By Principal Farica Chang
Do you ever get the feeling you’ve had a near miss—almost been hit while crossing the street, skipped a step when rushing out the door? Those heart-in-your mouth moments that leave you frozen for a second at the thought of what might have been.
For one of our clients, that feeling became an IT reality. Read on to learn how it all went down.
Picture the Scene
You’re a business that’s just been bought by a new owner. They confirm what you’ve suspected for some time—your IT is a mess (and that might be putting it mildly). There’s no organization; security ends at your keycards, and if anything happened to the one-person IT department, there’d be no one on your team who understood how your systems worked.
Thankfully, the new boss decides it’s time to call in the professionals. An experienced team isn’t scared of the challenge; instead, they get to work right away, rectifying unused licensing, and implementing documentation processes. They also start transitioning your IT infrastructure while they’re at it, including shifting responsibility for essential tasks away from outdated servers and onto newer, more efficient ones instead.
Technology is no longer your enemy. Because of your new IT partner, it’s actually becoming an integral ally for your team. Until one day, out of the blue, your server powers down and then… doesn’t come back on. The old ‘switch it off and on again’ yields no results. The thing is well and truly dead, along with all the vital data stored within it.
Does chaos and panic ensue? Will the business be irrevocably damaged?
Luckily, no—because the server bade its final farewell just seven days after the Anderson Technologies team was on site installing a new one. All the company’s invaluable data remained safe and sound on the new server. Crisis averted.
Divine Intervention, or Just Good Intuition?
You could chalk it up to coincidence that the server died when it did. Maybe luck ensured that it held off on giving up until a successor was in place. But without the Anderson Technologies team recognising the true extent of the company’s IT issues, the business in question might not have made the investment in what turned out to be a company-saving upgrade.
This is one of the biggest advantages of partnering with a managed service provider—their breadth of expertise extends beyond just one person. The team brings specialty knowledge and diverse experience, enabling them to foresee potential IT problems and address them before they ever have an impact.
Quality IT support truly cares for your business. Understandably, our client was shocked at the poor state of their tech setup, and it’d be easy for them to assume that a new provider would simply be trying to upsell the business on unnecessary overhauls. However, our team focused on what the client genuinely needed, saving them future headaches and expenses.
Trust was a key factor here; because the client trusted our , they knew we were looking out for their best interests when suggesting any upgrades or replacements.
It makes you wonder, though: how on earth does a business’s IT get to this state?
Why Businesses End Up on the Edge of Disaster
It’s not uncommon for us to be called in by clients whose IT has spiralled out of control. Typically, the causes are the same:
- Budgets: More often than not, financial constraints are the primary issue, especially for small businesses. It doesn’t always seem worth it to use a limited budget on replacing tech that’s functional, particularly if you’ve never seen IT as anything more than an unavoidable burden. But detrimental IT environments go beyond just money. It’s the mindset behind the budget decisions that truly impacts IT management.
- Mindset and Mismanagement: SMBs frequently operate with an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. However, tech-driven processes often fracture before they completely break. Spotting these fractures early can prevent much bigger issues down the line.
- Lack of Awareness: There’s often a lack of understanding about the importance of proactive IT management. Businesses may not realize the problems lurking beneath the surface without expert oversight, or understand what potential could be unlocked by addressing issues early.
- Resistance to Change: Many businesses may resist adopting new technologies due to a fear that they’ll bring too steep a learning curve. A quality IT team will meet you where you’re at. They’ll be patient and supportive, guiding your team until they’re confident—even if that means explaining how to mute the mic on a Teams call five times a week.
- Focusing on Function Over Potential: Just like skipping regular car maintenance because—aside from the engine rumbles and jerks you’re managing—”nothing’s wrong with my car!”, neglecting regular IT maintenance can result in catastrophes. IT support certainly can be emergency responders, but they’re there to provide ongoing support, not just the one-off.
All of these factors essentially entail waiting for things to go wrong before seeking help, rather than investing in preventive measures. As our client’s story shows, this approach could lead to costly and disruptive IT emergencies that can be easily avoided with regular maintenance and checkups.
What Can We Learn from This Server Scare?
If you take nothing else from this cautionary tale, remember the following:
Proactivity is the key to avoiding potentially devastating problems.
Good IT support is far more cost-effective than letting tech issues snowball.
The worst “will never happen to you”—until it does.
The moral of the story? Professional IT support is your business’s lifeline. .
Anderson Technologies: Real People Creating Business-Changing IT Solutions
For over 25 years, Anderson Technologies has leveraged our expertise for the benefit of our clients, supplying them with suitable, secure IT, and strategic guidance for their technological future. We’re a dynamic team of IT professionals with over 200 years of combined experience, and specialist certifications to back up our knowledge. As a trusted advisor, we don’t just focus on today. We strive to take your technology light-years ahead of your competition and scale with your business’s success.
Want to learn more about creating an IT environment that helps you thrive? Contact us today to get started.
