Some problems are obviously technology problems. When your email server is down, it’s pretty clear what needs to get fixed and who needs to fix it. It’s not a “user problem” when the printer is jamming on every third page.
Sometimes, however, it’s not as clear that technology is at the root of a challenge – or as Henry Ford said “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” While that statement is more than a little presumptuous (in reality, people would probably have told him they needed faster transportation) it points to the fact that people may not know what they want because they don’t know what options they have.
One example is the slowdown caused by communication challenges when hiring a new employee. Sometimes this presents itself as a process problem – if one person forgets to take a step in preparation for the new employee, it can bottleneck the entire orientation. Other times, it’s a time problem – there’s a new employee, but nobody is available to take them through the information they’ll need to be effective at their job.
Both of these problems can be resolved by HR software, which can ensure that a process is followed for onboarding and allow the new employee to take care of much of the paperwork and training themselves. In fact, by using Active Directory synchronization, your Managed IT Service Provider can even be alerted that a new user was added to the system, ensuring they can perform any post-hire tasks required on their end.
Another example is customer security training. Cybersecurity experts have been saying for years that the biggest security threats to company networks aren’t technology, but the end users themselves. The vast majority of ransomware attacks rely on a user to click a bad link in an email or otherwise provide access to the company’s data by accident.
The root cause of this problem is a lack of user training. But even though this isn’t a technology problem, technology can help solve it! Tools such as KnowBe4 send out suspicious emails to your network users and keep statistics on who falls for them most. These users can then be provided further cybersecurity training. This prevents you from having to provide mandatory training to users who don’t need it, and also ensures that users are constantly tested to ensure they keep up their guard against ransomware.
This is why it’s important for your Managed IT Service Provider to understand the biggest challenges facing your company, not just those that are directly linked to technology. Because engineers spend so much time working with (and learning about) new technology, they may be able to suggest some novel ways to fix the problem in less time, with less money, or both. After all, the odds are good that if you’re having a major problem, many other companies are having that problem too – and that at least a few technology companies are building or selling a solution to it as we speak.
To learn how WingSwept can help your company make better use of technology to improve your business outcomes, call us at 919.779.0954 or email us at Team_WingSwept@WingSwept.com.