CUSTOMERS

THE PROBLEM

The vast majority of IT users have little if any real idea as to how their systems work, rather as most drivers of modern cars have little idea as to how an internal combustion engine works and how it is dependent on '000s of lines of software code. They expect to be able to turn a key and drive off. As cars have become increasingly reliable so they have become rather like a utility, there to be used whenever needed with the sole requirement to have fuel in the tank and arrange a visit to garage every 12 months.

This basic lack of understanding means users tend not to consider the complexities being created by the constant changes to individual devices and/or connections within a network of devices. All organisations will have acquired IT hardware, systems and software over a period of many years. Not surprisingly this piecemeal acquisition process will have brought problems along the way relating to compatibility between the various applications and associated hardware. Generally solutions will be put in place, in the form of a temporary fix that papers over the cracks but often simply stores up more problems for the future.

Those organisations without an in house IT support function will rely on external advisers to fix the issue so they can get back to doing what they do as quickly as possible. Too often unfortunately they are likely to be confused as to what is actually being done by this (generally) invisible support team and wonder, when of course things are not going wrong, what they are paying for and is it good value for money?

This approach means the organisation never gets the chance to understand the real underlying issues - it just knows the email systems are 'down' or some database isn't synchronising properly with individual computers. In addition, the IT support team is perceived as a necessary cost, rather like the annual audit, and so they are never encouraged to really get to know the core issues to be addressed - apart from anything else, the clock is always ticking and this support tends to be expensive.

THE CHALLENGE

Manufacturers of IT equipment are keen to emphasise how easy it is to set up and use their devices. ‘Out of the box’ and ‘plug and play’ are the new norm, even though there is usually an extensive setup procedure to go through. This is undoubtedly true where the total ‘network’ consists of a single device or a small number of devices, probably with an equally small number of users. Over time the users or users become confident with this and assume that one or more additional devices can be easily added using the same ‘out of the box’ approach. If they are lucky everything works as it should, at least in the short term, and their IT setup does indeed appear to be working like a simple utility.

However it is extremely unwise to take this approach for the simple reason that, unlike a car or electric wiring in a house, an organisation is constantly changing its IT setup. Whilst IT equipment tends to be pretty tolerant to moderate demands on its flexibility, over time the constant creating, storing, sharing and re-storing of data files can easily cause the integrity of these files to be compromised. The all too common result is that the IT becomes prone to slowing down or just becoming unreliable. At this point productivity of the organisation begins to deteriorate, perhaps initially without management thinking of it in quite those terms. The false sense of confidence created by the experience of running a small network means that organisations tend to think they can go on patching things up as they go along.

THE CHALLENGE

All organisations rely on Information Technology systems, applications, and communications [IT] to a lesser or greater extent. As IT has become increasingly embedded in how organisations operate, much of this IT has become regarded as being akin to a utility. This is a very reasonable approach with a small business or charity with perhaps just a couple of employees. Computers can generally be made to connect to and work with a limited number of other computers and peripheral devices like routers and printers. This apparent ease of limited networked machines tends to lull the organisation into a false sense of security and, in any event, running the business and making those early sales always get priority over support requirements.

Unfortunately there comes a point where, without the users being able to see the problem, something fails. All too often this happens at just the wrong moment when somebody is trying to create, share and dispatch a vital document. With luck there will be probably informal help at hand and a fix is found for the immediate problem with a quick Google search. Unfortunately, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

Time spent trying to 'fix' the IT begins to escalate to the point where the drop in effectiveness or productivity of parts, or in extreme cases, the whole of the business threatens overall operations. Research released in late 2017 by Samsung [part of their 'More Good Days at Work' initiative] revealed that, on average, SMEs spend close to 3 hours every week dealing with IT issues, and suggested this was a major issue undermining overall productivity. Especially if this falls to the MD of the company.

THE PROBLEM

The vast majority of IT users have little if any real idea as to how their systems work, rather as most drivers of modern cars have little idea as to how an internal combustion engine works and how dependent it is on '000s of lines of software code. They expect to be able to turn a key and drive off. As cars have become increasingly reliable so they have become rather like a utility, there to be used whenever needed with the sole requirement to have fuel in the tank and arrange a visit to garage every 12 months.

Whilst standalone computers and tablets have reached a similarly reliable state in their development, so that we can expect them to work wherever and whenever needed, networks of machines tend to be much less reliable. This is mainly because organisations will have acquired IT hardware, systems and software over a period of many years. Not surprisingly this piecemeal acquisition process will have brought problems along the way relating to compatibility between the various applications and associated hardware.

A very simple example is that of a network attached printer that is set up to scan directly to a folder on your computer, which would seem logical. The technology allows you to do it, and there are instructions readily available. Unfortunately this is how the NHS got hacked. What is needed is a scan to email service that is secured with the correct protocols.

Generally solutions will be put in place, in the form of a temporary fix that papers over the cracks but quite often simply stores up more problems for the future.

Those organisations without an in house IT support function have to rely on external help to fix the issue so they can get back to doing what they do as quickly as possible. At this point the easiest approach is to ask around to see what support others have managed to find and hope the support person/business recommended is competent.

A solution is (apparently) put in place and the business moves on. Too often unfortunately they are likely to be confused as to what is actually being done by this (generally) invisible support team and wonder, when of course things are not going wrong, what they are paying for and is it good value for money?

With this approach the organisation never gets the chance to understand the real underlying issues. Furthermore, the IT support team is perceived as a necessary cost, rather like the annual audit, and so they are never encouraged to really get to know the core issues to be addressed - apart from anything else, the clock is always ticking and this support tends to be expensive.