Total office technology solutions is a holistic approach to helping organizations manage their technology environment. Firms that take this approach broadly service an organization’s technology needs, including aspects such as their print fleet, documents, cybersecurity and communication devices. In contrast, some firms specialize in one specific area of IT. For organizations that rely on outsource technology partners to service their tech, knowing the pros and cons between these two types of service providers is important as they choose a vendor.
Smart Business spoke with Jessica Dynia, Branch Sales Manager at Blue Technologies Inc., about what to consider when choosing a technology partner.
What are the differences between technology partners that have a narrow focus and those that have a broader focus?
Organizations, depending on their staff, need different forms of technology help. For instance, in organizations that have an IT department or designated employees who handle those responsibilities, the organization may just need help with something specific, such as their printer fleet, so that their IT personnel can focus on more important tasks. In cases where there is no one on staff who can manage those aspects of the organization, it can be outsourced completely by a third party. When an IT staff is more focused on customer-facing, mission critical initiatives, a total office technology solutions company can help by co-managing the internal environment.
There are companies that are just managed service partners. They focus on technology infrastructure and end-user systems. That can be helpful to organizations that don’t need comprehensive IT services, but it can also create issues. For example, if there was a problem outside their focus, the organization would need to bring in another vendor to deal with that issue.
Something to consider when having separate vendors handling different aspects of an IT footprint is that sometimes it can lead to finger pointing between them when problems arise. With a total office technology solutions company, multiple problems can be addressed by one vendor that has multiple areas of expertise. There can be instances where companies with a narrower IT focus simply can’t address an issue that they would otherwise handle because there is an issue with an aspect that’s managed by another vendor that must be fixed before they can work on the problem that’s within their wheelhouse.
What benefits might there be to working with a local technology partner?
Something else to consider when choosing a provider is whether the company is local. Local companies are often more available for service calls and work hard to ensure their clients are completely satisfied with the service. It also means calling local numbers to reach local help — organizations are not being routed to a large call center during business hours as they try to solve urgent issues. In some cases, that means that one call reaches a live person who ensures the problem is addressed by the right person the first time, rather than passing the call around until it ultimately lands in voicemail.
Further, working with a local company often means all issues can be handled in-house — no third party contractors, just company employees who are certified in the relevant solutions.
Installations by a local company often happen more promptly and the equipment stays up and working longer in the field — many times exceeding the national average. There’s also a relationship that’s formed when working with a local company. Rather than selling it and forgetting it, there’s an ongoing partnership that leads to a better understanding of customer needs as well as additional services such as working with the organization to create a technology road map to plan out various tech upgrades and initiatives.
When it comes to choosing a technology partner, not only is it important to find one that can cover all of an organization’s technology needs, but choosing one that’s local can lead to better services and a stronger relationship. ●
INSIGHTS Technology is brought to you by Blue Technologies, Inc.
