Technology and Business: For Entrepreneurs Support is Key
The relationship between technology and business is only as strong as the support business owners have in maintaining and operating that technology. Across disparate industries, businesses large and small are seeking technology as the answer to nearly every problem that presents itself, and frequently therein an answer is found. For large businesses the story may end happily every after right there. After all, with the time and resources to handle the maintenance and troubleshooting that naturally accompany introducing technology into the workplace, the benefits outweigh the risks. Businesses with fewer than 500 employees, referred to as small businesses, however, are often ill-equipped in terms of human, financial and time resources to handle maintaining and servicing technology internally. Without the support of those resources technology becomes the problem as well as the solution for many companies, and it is a problem high on the minds of those affected.
A recent survey by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Quinlan School of Business<http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/small-business-owners-say-they-need-technology-support-survey/>, for example, found support for technology to be the third most pressing concern of nearly 600 small business owners in, below only marketing and business planning and of greater import than legal advice, access to capital, hiring skilled workers, dealing with local government and filing a patent. A signage company owner despairs feeling underwater trying to keep up with the newest options offered among the professional printers he purchases to take the place of hand-lettered products. A small retailer is frustrated by the difficulty she encounters trying to update inventory software that purchased to save her time. The answer? Below are three possibilities.
1. Develop an Internal Technology Support Department:
Businesses that foresee a regular need for maintenance of, updates to and other support services for the technology that they purchase may do well to develop an internal support department. The convenience of being able to call upon help at the exact moment that it is needed is a siren call, but one that does not come without its own set of limitations. Small businesses that do not have a true daily need for such a department may end up paying more in salary and professional development of this internal person or team than would be spent engaging someone on the outside. Further, it can be difficult to determine the exact size necessary for such a department internally, as too few staff may still leave a void unfilled and too large a department may be fiscally draining.
2. Contract an Outside Company Business Technology Company:
Contracting an outside company to handle technological support concerns for eliminates the expense and internal training concerns that come with having an in-house support department. Unfortunately, without paying a salary there is no guarantee that an outside contractor will be available on demand at the exact time that an issue arises. Waiting days for the repair of the only professional printer in a small print shop, for example, would mean lost revenue and, even worse, the potential for lost customers. Add to that the fact that it is highly unlikely that one contractor will be familiar with all of the technology that a particular business uses and the problem of support still falls far short of a perfect solution.
3. Purchase or Rent Equipment from Companies that Provide Support Directly:
Herein lies the ideal solution. When possible, businesses of every size should aim to invest only in technology that comes with its own Maintenance and other support for its products directly is a great solution. Rather then making the choice between the convenience that technology can offer and the resources that go along with maintaining it, this provides the best of both worlds, and producers of technology are getting the message loud and clear. Companies like Accu-cut, the Tavares, Florida based producer of carpet-cutting machines that offers servicing and maintenance of the machines they sell through an in-house service department, stand out from the crowd by heeding that message. By providing not only the technology that businesses need to excel, but also the support needed to maintain that technology, such companies are truly selling peace of mind.