IT Service Helps Small Business Get Growing

Agricultural bio-technology company needed network upgrades — without sacrificing service

Small business office managers have a lot to juggle. In many cases, they’re in charge of administration, purchasing, hiring, marketing, and even accounting. And if the business computer network goes down, guess who gets to deal with it?

But office managers who don’t have the time, training, or inclination to manage IT issues have another option: IT managed services.

“We take the burden of IT management off of small businesses, allowing them to focus on their strengths without sacrificing network uptime or security,” says Mike Sutton, president of Mobilitechs, an IT managed services company serving central Pennsylvania’s small and mid-sized businesses.

For companies lacking dedicated IT staff or that have thinned their ranks due to economic cutbacks, the flexibility offered by outsourcing IT often makes financial sense, Sutton says.

“With remote monitoring and increased network security, we can reduce network downtime and make necessary repairs faster. That means small business owners and office managers can spend their time using technology to drive new innovations in their business, rather than putting out day-to-day fires,” Sutton says.

Another reason small- to mid-sized businesses might turn to managed services is the high cost of capital, Sutton says. Mobilitechs offers plenty of leasing alternatives for companies that want an improved IT infrastructure, while minimizing their capital investment.

Sutton emphasizes there’s no one-size-fits-all plan, and each contract is based on exactly the features the client needs and wants. “Many of our clients like the budgetary aspect. Their tech costs stay the same month-to-month because there are no hidden fees, and they know their network issues are covered,” he says.

In 2008, the Lancaster, PA-based agricultural bio-technology firm Daniel Baum Company turned to the tech support offered by Mobilitechs.

“We don’t like to be down. When the network goes down, everyone is sitting around twiddling their thumbs and we want to be able to get it back up as quickly as possible and to have that reliability,” says Ilsa Bender, office manager of DBC.

For years, DBC relied on another local service provider that left them in the dark when it came to network upgrades and downtime. “We were having trouble with it going down because they were screwing around with it and they wouldn’t tell us that there were going to be outages,” Bender says.

In addition to inconsistent service and spotty performance, DBC found that sharing files from Bender’s computer proved frustrating. If her computer was turned off, they’d be unable to share files. And if she tried to work on her machine while colleagues shared data, massive slowdowns in computer speed resulted.

To deal with the file-sharing snafus without breaking DBC’s budget, Mobilitechs provided a file server that allowed inter-office file sharing and collaboration.

“The file server has been a great way for us to be able to share files without having to create a whole network scenario. It’s given me a lot of freedom because I don’t have to share my machine anymore. We’re able to reliably share information and we were able to do it without the cost and overhead of a whole network setup,” Bender says.

Addressing DBC’s other problem — network support techs who wouldn’t pass along network outage information or even call back — was simple, since Mobilitechs prides itself on customer service and lightning-fast response times.

“Mobilitechs is very responsive. You always pick up the phone or call back quickly. You’ve done a great job of talking me through things over the phone or being able to connect remotely and resolving the problem. You’ve done a great job of explaining things to me since some of my computer skills are a little bit rusty. We’ve just been very happy,” Bender says.

When meeting with potential clients, Sutton aims to get a sense of how technology will play into their future goals. “Each plan is tailored to what the client needs. It’s almost always more cost-effective than hiring IT staff members,” Sutton says.

Mobilitechs’ computer protection coverage plans range from $15 per computer-plans with basic maintenance and monitoring to full-service, all-inclusive plans that cover servers as well as multiple machines.

Businesses and nonprofits can get a free comprehensive network audit from Mobilitechs, available through mobilitechs.com or by calling 717-490-1179.