A piecemeal approach to anything is characterized by small, haphazard measures of uncertainty over a longer period of time. Aside from the extended time to resolve an issue, piecemeal solutions are usually misguided alternatives to the correct answer.

Piecemealed IT Solutions

Piecemeal solutions to IT issues are defined as unsystematic decision-making, and this approach is where trouble starts. Quality IT Solutions are getting faster and cheaper; IT spending has bounced back from a deep plunge in the earlier 2000s.

Just Products

Every customer type looks to a large company that offers solutions, not just a product. The larger a business becomes, the harder it is to keep track of a piecemeal solution. Companies not only produce identical products and services; opportunities are missed.

Piecemealing can lead to confusion for company personnel, supply chains, and the client.

A goal of every company, large or small, should have an “ease of doing business.” Every product or service should be integrated around a central base of knowledge. Disparate tools and piecemealed solutions, “do not integrate well.”

The piecemealed approach inevitably leads to duplicate technology of reporting, analytics, dashboards, and workflow. These added work processes must be managed, and more times than not, revenue is sacrificed.

Blessing or Burden

A recent report from Deloitte says organizations are spending two-thirds of their IT budgets, keeping the lights on instead of innovating. Businesses can flourish with technology, or they can become bogged down under the pressure.

Is Information Technology a Burden or Blessing?

Work environments have dramatically changed in recent years, whether a business has ten employees or thousands, technology impacts the company somehow.

Without a healthy collaboration and unified approach to IT, employees wilt and cost the company money. Miscommunication in organizations of more than 100 employees costs the company, on average, $420,000 per year. Bump that up to 100,000 employees, and the number rises dramatically to $62.4 million.

Technology brings a lot to the table. The enterprise must know how and when it should be used and how to implement those choices properly. Having the right technology can give a business huge advantages. However, constantly trying to keep up can quickly become a burden.

Businesses also find themselves exposed to heightened security risks with a non-traditional approach to information technology. Challenges are massive for IT personnel to keep up with coordinated hacker teams. Businesses face losing their corporate image or paying a ransom to get data back.

Technology should give the enterprise opportunities to create new services and products while improving efficiency. If the piecemealed approach to IT has become a burden, businesses need to step back and analyze vital information. Discover what drives the organization, with Vital IT Resources!

Maintaining a competitive advantage is a vital part of a company’s foundation. Companies must find different organization skill sets to help with the varied information technology processes and consider asking a third party to review. A step back would give the in-house IT team time to focus on innovation and adding value.

Lack of Continuous Improvement:

Successful companies need to be innovative and agile. The business needs to have efficient processes guiding everyday life in the office or manufacturing floor. Operations must be effective, making certain customer needs are being met.

What worked in yesterday’s market may not be the best approach today.

Information technology is an indispensable part of a business. Take away email, cellphones, desktop applications, the internet, and nearly every business would collapse overnight. If the internal IT department is not getting the job done with piecemealing everything, companies can get the answers elsewhere. There are now more information technology choices for the enterprise than ever before.

A poor IT culture creates barriers for the enterprise, resulting in a continuous lack of improvement. Some leaders have a limited understanding of the tools at their disposal and struggle to create uninterrupted advancement.

Barriers to Growth:

Each of the following barriers is impacted by a piecemeal approach to IT. Adapting to industry change can cause your business to be a leader or an also-ran.

Static Methods, Organizations must continually update processes and procedures to remain relevant. “Business as Usual” is a mistake.
Non-Compliance, The impact of disregarding the rules and regulations every business must endure can be devastating.
Opportunities Lost, Every business must stay current with their information technology resources, or the competition wins.
Apathetic Leadership, Executive management must innovate and create a culture of empowerment within the company. Uncommitted leadership stalls continuous improvement.
Underutilization of Resources, Without using every tool at their disposal, the bottom line is wasted.

Benefits of IT Outsourcing

There comes a time in the lifespan of every company when leadership must decide to go for broke or stay in the industry background. Innovative and efficient IT departments are critical to the success of all businesses in the modern era.

Outsourcing services continues to grow in acceptance. Companies receive significant cost savings and access to a global talent pool. The ability to gear up for new contracts without the inevitable increase in IT spending is a significant advantage.

Technology-driven innovation continues to improve every area of modern enterprise. Companies are finding new ways to interact with their customers, vendors, and employees. Outsourcing has become a vital segment of the global business model.

Companies are capturing immense value and building an innovation advantage by outsourcing to dynamic IT agencies.

Why do companies outsource their IT services? Outsourcing saves money on staff; reducing costs is the number one reason a business outsources its information technology.

Another reason for outsourcing is using high technology services with trained professionals, allows a company to stick with smaller budgets.

Handing off business tasks to outside personnel, Using outsourced personnel to counteract capacity problems is a mistake. Outsourcing is not a way to get a quick pair of extra hands; it is how those hands are used.

Dangers of Solving IT Problems With A Search Engine

Search engines are great tools when used appropriately; search engines offer an endless supply of information on every topic imaginable. Search resources are the perfect answer for those long hours of nothing to do.

Search engine tools are young. (ARCHIE, 1990) Information technology personnel rely too much on a search engine for complicated answers.

As computers, networks, and IoT devices become more complex and convoluted, IT personnel are tasked with a growing number of decisions. Risks associated with using a search engine to solve IT problems are plentiful.

Issues using a Search Engine:

Privacy is an obvious problem when diagnosing IT difficulties with a search engine.
Lack of a comprehensive solution, search engines provide only specific pieces of information, not a total approach to the problem
Malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks are given an open door if the employee is using a business computer to access a search engine.

Retrieval Precision

Billions of web pages exist on the internet, with more added by the hour. Type a specific question into one of the search engines, and they return millions of diverse and diametric answers. The problem then becomes choosing the correct answer.

Measuring the effectiveness of information retrieval can be as time-consuming as fixing the initial problem.

Solving an Information Technology Problem: (in simple terms)

Define the problem and differentiate fact from opinion.
Find all the alternate solutions available. Brainstorm with every person involved with the answer.
Take the time to evaluate each solution and include alternatives without bias. Make sure the solution aligns with stated company goals.
Plan and implement the chosen solution. Follow-up with interested personnel and make sure long-term goals are met.

Finding an IT solution provider with a search engine; only precise phrasing works. Questions should include manufacturing and model numbers, builds, installed software or firmware, legacy issues, and so on.

Information Overload

Type a phrase asking for solutions to “financial compliance network issues,” and 254 million results are returned. There is no practical way to get precise results with the sizable amount of information available to search engines.

To give readers an idea of the massive amount of information that is being pumped into the internet. Digital facts and figures increase by the second, with 2.5 quintillion bytes of data collected every day.

Information overload numbers:

Five billion videos are watched on YouTube EVERY DAY!
Nearly 1 in 4 adults own a smart speaker
By 2025 there will be 75 billion IoT devices, and 90% of the population older than six will be connected.

Why Outsource Information Technology Solutions?

In a little over two years since the start of the global pandemic, the business workforce has been upended and maybe revolutionized forever. According to Harvard Business Review, disconnects are growing. Disparate remote workforce solutions and the disconnect between executives who create a cyber strategy and the employees required to implement the plan.

Outsourcing Information Technology

Growth trends for the information technology sector and its sub-industries will thrive in the next ten years. The growing dominance of the sector is powered in large part by the vibrant hiring expectations.

Global business is expected to increase its purchasing of new computer hardware and software technologies, along with secure network gear. Sub-industries across the IT Sector, supply chains, and personnel play a significant role in procurement.

Throughout the next few decades, a flourishing enterprise will come to rely more on outsourcing information technology and other services. The enterprise need for the latest and greatest in IT will grow at accelerated rates.

Saving Time and Money

Every company wants to have a healthy bottom line, so growth continues, or a satisfied corporate board. The advantage of any size company using available information technologies resources is unlike any time in history.

Technology Streamlines Business:

Going paperless makes document and employee record searches much easier.
The flexibility of working from a remote location is enhanced. Communication and network management has improved exponentially.
Improved business banking has laid a solid foundation, and the enterprise is just starting to reap the rewards.
Online advertising
Inventory control
Corporate Board meetings save time and travel expenses. (Oh Boy!)

The Cloud

No other innovation has been as significant as The Cloud and its developing services. Maybe the wheel or an automatic transmission, but that is another story.

Aligning a winning Cloud strategy to Business frameworks has become an all-important requirement to accelerate profitability. Cloud Computing allows the enterprise to scale rapidly up or down, efficiently handle bigger workloads and offer a higher level of security across thousands of devices.

There is an enormous upside when a company effectively implements a Cloud strategy. From corporate boardrooms to start-ups, embracing the Cloud can reduce a carbon footprint or protect sensitive information.

Cloud-based solutions far outweigh any piecemeal approach to solving an IT problem. Engage with the varied quality resources from the Cloud, and hundreds of solutions are offered with speed and security. No piecemeal solutions and without the torturous downloads.

Final Word

Digital transformation is having a profound influence on the world’s trajectory. New technologies coming into focus, such as IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and 5G, are revolutionizing the enterprise.

The trajectory for growth of information technology personnel and departments will continue to skyrocket. Businesses that strive for success must map out a solid offensive blueprint, taking advantage of all on-premise and Cloud resources.

Using a search engine to piecemeal business information technology solutions is a mistake! The piecemeal approach may work on legacy systems such as a floppy disk, but not in this ultra-modern era of digital expansion. Find out how we can help keep your company safe and manage all of your IT solutions in one place. Call us here at BACS IT today to find out more!