Depending on the size of your business, its IT infrastructure could be fairly manageable, or it might be a major headache for you and your employees to deal with. There’s hardware, software, networking, end users and more to think about, but it really is very important, especially when businesses are increasingly reliant on data and connectivity. One of the things that you need to think about is how you’re going to source what you need, particularly if you’re just getting started, and there are roughly three ways you might do this.
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Now, there isn’t necessarily a right or a wrong way of doing things, and it’ll all depend on how hands-on or hands-off you want to be. If you’re not planning on hiring, or don’t currently have, much of an IT department to help you, or on the other hand if you’re about to start a major organisation, then you may actually want to outsource everything you can. This means having all of your data maintained off-site, with monitoring and managing of networks also handled elsewhere by a third party. This is probably the easiest route, but could also be the one that’s the costliest. You’ll also need to trust other companies with your business data.
The next level is to have an IT consultancy help you get set up, and source all of the parts that you need, whether they’re hardware, software or services. This can take a lot of the legwork out of things, and is a good idea if you’ve got one or two IT people and would rather things get taken care of quickly and with less hassle. It’s likely to be less expensive than outsourcing everything too. It’s a flexible option for those who aren’t confident enough to go it alone.
Finally, your other option is for you (or your IT employees) to do everything yourself. This means finding and buying all of the hardware and software, setting up and managing networks and more. You’ll need to browse companies like Pinnacle Data for everything you need. It’s certainly a big task, but this is the cheapest option which makes it ideal for start-ups. If you’re willing to put the work in, and work with some good people, then it’s a good choice. It’s worth bearing in mind too that it’s not always a massive job if you’re starting small.
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