In this blog, you’ll learn what a vCIO does and how this service benefits small businesses.
Of course, general IT support services can be valuable on their own, but to make real gains in technology maturity, you need strategic experts who understand the technology leaps that are necessary to make things happen. You want to accomplish business goals, after all.
If your small business is in Eugene, please listen up!
A vCIO is your Virtual Chief Information officer, sometimes also referred to as a virtual CIO. vCIO is a term for 3rd parties that offer their services to organizations, standing in place of a full-time CIO. vCIOs are especially important to small and medium businesses that cannot or do not want to make the leap to a full-time CIO. Having a vCIO on your side means meeting your goals more efficiently and successfully.
A vCIO works with you to outline your organizational goals and highlight specific areas in need of improvement. Things like IT strategy development, cybersecurity, employee onboarding policies, disaster recovery, asset management, and integrations are all on the radar of your vCIO.
It’s important that you outline your organizational goals, as well as highlight the specific areas of improvement that you’d like your vCIO to help with.
An organizational goal may be that your company will open a second office…That’s a great goal! What are some of the technological requirements that need to be sorted out first? A vCIO can help with that.
Does your organization fall victim to annoying software that seems to be working against you, never with you? Are you losing productivity because of outdated, manual tasks? A vCIO will understand these common barriers and will leverage their expert IT knowledge and leadership to get you on a path to success.
Your vCIO first needs to consult with you in depth in order to understand the current state of affairs. This will involve a full assessment of your IT landscape, policies, and internal structure.
Depending on your unique goals and areas needing improvement, you may need to speak with your vCIO on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis to ensure you’re on track.
A robust and comprehensive path to success means that your vCIO needs to develop an IT Roadmap. This IT Roadmap serves as a fantastic planning tool in order to align the expectations including both short and long-term planning and goals for your organization..
The vCIO must oversee all aspects of information technology and articulate IT plans within this roadmap.
Developing a comprehensive IT Roadmap involves:
Once the IT Roadmap has captured the critical components, the vCIO typically works with you to manage compliance and progress.
A vCIO will not only help you proactively plan for the future, they will grow with your organization and help you as challenges pop up along the way.
It’s incredibly important to establish a cadence of progress reporting and expectations – both on the client’s end and the vCIO’s end.
Meetings, often referred to as Strategic Business Reviews (SBR), will include a review of the IT Roadmap progress, any potential roadblocks or barriers, and you’ll take the time to discuss the strategy of your business.
The vCIO will typically report on the following topics during progress meetings:
All in all, bringing on a vCIO will not only be a cost-effective solution to your IT challenges, they serve as a trusted advisor, dedicated to ensuring your organization grows.
As technology continues to emerge, those who employ the best resources and stay on top of the digital landscape will have a sharp competitive advantage.
Maybe you think your business is too small for an MSP, but nothing could be further from the truth. MSPs can help companies of all sizes with cloud computing, data storage and security, software and hardware maintenance and upgrades, and much more. Yes, even the smallest small businesses, including those with 50 or fewer users.
Leading an IT team is a tough, multi-faceted job, and no one understands that better than an MSP (managed services provider). An MSP is a tech partner that works with you to handle everyday IT tasks and can help you ensure that the changing nature of technology doesn’t leave your business behind.
Whether you’ve got 10 or 100 employees, a managed services provider can keep your IT on track and your business running smoothly. Even companies in the 250-300 user range, just toeing the line into enterprise-level tech solutions, can enjoy all the benefits of an MSP.
An IT generalist is a jack-of-all-trades. They’re by your side every day to manage your help desk, support your staff’s IT needs, deliver service and maintenance, and be network administrators who ensure everything is working as intended. On the other hand, an IT specialist works on more complex technology issues, such as projects and escalations. IT specialists also often take on the role of solutions architects.
Getting your outsourced IT services from an IT Services company seems like an obvious choice. You have someone you can call when things go sideways to help you get your technology back up and running. An MSP, or managed service provider, is a type of outsourced IT, but not all outsourced IT companies are MSPs. We’re going to break down the differences even further.
Between inflation, supply chain interruptions, and the looming possibility of yet another recession, it can be difficult for business leaders to chart the best course of action to keep themselves not just solvent, but thriving and growing in the face of such economic uncertainty. One way that businesses can make themselves more recession-proof is by having a solid IT structure in place, including software, hardware, security, data storage, and IT experts, to help everything run efficiently and effectively
Many businesses are turning to outside IT professionals to help them optimize their operations and keep their technology running smoothly and efficiently through strategic planning. A vCIO, or virtual Chief Information Officer, can be the key to streamlining IT functionality for your business.
There are outsourced IT services, and then there are MSPs—managed service providers. Managed service providers are outsourced IT companies, but not all outsourced IT companies are MSPs. Managed service providers are local businesses and, more importantly, local to your business.
Onboarding new staff members can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. While it symbolizes growth and new opportunities for your organization, it’s crucial to implement the necessary measures to guarantee a secure and seamless integration.
Since 2001, StepUP IT Services has been helping businesses in Eugene and throughout Oregon with their technology needs. We are your IT partner. We manage and maintain your technology, empowering your organization to reach its goals. Making you happy is what makes us happy.
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