You started your own company as a solo entrepreneur and after a few years you’ve expanded to
having fifteen employees – yay! But your IT support is still just one person. They’ve been with you
since the beginning, setting up all of your technology. You have an attachment to them and a
wonderful working relationship with them but they’re not keeping up like they used to.

Focus Technology Solutions work with several businesses who were previously supported by a one-man IT Service Provider, and nearly all had good experiences – especially in the early days. However, there are limitations – and there are areas of weakness – all of which our customers eventually came to realise:

What happens when the one-man IT Service Provider gets too many customers for them to
be able to provide your required level of support? It can’t be easy trying to provide the
required level of attention when there are so many plates to spin. It’s extremely frustrating
when staff have to wait several days for something very simple.

What happens when they are ill? It can’t be easy for them knowing their customers need
help when they are lying in bed with a horrible cold. Again, very frustrating when you can’t
get the support when you need it.

What happens when they need to take a holiday? Surely, they can’t relax knowing customers
are going unsupported. IT has become business critical for many businesses in today’s world
– and to have periods of no support is simply too risky for many.

What happens when your business needs extra resources for projects? One pair of hands is
just one pair of hands…

What happens when their customers need solutions that the one-man IT Service Provider
has never experienced? Unfortunately, we have seen solutions implemented by previous
one-man IT Service Providers that are simply not the right ones. Inappropriate solutions
affect the effectiveness of your staff – and your business.

All this said, many stick with their one-man-band because they fear switching to an alternate
provider may jeopardise what they currently have. For many, there is some obvious trepidation on
how to move to a better solution. But switching IT support provider couldn’t be easier – especially
when the new provider will handle everything for you. Read our insight piece on switching: Do you know how easy switching IT service providers can be? 

The other fear for businesses looking to move away from a one-man IT service provider is they could lose the personal touch with a new company. This is certainly a risk – especially with the larger IT support companies who have 100s customers – there is a very definite risk of you becoming just a number – that’s why it’s important to speak to a few IT support companies and choose the one that can meet all your requirements.

Perhaps surprisingly, we have found that sometimes the One-Man IT Service Provider is relieved
when their customers move to a larger, more capable provider – probably due to the anxiety of not always being available – not being able to provide quick enough support – and the concern about not providing the right solutions.

It’s vital that businesses can grow and empower their staff with high quality IT infrastructure.

So, whilst we may be biased on this matter (and not without good reason) we believe the ideal
partner for many SMBs is to have an IT support partner big enough to have the multiple people to
support your business, but small enough to maintain a strong relationship, and to help your business develop and constantly improve its IT provision.