner should adopt a continuous improvement approach to ensure they always look for ways to optimize your operations.

These are just a few steps that companies like yours should review and think about before panicking over the idea of cost in technology. These steps should help you when it comes to evaluating your next IT partner. IT is a necessity in today’s world and truly is a strategic asset for your company; it can only help drive your future success. The next time you’re afraid of your IT becoming a cost center, remember these steps above, and you will surely see how hiring the right IT partner will become your money saver.

12 Questions Nonprofits Should Ask When Looking for an IT Partner

As a non-profit organization, aside from your budget, the technology your organization possesses should be at the forefront of your priorities.  From financial records to members and beyond, your non-profit is more at risk of falling victim to a cyber-attack than ever before. We know finding the perfect IT partner isn’t easy. However, we have compiled a list of twelve questions you should be asking to help simplify the search process.

Let’s dive into the questions:

1. Are the people responding to your support requests W-2 staff members or outsourced?

When it comes to needing IT to help your organization, it’s critical for security reasons and an ample response that the person helping you to solve your support requests knows your system. However, if your IT partner uses outsourced solution providers, this can make for a less secure fix, as these providers aren’t familiar with your system or its processes.

2. Is your support site and monitoring outsourced or running on directlyowned equipment?

An IT Partner must maintain direct ownership and control over their monitoring, backup, and troubleshooting data. Direct ownership allows for rapid response when problems occur and are more secure.  An IT partner that maintains direct control will be able to respond faster to requests and will be more secure.

3. What experience do you have working with nonprofits?

It is essential to work with an IT partner who has experience working with nonprofits, as their needs can be different from those of for-profit organizations. IT companies who have previous experience with non-profits understand the need to follow a budget plan and pride themselves on following your organization’s mission.

4. Can you provide references from other nonprofit clients?

Ask for references from other nonprofits that the IT partner has worked with in the past, and reach out to those organizations to learn more about their experience.

5. What IT services do you offer?

Ensure this potential IT partner can provide you with the specific services your nonprofit requires, whether it be network management, data backup and recovery, cybersecurity, or cloud computing.

6. How do you ensure data security?

Ask the IT partner about their data security protocols, including data encryption, access controls, and backup and recovery processes.

7. How do you handle IT emergencies?

Discuss their protocols and processes regarding IT emergencies ranging from system failures to cybersecurity incidents.

8. What is your response time for IT support requests?

Ask about the IT partner’s response time for support requests and ensure that it aligns with your nonprofit’s needs.

9. How do you stay up to date on IT trends and best practices?

It is essential to work with an IT partner who is knowledgeable about the latest IT trends and best practices. In addition, you need to know they can apply this knowledge to your nonprofit’s needs.

10. What is your approach to IT budgeting?

Ask the IT partner about their approach to IT budgeting. Some follow-up questions to ask can be how do they estimate costs? Or how do they work with nonprofits to ensure that IT costs align with their budget?

11. Do you provide training and support to our non-profit staff?

Ensure that the IT partner provides training and support to your non-profit staff, as this can help improve your employee’s IT skills and reduce the need for IT support.

12. What is your philosophy on working with non-profits?

Finally, ask the IT partner about their philosophy on working with nonprofits, and ensure that it aligns with your nonprofit’s values and mission.

Don’t go into the research process blind when finding your next IT partner. Study these questions and use them exactly as they are or as a jump-off point into more profound questions you may not have thought of before. When it comes to picking your next IT partner, you need to know whom you’re signing on to work with and trust that all your questions and concerns will be dealt with. In today’s world, especially as a non-profit, you need an IT team to have your back that understands your organization’s purpose and mission. Don’t fall victim to the next cyber-criminal. Start your research now.

9 Questions Non-Profits Should Ask Themselves When Looking for an IT Partner

Let’s say you’re working on a new project for your nonprofit organization. You will eventually need to scale if it becomes wildly successful, and your servers will need to be fast and secure. So, what do you do? Well, it depends on many factors, but the one thing you should be considering most of all is partnering with an Information Technology (IT) company.

Working with a solid IT partner requires good communication, time, energy, and trust. Non-profits are assumed to have limited resources, so the level of due diligence and in-depth collaboration must be high before choosing a partner. But there are many IT companies out there, so how can you figure out which is the right one for you?

Well, asking the right questions will always lead you to the best decision when looking for a partner, and we’re here to guide you through the best questions to ask yourself when evaluating your next IT company.

First, Why Do Non-Profits Need an IT Partner?

The non-profit sector is continually evolving as more organizations develop new ways to tackle today’s biggest challenges. As these organizations grow, they need more technology to keep up with the pace of change.

Whether your organization is a small start-up or a large national charity, it’s essential to have an IT partner that understands your organization’s goals and works closely with you to develop a technological strategy that supports them.

Non-profits will need an IT partner because they will:

• Increase Efficiency: A professional service provider can take on some short-term costs associated with IT procurement and usage, freeing up resources for other needs, like staff hiring or marketing. This can also increase efficiency as your non-profit learns how to utilize its new tech tools.
• Enhance Credibility: A partnership with a professional service provider allows non-profits access to specialized knowledge and expertise often unavailable within the organization. This can help these organizations to develop trust between their donors, volunteers, and members.
• Share Knowledge and Expertise: When you’re working as an IT partner rather than an employee, you learn firsthand about your client’s business objectives and challenges – which helps you to better understand where you fit into their overall plan for success.

Questions Non-Profits Should Ask When Looking for an IT Partner

Non-profit organizations are often in the same boat as businesses regarding technology needs. Only, usually with a smaller budget. They need a reliable and secure IT infrastructure to support their operations, but they also need an IT partner who understands a non-profit’s unique challenges.

The following questions will help non-profit organizations find the right match for their IT partner:

1.    Do they care about my mission? Is there enthusiasm for the cause?

There’s nothing worse than working with an IT company that doesn’t care about your organization’s mission. You want someone passionate about helping you achieve your goals. A good IT partner will already have prior knowledge and experience with non-profits, understand what you do and why it matters, and have a strong desire to help make a difference in the world.

2.    How will they help me save money?

Non-profits always need to find ways to save money while providing excellent service to their clients and donors. Your partner should be able to give recommendations on how they can help reduce your costs while maintaining the quality and security of your data.

3.    Do they understand how non-profits work and what is important to me?

Non-profits operate under a different set of rules than for-profit companies, so their partners must know how non-profits work in general and their overall purpose. A good IT company will understand your organization’s mission and how technology can help it. They may also make recommendations about software that could help accomplish your goals more efficiently and effectively.

4.    Are they committed to increasing your capacity?

One thing that often separates great IT providers from good ones is their commitment to helping customers grow their capacity over time to meet new challenges and continue growing their businesses.

5.    Do they have strong brand recognition?

Your prospective IT partner must have a good reputation within their industry. The more positive reviews they have, the more likely organizations and their members will trust them with their data.

6.    Who are their potential partners?

Non-profits want to find a company that shares its values, vision, and mission. They also want to work with a partner who has experience working with non-profits, as it helps them to better understand what the organization needs from its technology.

7.    Is their target audience particularly appealing to some corporations?

If a non-profit is focused on helping people in need, its target audience may be very appealing to a large corporate sponsor. If you have a corporation like this in mind that you hope to work with, make sure your IT partner has experience working with them before asking for any referrals.

8.    How does this approach cybersecurity?

A good IT partner will have a strong security posture and be able to help your organization implement the best practices for protecting your sensitive data and networks. They should be able to identify the vulnerabilities in your system and make the necessary changes to secure your networks.

9.    Do they have a remote helpdesk?

If your nonprofit has remote employees or volunteers, it’s essential that they can quickly get help from their IT provider when they need it most. An excellent remote support solution allows your team members to connect with their helpdesk no matter where they are located.

Final Words

Non-profits are not usually IT experts, and they shouldn’t have to be. A non-profit’s vision, culture, and success depend on its organization’s reliability, starting with the most trusted technology available to its members. That’s where Protected Harbor comes in.

Protected Harbor can assess, evaluate, and offer budget-friendly suggestions on increasing your organization’s cybersecurity and technology. For non-profits who may not have the budget for a full-time IT staff, this is the best option to guarantee that your organization’s infrastructure is in good hands.

Advantages of Partnering with Managed Services Providers

In today’s digital world, it is almost impossible for big enterprises to small and medium-sized businesses to function without technology. With so many different products and service offerings available, most companies have difficulty keeping up with the demand. As a result, many business owners are partnering with managed services providers to take some of the load off their shoulders.

These professionals will handle all technology-related administrative tasks and help you avoid costly IT repairs or system failures.

The Protected Harbor Managed Service Provider (MSP) Partner Advantage program is now available. It is designed to assist your company’s growth by accelerating the time to market, expanding your clientele, and increasing profitability.

This blog post will share some advice on partnering with MSPs for your company and what to watch out for when signing contracts or service-level agreements.

What is a Managed Service Provider?

A managed service provider (MSP) is a company that offers a wide range of IT services. There are many different types of managed services. Still, they all have a few things in common: – Service Level Agreement (SLA): This contract outlines the services provided, response times, and any penalties if the company fails to meet those goals.

Customized Plans: Some MSPs will have standardized plans, but most will work with you to create a customized plan that fits your needs and budget.

24/7 Support: All MSPs will provide 24/7 support for their clients. This means you can call them whenever you have a problem, even at 2 AM.

Backup and Disaster Recovery: It’s crucial to have a backup system in place, so you don’t lose any data if your system fails. A managed service provider will have a backup plan with regular tests.

Cybersecurity: With the rise in cyber-attacks, getting day-to-day management services or standard information technology services is not enough. Therefore, you must partner with MSP, which provides all services including cybersecurity.

How Can MSPs Help Your Company?

The goal of an MSP is to help you reduce IT costs, improve productivity and reliability, and increase uptime. To achieve those goals, the managed service provider will need to look at your current technology infrastructure and offer suggestions for improving it.

Most MSPs will offer a wide variety of services including networking, infrastructure management – data security, cloud computing, voice and communications, disaster recovery and business continuity, endpoint management, remote monitoring and management, data management, and application management.

Important Questions to Ask Before Signing Any Contract

Before signing any contract, you must ensure that the MSP is a good fit for your company. Here are a few questions when vetting managed services providers: – Is the MSP a good fit for my company? – What is the MSP’s track record? – How does the MSP protect my data? – What are the MSP’s rates and terms? – How will the MSP and my team work together? – Are there any hidden costs associated with the MSP? – How does the MSP handle customer service? – What are the MSP’s cancellation procedures?

Reasons to Partner With Us

As you can see, partnering with a managed services provider can save your company a lot of money and headaches. The best MSPs, like Protected Harbor, will help you manage your technology infrastructure, reduce your costs, and improve the uptime of your systems. At the same time, you will have the flexibility to handle projects outside the managed services scope.

Protected Harbor engineers are highly skilled specialists capable of application migration, development, and continuing maintenance services. If you’d like to partner with us for your managed services and cybersecurity needs, this is the right time. Contact us today for a free IT Audit and learn how our partner advantage benefits you.

Should I Hire an IT Guy? Should I Hire an MSP?

IT guys and MSPs are popping up everywhere these days. From your local hardware store to the big box retailers, there’s no shortage of places you can find a helpful tech or an experienced service provider (or both!). Even so, that doesn’t mean they’re all equally dependable.

The decision to hire an IT guy or an MSP (Managed Service Provider) depends on your organization’s specific needs and resources. Choosing an IT guy and an MSP should be based on carefully assessing your organization’s needs and resources. It may also be worth considering a combination of both, with an IT guy for on-site support and an MSP for broader IT management and support. With that in mind, here are some pros and cons to hiring IT guys and MSPs regarding your company’s IT needs.

Why Hire a Managed IT Service Provider?

Many companies don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to managing their IT needs. They often don’t have a dedicated team working on their technology and flounder in an overwhelmed and unproductive environment.

A managed IT service provider can help you get a handle on your technology and avoid these pitfalls. They may be able to provide solutions that are tailored to your specific needs. With an MSP, you can be sure you’re getting a full-service approach that includes expert advice, total control over all aspects of your technology, and a consistent level of service.

The managed IT service provider can handle more complicated IT tasks like backup and disaster recovery methods, network administration, cybersecurity procedures, data management services, and server management, to mention a few. In other words, think of your internal IT department as your daily IT support provider.

Pros and Cons When Hiring an IT Guy or MSP

Like any other business decision, there are pros and cons to hiring an IT guy or an MSP.

Why do you Need a Dedicated IT Team?

Having a dedicated IT team is essential for any organization that relies on technology to operate efficiently and effectively. A dedicated IT team can provide essential support and expertise to ensure your organization’s technology infrastructure operates smoothly, securely, and cost-effectively. Investing in a dedicated IT team can improve productivity, prevent downtime and security incidents, and support your organization’s growth and success.

You’ll likely need to bring on a dedicated IT team if hiring an IT guy or an MSP. This is because most managed IT service providers will only hire entry-level IT staff. You may consider bringing a CIO or a senior IT executive who can manage other employees.

As an IT department takes shape, you may consider hiring experienced IT executives to oversee specific aspects of your technology. For instance, if your company has a significant revenue stream that relies on technology, you may want to hire someone to manage the revenue stream.

Conclusion

Managed IT services are here to stay. But remember that while they are cost-effective and can help your business, they are not a silver bullet. In other words, they’re a great choice to supplement your in-house IT team if you have one.

The best course of action is to understand your business thoroughly. How invested you are in your money’s capabilities, demands, and functions will determine how much you can get out of it. Whether it’s a single IT professional or a team of managed service providers, what counts is that your needs are appropriately handled.

While most MSPs focus on outsourcing technical tasks, Protected Harbor is different. It provides managed security services (MSS) to businesses, offering proactive monitoring of physical and cyber assets. Protected Harbor is the right choice if you are looking for a managed service provider that can grow with your company as it scales.

We are the top-rated manage service providers in Rockland county, NY. We work with businesses at all stages, from startups to enterprises. If you need ongoing assistance with managing your IT infrastructure or if you want to outsource a specific task like software development, we can help. We pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for all your technology needs.

Contact us today for a more hands-off approach to your IT and security needs. Get a free IT Audit here.

The Importance of IT Service Provider: Truth to Power

Today’s business landscape is highly competitive, and a company must adopt a strategy to give them an edge over its competitors. Technology has become a primary source of differentiation for companies in all sectors.

You’ve probably heard about the importance of the service-provider relationship. After all, it’s a topic that discussion boards, blogs, and articles have been tackling for years. But how much of this information is theory vs. practice? If you had to implement these strategies tomorrow, would you know what action steps to take?

Welcome to another video in the series Uptime with Richard Luna discussing the importance of service-provider relations and transparency. What’s the truth to power between the promised services and the actual delivery by the IT service providers and MSPs?

The Importance of a Service-Provider Relationship

When people in the business world talk about service-provider relationships, they refer to the partnerships businesses build with their partners. These could include vendors, suppliers, distributors, IT service providers, managed service providers, or system integrators. A service-provider relationship is designed to help both parties thrive and succeed.

When you partner with a company to provide essential technology services, like hosting, IT infrastructure, security, or managed services, you’re entering into a partnership that will benefit both of you in different ways. For example, let’s say you run a chain of car dealerships that need an IT infrastructure to process credit card payments and keep your staff connected. If you work with a managed services provider (MSP) to help you with these tasks, you’re entering into a partnership that will benefit you in different ways.

Truth in Transparency: Know What You’re Buying

IT service providers are critical to any business’s success, but they are not all created equally. Many service providers offer various technology-related services, each with unique value propositions, business models, and strengths and weaknesses. That’s why it’s important to partner with an IT service provider that is a good fit for your company.

Partnering with a service provider that is a good fit for your company can help you avoid common pitfalls that can disrupt your business and negatively impact your bottom line, such as paying too much for services you don’t need or are overpriced, or not receiving the level of support and maintenance your company needs to thrive.

Before signing up with an IT service provider, ensure you understand exactly what you’re buying to ensure the relationship is a good fit for your business. You don’t want to sign up with a service provider that is overpriced or doesn’t offer a solution that lines up with your business needs.

The Importance of a Good SLA

The service-level agreement (SLA) is critical to any managed services agreement. The SLA outlines the service provider’s obligations, such as the level of customer support, the amount of downtime, and the uptime of critical systems. It also includes the customer’s obligations.

It is essential to make sure the SLA is in your favor. If you are a customer working with an MSP, the SLA is your opportunity to hold the service provider accountable for their promises by clearly laying out what you expect from them. It is also an opportunity for you to establish a baseline for performance.

If you are an MSP, the SLA is your opportunity to outline the commitments you make to your customers. It is also an opportunity for you to set a baseline for performance. For example, if your SLA states that you will have a technician respond to an issue within four hours, that is the expectation you need to live up to every single time.

Takeaways

It is a strategic technology partner offering more than just a product or service. It is a partner that provides expertise, guidance, and support to help you grow your business through IT services.

Protected Harbor is not your typical MSP. It’s a managed service provider with a twist. The company specializes in cloud-based software solutions, including data backup, recovery, ransomware, and other cybersecurity services. Our team of MSP experts works with you every step of the way.

We conduct a thorough assessment of your business and technology landscape. We then customize a solution that meets your exact needs. Contact one of our experts today for a free IT Audit and discover why we are different.

Non-profit Computer Services: Building the Foundation for Your Non-Profit’s Success

Non-profit organizations are often driven by passion, not profits. But that doesn’t stop non-profits from needing technology to operate efficiently and thrive. Technology can support growth in several ways: streamlining operations, making collaboration with partners and volunteers easier, or increasing the organization’s visibility to potential donors.

Whether your non-profit is just starting or looking for ways to improve efficiency, these tips will help you better manage your non-profit’s IT needs. Here is the next video in the series Uptime with Richard Luna. This blog post will cover why your non-profit should invest in IT services and how to find the right partner.

All Has to be Seamless

When it comes to non-profit IT services, the tech experience must be seamless for your internal team and end users. Your services should integrate well with your existing tools and be easy to set up. They should also provide a straightforward user experience—whether someone is using your website or accessing a hosted application, they should not be overwhelmed by technology.

Provide a Uniform Interface

One of your organization’s most influential services is a uniform interface for managing your environment. You may have one or several application or platform environments. You may also have one or more partner organizations that provide you with internal or external services, such as email systems, hosted applications, and data storage.

These multiple environments and partners may need to be integrated, monitored, and managed in a single interface. Your non-profit IT services partner should be able to help you do this. In particular, you’ll want to ensure the partner can provide a single pane of glass to manage your environments, no matter where they are hosted, so you can have one view of all your operations.

Finding the right partner

Finding the right IT partner for your non-profit is more critical than the cost. It’s about meeting your needs, including your ability to collaborate, manage operations, and measure results. Before you begin the search for non-profit IT services, do some self-reflection on your organization’s goals and objectives. Are you seeking a turnkey solution? Will you need to staff the project internally? What are your most prominent non-profit IT challenges? These are all critical questions to consider when looking for the right partner for your non-profit.

Conclusion

When it comes to non-profit IT services, you want to be sure to select a partner that will help you meet your strategic goals. You want to make sure the partner can provide the level of service you need and that it can scale as your needs grow. You also want to ensure the partner is committed to positive social impact and can show you how their technology and services are helping other non-profits succeed.

With the right partner like Protected Harbor and the right level of support, there is no limit to what your non-profit can accomplish. Protected Harbor is dedicated to offering scalable and affordable solutions and is aware of the unique challenges faced by non-profit organizations. We have spent years planning IT infrastructures for NGOs to ensure they receive the IT support required for both short- and long-term objectives while being productive.

To find out more about how our IT solutions may assist your non-profit organization in achieving its objectives, get in touch with Protected Harbor for a free consultation and IT Audit.