A good IT provider answers questions, takes care of your technology, aligns it with your business goals, and works to prevent issues. In contrast, a poor IT provider increases frustration and potentially overspends while failing to consider your business goals.
IT providers usually fall into two types: proactive and reactive. Recognizing your provider's style is key to ensuring they meet your organization's specific needs.
For over 25 years, WEBIT Services has helped hundreds of clients build IT strategies and utilize technology to their advantage.
By reading this article, you will learn the characteristics of proactive and reactive strategies and identify the best provider style that fits your business.
Understanding Proactive and Reactive IT Support
Let's simplify these styles using everyday sayings. Proactive support believes that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," while reactive support follows "if it isn't broken, don't fix it."
Initially, IT support worked on a time and materials basis only called when an issue arose. This reactive approach has evolved into proactive support, emphasizing monitoring and preventing problems.
Proactive vs. Reactive Practices
Identifying your provider's style revolves around five practices:
1. IT Roadmap and IT Strategy
- Proactive: Regular meetings to review your IT roadmap goals. Projects align with the roadmap and expected IT expenses are well-planned. It's about proactive planning and anticipating future needs.
- Reactive: Fewer or no strategy meetings; projects are performed as needed, leading to unplanned IT expenses. Reactive providers are more about addressing immediate concerns.
2. System Maintenance
- Proactive: Regular updates, maintenance, and monitoring of hardware to identify and address potential issues before they become critical. It's a comprehensive approach focused on preventing problems.
- Reactive: Maintenance occurs reactively, often triggered by user-reported problems or emergencies, resulting in a more firefighting-oriented strategy.
3. Division of Labor
- Proactive: Specialized teams for helpdesk, field, and strategy. This allows them to provide expertise in each area, leading to more efficient and effective IT management.
- Reactive: Less specialization, with employees handling various tasks. While flexible, it may lack the depth of expertise found in specialized teams.
4. Helpdesk Tickets
- Proactive: Aiming to reduce the number of helpdesk tickets post-onboarding by addressing the root causes of IT issues.
- Reactive: An increase in ticket numbers after onboarding, addressing each ticket as an isolated concern without strategic analysis.
5. Pricing
- Proactive: Higher initial cost reflecting investment in comprehensive service, resulting in a more predictable and controlled IT budget over time.
- Reactive: Lower initial cost, often due to fewer employees, but potential for more unexpected expenses in the long run.
Choosing Between Proactive and Reactive Providers
Providers' approaches to various aspects of the IT industry determine whether they are proactive or reactive.
Proactive Providers May Suit Your Business If:
- You prefer a predictable IT budget with clear communication about expenses.
- You appreciate having updates and routine maintenance handled proactively.
- You value planning and adhering to schedules for IT-related activities.
Reactive Providers May Suit Your Business If:
- You don't have a fixed IT budget and are comfortable with more unpredictable costs.
- You are confident in handling updates yourself without scheduled support.
- You are okay with a more flexible approach to IT maintenance without a fixed schedule.
Next Steps for Choosing a Proactive or Reactive IT Provider
If you're uncertain about your provider's approach, consider reaching out to discuss how they handle the following elements:
- IT roadmap and IT strategy
- System maintenance
- Division of labor
- Helpdesk tickets
- Price
Proactive providers will try to anticipate, identify, and prevent problems before they occur. Your business may be a good fit for a proactive provider if you:
- Like to have a more predictable IT budget.
- Prefer to have IT perform updates and routine maintenance.
- Like having a plan and sticking to a schedule.
Reactive providers, however, will address problems only as they arise. These providers may be a good fit for your business if you:
- Don’t have a defined IT budget.
- Are comfortable with the risk of performing updates yourself if needed.
- Are satisfied with no set IT maintenance schedule.
A content relationship with your IT provider indicates a good fit, but consistent dissatisfaction may signal a mismatch in service styles, prompting consideration of a new provider.
For over 25 years, WEBIT Services has proactively served hundreds of satisfied clients. If you are looking for an IT provider in the greater Chicago area, schedule a 30-minute consultation to see if WEBIT Services might fit your organization.
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