When most of us start our own business, our long-term goal is to build a company that is successful enough to be profitable in the first year and continue growth well into the future. Like BKS founder Chad Holstead, many of us even start our businesses with just one or two employees and a handful of customers or clients.

During that period, your company's IT might include not much more than your laptop and a mobile phone. But as you bring on more clients and employees, your IT needs will grow faster than you'll be able to predict. With more employees comes more IT infrastructure, hardware, software and email management. With more infrastructure, hardware, software and email management comes the need for constant updates, system back-ups and security monitoring.

So, as your business grows you'll need to consider either brining on a full- or part-time IT professional to manage everything you won't have the time or know-how for. However, most small- to medium-sized businesses don't normally have money in their budget for non-revenue generating employees and the overhead they create. If you find yourself in that situation, you'll want to consider the services of a managed IT consulting services company like BKS.

How to Know If You Need an IT Consultant

As a busy business owner, it may be difficult for you to recognize that it's time to hire an outside IT consultant to ensure the stability of your systems and hardware. That's why we've taken the time to outline four tried and true ways to know that you're being overwhelmed by your company's IT needs.

You're not up on the latest technology

Without a dedicated IT person working for you, it will be nearly impossible to keep track of the latest advancements in technology while trying to run your own successful business. At BKS we make it our duty to keep up with the latest in technology and how that can help improve your business. Outdated technology will lead to holes in your business' tech security and opens you up to theft of valuable business information.

Your Business' Structure Has Changed

As your company grows, it’s a lot to ask of yourself or another employee to develop an IT plan, support the increasing number of staff and their IT needs as well as maintain hardware. Rather than hiring an IT professional and all the overhead that comes with it, a managed IT consulting company can support your business and it’s future growth.

YOU'RE UNABLE TO FOCUS ON Core Competencies

With properly managed IT services, you and your employees can efficiently work toward the business’ core competencies and your very best services to your clients or customers. With a dedicated IT professional, your company's email and network management, hardware and software maintenance and spam/virus monitoring your business will run according to plan.

You Don't Have a Disaster Plan

An IT disaster recovery plan is essential for all businesses. Whether it's a power outage from a storm or something much bigger, your business needs an IT recovery plan. A high-qualified IT consultant can develop such a plan as a matter of routine and keep it updated regularly. If you've never even considered an IT recovery plan, that's a sure sign it's time to call in a pro.

 

If any of the above apply to your growing business, it's time to contact the professionals at Chicago IT consultants BKS. We have over 15 years of experience in the professional services, healthcare, banking and logistics and transportation fields. Contact us to get started on taking charge of your company's IT.