The seasoned tech professionals at Westcom Business Solutions have made a name for themselves by answering the IT needs of companies and organizations across Vancouver Island. The firm supports everything from network infrastructure and cybersecurity to software integrations and hardware procurement. Westcom also curates reliable product options and liaises with a broad range of suppliers on their clients’ behalf. Many business leaders benefit from outsourcing the management of those highly technical areas, which in turn lets them focus on core operations. So, how do you know if you’re ready to take the leap into a managed IT service?
Westcom’s owner David Webb says that once you have at least five computers in play, IT problems can become a real challenge. At that small scale, establishing an in-house IT department is still out of reach. The next stages of growth will see more people sharing the same network. And each additional employee increases the likelihood of user errors, network failures, and data-breaches. Those outcomes can do real damage to revenue and reputation.
Another factor to consider, besides the number of employees accessing your network, is the frequency and severity of IT issues. Do-it-yourself approaches often lead to disconnected systems and needlessly complex points of connection. Free business accounts from tech giants like Google will help a company get started. But those basic platforms do not scale well as operations and interconnectivity gain in complexity. Worse yet, free or low-cost services do not come with dedicated support, which can lead to trouble at the best of times – all the more so when the scope of work expands or teams from a newly acquired company need to be brought on board. Westcom’s strategy is to tailor make high-performing, simplified systems that provide a solid foundation for any future developments.
A business that relies on a sub-professional IT setup can easily get caught in an unfortunate break-then-fix cycle. This is a common but avoidable scenario. Reacting to issues on a one-off basis drains resources and limits growth without ever arriving at permanent resolutions. Better to enlist an IT partner who is incentivized to design, optimize, and monitor your environment for maximum performance.
Setting aside the number of users or frequency of problems, any business that handles sensitive information is also a good candidate for managed IT services. That applies to organizations in healthcare or education. Perhaps your organization provides social or legal services that involve personal data. Or maybe your work falls under the jurisdiction of a professional association or college that has its own set of expectations around data security. In all of those cases, day-to-day activity comes with mandatory requirements for data collection and storage. Westcom’s cybersecurity support helps its clients get compliance-ready, whether that means satisfying the law, qualifying for an RFP, or keeping an insurance policy intact. In fact, having a dedicated IT provider in your corner can often bring your insurance premiums down, effectively subsidizing the fees for managed service.
For a monthly subscription, Westcom Business Solutions will level-up a client’s digital environment, monitor its performance, and prevent or resolve the issues that come with scaling operations. Having a dedicated IT partner at your side opens up possibilities and greatly reduces downtime for your servers and network. These results come from tapping into Westcom’s robust team, who collectively have the knowledge and skills to predict, diagnose, and resolve any issue quickly.
To assure business continuity, Westcom likes to keep each client’s digital operations as simple as possible. “Simple” in this context means “streamlined” and “resilient” rather than basic. All the functionality around file sharing, back-ups, cloud storage, and team communication need to be reliable, user-friendly, and seamlessly integrated for daily operations as well as onboarding and offboarding employees. The results are an efficient, low-maintenance, and high-performing IT setup that is ready to grow with you.
