Probably the most overlooked item in IT management these days are the actual people that are using IT, and this is something that has upset me greatly over the last decade or so. As smaller companies continue to get bought out at astonishing rates by big firms, there is far less connection these days in relationships you form with vendors. Long gone are the days when you were on a first name basis with employees of most of your vendors, let alone them knowing and understanding your team or business. It seems that everyone and everything has become a commodity these days, and this is something I am trying to reverse by bringing personality and teamwork back into the equation. After all you are only as good as the team around you, and they should be treated with the same dignity and respect that you are due.
The most successful client relationships I have had in my career have been when I am extremely familiar with the employees and vendors of my customers. Some of the least likely people you would think have often contributed some of the most vital and important perspectives that helped drive change and progress. The more people buy in and feel they are part of the process, the greater our chances of success are going forward. All organizations go through changes and turnover, and I want to be sure to work with you and adapt to all these changes and make them easier to deal with on a regular basis. These are typically relatively minor changes that can help the onboarding and off-boarding process, which in turn ends up helping other aspects of your business including IT.
Human Resources these days have had to adapt to a lot of different technologies falling into their purview rather quickly with the way we have progressed the last few years. Unfortunately, their vocation is not a technical one, and sometimes this can lead to confusion and frustration regarding having to manage technical assets that are associated with employees or contractors. This often delays onboarding of new employees, which in turn costs you money and can frustrate your new team members and existing employees they were hired to help in the first place. In addition, delays in offboarding create security vulnerabilities if ex-employees still have access to your systems, and costs associated with licensing not being terminated in a timely manner. This ultimately adds up and can drastically affect your bottom line and organizational efficiency.
Another tremendously overlooked item is user education regarding IT. Everybody comes from different backgrounds, and unfortunately neither high schools or colleges put a big emphasis on teaching their students about the technology they are using to do their work and future jobs. The advent of the smartphone only helped this behavior, and as a result your biggest security threats these days are ultimately from within. This can be mitigated with training and development of your users with the IT resources they use daily. I approach this differently than other organizations, by speaking with you and your staff to understand where everybody is now, and then developing a customized training program that will work specifically for you and your organization. Not everybody learns the same, and I excel and relating the material to my subjects in ways they will understand and remember over the long haul.
If you are ready to talk, please contact me today!