That’s right, go ahead and just accept the inevitable – anything to do with technology is bound to be difficult to implement. You can plan all you want but there will ALWAYS be something that gets overlooked or changes at the last minute. This not only goes for your hardware/software projects or telecom systems but also for something as simple as activating a Blackberry.

Let me tell you about my latest adventure with Corporate America. We are Verizon Wireless Agents in a brand new B2B (business to business) Channel program. It took us literally a year to get through the various roadblocks to achieve that status – but that’s a story for another time. In any event we had a brand new customer that signed up for our Total Care program. We took care of everything, phones, computer network, carrier services– which was no easy task as they had a go-live date of less than two weeks. As part of the Total Care we were asked to help with securing several new Blackberry’s and moving one user’s account over to the business. Sounds easy right? Remember what I said about difficult to implement? Right. The first CSR we spoke to said they would need a copy of their business certificate and first month’s phone bill. The problem was they hadn’t been in business long enough to have a first phone bill. So they advised us that a copy of the CSR (customer service record) from the line order would do. After gathering that information we submitted it and were told that they didn’t qualify for the B2B program after all. Net result – we had to bring the client to the Verizon Wireless store as we were told this would be absolutely pain free and seamless. Right. After (3) hours and numerous changes in what kind of paperwork needed to be filled out to pass credit we finally got it done. Ultimately, believe it or not, the client had to add the Blackberry’s to his personal Verizon Wireless account. Even though he had been a loyal Verizon Wireless customer for (10) years, had never missed a payment AND had stock in the company they still wouldn’t establish a business account for him without that first month’s landline phone bill. Talk about crazy …he’ll have to move all the units to the new business account after he brings in his first bill.

What’s my point? Exactly what I started with – anticipate that things will not go according to plan and you’ll have a lot less stress. Plan as usual but don’t be thrown off when things blow up…its par for the course in the world of technology.

For any good business to succeed it relies on its technology infrastructure and support today more than ever.  I understand that relationships with technology service providers get very close after many years of working together.  I would also expect that every organization will have some form of support relationship in place, be it internal staff or an outsourced provider.

What many organizations fail to do is periodically review that relationship from an objective standpoint and compare the costs and the benefits.  Technology today has created a shift in the model of traditional IT support and now many of the functions that required a physical consultant to be in house can now be managed remotely for a fraction of the cost.  The new model of IT support leverages technology to reduce support costs and while providing an arguably better level of service.

If it has been a while since you have reviewed your existing support relationship, I encourage you to do so.  I would also be happy to have an informal sit down with you to give you another perspective from a different service provider.  Once I understand your business and technology needs, I can give you a ball park on how our services would compare on price and service level.  From that meeting one of two things will happen.  We could validate that your current service provider is taking great care of you, which is good for you and bad for me.  Or we can find out that there are services and methods that you were unaware of that would improve your business, increase employee efficiency and save the organization money.  That would be a win for both of us.

Unitel, is a technology solutions provider with over 20 years of experience in IT and telecommunications.  We help organizations integrate their phone, desktop computer and mobile devices to create unified communications between the organization and its clients.  We also provides strategy, service and support for phone systems and IT infrastructure and we leverage technology to offer remote monitoring of your critical systems and have help desk services for immediate troubleshooting.  We also utilize senior and mid-level consultants for strategic work and hands on maintenance when required.

Be smart in 2010!  Set up a brief meeting with Unitel today to learn more and help determine if you are currently receiving the right level of support or if you could get more for less.  You have nothing to lose but money.

Advancements in technology coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit has resulted in a growing number of outsourced service providers.  This boom has enabled businesses to outsource in an ever increasing capacity.  The recession and the effect of it on the economy have created a business environment where services that were once managed by (internal) full time employees (FTE’s) have been shifted to outsourced service providers in order to increase efficiency and save money.  In order to stay competitive and in some cases, just survive, most in the business world have been forced to do more with less. 

Today, established businesses and startups alike are now turning towards outsourced service providers (IT, HR, Marketing, etc…) to provide their organizations with the tools and services that allow them to meet their business goals and objectives.  The question of, “Should our business outsource?” has been replaced by, “Which provider should we outsource this function to?” 

A typical in-house IT FTE can cost a company in excess of $75,000 per year, not including benefits.  One resource with limited bandwidth and knowledge is now replaceable.  In exchange for the FTE model, you can substitute an organization of professionals that has the ability to meet the IT and Telecommunications needs of a business.  For a fraction of the cost a business can now find a partner that will guarantee them IT support services, virtual help desk and phone systems that work through the leveraging of technology and the appropriate mix of onsite consulting.  It is no wonder that outsourcing is here to stay.