This week’s post comes to us courtesy of Todd Herges, VP of Managed Services for Intellicom. Todd joined Intellicom in June, after a 12 year career at Platte Valley State Bank. I asked Todd to write a blog post centered on the advantages of subscribing to Intellicom’s Managed Service product. I thought it would be interesting to get Todd’s take on our Managed Service offering considering he is bringing a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective to Intellicom. Thus far, Todd has been impressed with our Managed Service offering and I thought it would be fun to share his thoughts. Enjoy!
While it may not be as widely known as, say, Alexander Graham Bell’s discovery of telephony (“Mr. Watson — come here!”) or as far-reaching in its implications as John Bardeen’s invention of the transistor, or Marc Andreesen’s work with the web browser, the concept of MANAGED NETWORK SERVICES is destined to someday be recognized as one of the great contributors in the development of modern human society. I know, I know … this is a bold claim. But hear me out.
Managed Services takes an important function – to many people and businesses a CRITICAL function – and provides a near-perfect solution: cost effective reliability backed up with technological savvy to deal with the unexpected.
So, you may be asking, what IS “managed services” anyway? Basically, it is the monitoring and support of a company’s computer network, including regular backups, virus scans, and installation of critical patches. In addition, managed services provided by Intellicom includes regular monthly reporting and scheduled business reviews (usually quarterly) to discuss network activity and health, which helps our clients keep a finger on the pulse of their company’s technology.
In the short few weeks since I joined the Intellicom team I’ve had the opportunity to work with many clients – some of which utilize managed services and some of which do not. In working with both types of clients three basic themes have recurred so frequently as to become classified, in my view, as Cardinal Rules of business and life.
The first is this: there is huge and immeasurable value in TEAM. Business leaders who rely on Intellicom for support of their company’s technology get something that a single employee or two cannot provide: comfort in the knowledge that there is no single point of failure. Not only does the Intellicom staff provide ready back-up in the form of “boots on the ground” support, but within our team are different levels of expertise in many different areas. This weave of disciplines and expertise levels among multiple “strands” (i.e. technicians and engineers) provides a sturdy safety net for our customers.
The second basic theme I’ve noticed is this: there is great risk in operating without a safety net. If a company relies on a single employee or computer hobbyist to support their network and they are sick or out of commission, the ability of that company to function using the benefits of technology is put on hold. Likewise, companies who use internal staff (often the principal owner or manager) to support their servers and end-users seem to regularly experience downtime issues that result from missing software patches, lack of server maintenance, and other forms of neglect. When downtime occurs at companies which do business as I just described, Intellicom is often brought in to help. We always appreciate the opportunity to bring a company’s technology back “online” however we are nearly always struck by the recognition that such problems were easily avoidable, and avoidable inexpensively. Remember the old saying “it always costs less to do it right the first time?” The truth in that saying is brought home to us nearly every day as we are engaged to help resolve technology crises for companies who adopt a “do it yourself” strategy as it relates to technology.
The third cardinal rule that I’ve come to recognize is that there is great value found by engaging experts. Both the NOC (Network Operations Center) team I’m privileged to work with, and the larger Intellicom team to which we belong, possess amazing skills and knowledge. I have seen members of the NOC team go through the five stages of resolution faster than I go through the five stages of grief after learning that my favorite restaurant is out of the daily special. Duane, Cody, Sam, Matt, and Caleb have abilities which quickly take them from initial notification to final documentation, sometimes in SECONDS! Those crucial middle steps (fact-finding; determination of the right solution; and testing/verification) are what separates the wheat from the chaff at Intellicom, and those steps are where our team shines brightest. From helping a client’s employee in a remote branch office regain the ability to print an invoice for a customer, to recovering critical files from an executive’s “crashed” laptop, the NOC technicians prove their capabilities every single day. To some people, it almost seems like magic. The NOC team knows otherwise … that it’s quality training, attention to detail, raw intellect, and the support of the entire Intellicom team – from the most junior technician to the most senior engineer.
Probably the most interesting thing I’ve noticed since joining the Intellicom team is our list of managed services clients, and the rank they hold in their respective industry peer groups. It’s quite a list. Without sharing specific names, I’ll just say this: Intellicom clients are successful. And I’m not just talking middle-of-the-pack success. I’m talking leaders of their industries, at least of similar industries here in our part of the world. Which leads me to a fourth cardinal rule …along the lines of cardinal rules your father or mother may have taught you, like “what goes around comes around” and “the cream always rises to the top.” The fourth cardinal rule is this: successful companies concentrate on what they do best, and leave the peripheral aspects of doing business to professionals, be they professional accountants, pest controllers, attorneys, insurers, or technologists.
For more information on Managed Services, or any other service that Intellicom offers, please call 308-237-0684 and select the sales option at our main menu.
