In the middle of the IT blizzard when it’s difficult to see for all the changes and challenges, it’s extremely easy to forget why you’re focused on IT and why it takes up valuable resources. It’s also easy to see IT employees as fire fighters who are constantly on their way to their next blaze…a crashed hard drive…email not working…cabling issues…a new virus…malware: problems can, and do, crop up frequently.

So let’s take a few minutes to step away from the daily hassles and answer this question.

‘What’s the real point of spending money on IT?’

To answer this question, let’s take a look at an important part of IT for all companies: the website. Many companies simply have a ‘brochure’ website that looks attractive and provides information. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But…wouldn’t you like a website that looks wonderful, provides information, AND generates revenue and leads? Now let’s ask a question about IT employees. Wouldn’t you like to have your IT people working on projects that reduce costs and generate revenue? Isn’t that preferable to having them run around and deal with problems?

The problem is simple: most IT people put out fires. The solution is simple…outsource the fire fighting! Let’s make a list of activities your IT people could be working on to add value if they were not dealing with a spilled coffee on a laptop or an avalanche of spam or a hacker attack.

• Automating ‘routine’ administrative tasks to save thousands of hours of time.
• Dealing a major technology ‘elephant in the room’ that’s been annoying everyone for several months.
• Improving an IT-related function that your competitors are getting right…so you catch up with your competitors and overtake them.
• Building and/or improving e-commerce.
• Using IT to make interaction and communication with clients and customers easier.
• Selecting and installing new software and hardware to provide added efficiency.

Take a few minutes… use your imagination… think of two IT projects that could save money right away and two that could drive new revenue almost immediately.

And remember, IT employees love challenges and they love technology and they love creating. However, they’re not fond of putting out those fires. Unhappy IT employees will eventually leave the company while happy and fulfilled IT employees will be more likely to stay and remain aligned with company goals.

When a company outsources the IT drudgery, the IT mundane, and the IT emergency work, it frees up some extremely talented people to enjoy IT and work on important projects. And the results can be inspirational – and profitable.

Contact us if you need information about any of the following:

IT Support Melbourne

IT Support Sydney

Information technology changes by the second: blink and you’ve missed news about changes, innovations, new companies, new products, and new threats. We’re happy to provide some recent IT services news… including some updates about the most important and publicized IT services development – cloud computing.

• A Romanian hacker recently managed to get into NASA’s website. (GMA News)
• Intel is investing million in cloud computing research. (eweek.com)
• A new website launched and it’s strictly for IT professionals – no ‘vendors’ and it’s already extremely popular. (PCWorld.com)
• In late September, one of the world’s more important database websites, MySQL.com, was hacked and website visitors were at risk of infection from malware. (Virus Bulletin)
• Several server producers will include Intel’s newest Xeon E5 microchips by early next year. An Intel representative gushed, “This is the most phenomenal chip we’ve delivered on Intel to the server market.” (PCWorld.com)
• A hacker named “Ghost Buster” breached the security of several business servers based in Victoria. One of the companies was a construction business; the company had to spend 0,000 to restore data and repair its network. (ZDNet.com)
• In late September, Syrian hackers managed to invade Harvard’s website. Yes – Harvard University near Boston. (Sydney Morning Herald).
• Australian companies are facing difficult decisions when it comes to cloud computing…which can mean data from Australian-based companies ‘emigrating’ to data centres overseas. ‘Customers get over the fact that their data is offshore very quickly,’ Stuart McLean, ANZ head of enterprise, Google Australia, told The Age. ‘It really comes down to how secure it is. Over time, the economies of the cloud will just make sense.’ (The Age)

Cloud computing and its challenges – and opportunities – continue to dominate tech headlines. One of the more significant endorsements of ‘the cloud’ took place in June when Apple unveiled its iCloud service. Apple founder Steve Jobs stated at the launch that iCloud would replace the PC for many people who use the PC to store media and data.

A Cloudy Picture When it Comes to Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages of cloud computing for businesses include:

• Reduced costs
• Easy installation of technology
• Time savings
• It frees up internal resources
• Mobility

However, there are challenges and disadvantages. Cloud computing is nascent and there are growing pains.

• Security – data leaves your cocoon and even though it’s encrypted, it’s no longer on your servers.
• Customisation is not yet possible with the cloud, meaning a potential lack of flexibility.
• You could be at risk from a data disaster.

‘The Cloud’ is just one of thousands of IT developments taking place daily. It’s not realistic for the IT specialists at a company to keep up with all these developments unless the company designates time every week for an employee to monitor changes.

At Emerging IT, we’re constantly keeping up with the news about hardware, software, viruses, hackers, and more – so our clients can free up IT personnel for other IT tasks.

Contact us if you need news about any of the following:

IT Services Melbourne

IT Services Sydney