I want to outsource my IT, but can't find the right people. Help!

"I am a business manager, with an IT Manager / Technician who reports to me. Together, we now need to span the technology void so that our company can grow, but we lack the time and objectivity to marry tactical management with strategic development. What should we do?"

This is the frustration felt by business managers in many medium-sized businesses and the reason is quite simply that a full-time IT strategist is not required to keep the systems working. But when your business does hit growth mode, this spells trouble.

The problem you are facing is the lack of an objective expert who understands your business and can align technology with your business goals. This goes back to the business plan and aligning the IT plan with it. This is not a job for a technician; this is a job for an IT strategist.

Technicians think about technology in terms of making it work and what features it has. This is kind of a "bottom up" approach that does not tend to play well with the management team in a medium-sized organisation. A strategist will look at the direction the business is taking and what systems will be required to support the business development and then will align technology with those business systems.

If you invite a technical company in, but just ask them for a proposal, you run the risk that they will just quoting to start solving problems as they may well do for a smaller company. You need to invite people to get to know your business and consult with you to build the solutions you require.

If you are going to outsource your IT support you will need to find an organisation that has strategic capabilities, not just sound technical capabilities. If the first advice you get is to fix this problem at a technical level, chances are you are too low down the food chain and you need to move to a larger or more competent firm to get a company that want to get to understand your company culture and business requirements before making changes.

Often we see this after a change in top-level management, when there is a renewed focus on driving growth. If the infrastructure has been allowed to degrade over the previous few years, there is a great opportunity to get a fresh perspective on how your technology issues can be addressed by current technology. It is worth persisting to find the right advisors. Who knows, maybe after that you can keep the in-house staff you have to do the ongoing tactical work if that is what works best for you.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.

Our computers are aging. How do I convince the boss to replace them?

This seems to be a common problem in all levels of business. When we replace computers all we see is expense and problems and we forget about the formula we have all heard that says we should upgrade our technology every three or four years.As we read earlier this week, we like to hang on to our property but should we be hanging onto our technology?

In the downturn lots of technical writers started to try to win favour by telling us how we could stretch the life of our technology with cheap upgrades and improvements and how if it was working it should be left alone.

I have never shared this mentality. Even in the toughest economic times as I know the value of information and speed of access to it. I also know the limitations and frustrations of upgrades and that they do not reduce wear and tear. This conversation is not really about technology it is about risk. When it is just a PC, the risk is only to the individual and to the data stored on the computer. When we are discussing server infrastructure, the risk is significantly larger.

Put you self in the shoes of one of our newer clients. Just last week when they were working on the biggest tender of their lives - if they win this one the business will expand rapidly, if they miss out they will be in decline for a while. All the tender material is in files on the aged server. With extra people working on the tender response, the load on the server became too much and the server failed. This client has been nothing short of lucky as the data has been retrieved and the tender went in this time. The tender was for a multi-million dollar development and the client has a chance of winning the job.

The IT solution required for this client is many thousands of dollars but definitely less than the one tender response might have cost them. Yet they run the risk of hardware failure every day because they have failed to invest in the solutions their business really needs to mitigate the risks of data loss.

If you work in a company where data is valuable or important and continuous access to it is vital to the success of your business it is worth looking at hardware as an insurance policy in maintaining access to your data. Good hardware helps, as does a good backup system as I discussed previously.

If your boss won't replace your aged computers, chances are you have not truly captured the effort that is going into keeping them running or the time wasted waiting for them to work.

I can add personal experience to this as well, having just had my PC replaced today. I know I should have done it three months ago even though the old one was only two-and-a-half years old. The new one saved me at least 20 minutes today alone. I don't know about you, but 20 minutes added to my day is very valuable, even if it just means I get to spend a little more time on my article for the week.

Time is money and good computers save time and reduce risk. If your boss does not value time or mitigate risk I suggest you harp on about how good shiny new computers will look in the office.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.

My wife's business is expanding to eight or nine staff - are we ready for managed services?

This will depend on your preference for IT functionality. The strategic approach to this is to contemplate the balance between functionality, quality of service and cost.

If cost is no issue you could outsource every part of your business that is not core, so you can build on your core skills to drive the success of your business. Your issues then become functionality and quality of service. Quality of service can be defined as speed of response, depth of product knowledge and customer service.

Cost must be considered as cost of equipment, cost of software and cost of people's time. In any business with multiple computers it is very difficult to know how much time goes into resolving computer problems or waiting for computers to work.

If your business is a growth business, the solutions you select along the way will determine the cost of support, integration and development as you place more demand on your business systems to drive productivity. Making the right choices along the way will influence the cost and success of future IT initiatives.

Some businesses are fortunate enough to find a person who has the ability, time and interest in helping out while others struggle to find the quality they seek.

I would like to say I have the solution and often look at how I could use bleeding edge technology to scale solutions down to the small end of the market place. I am yet to find the technology that allows me to offer the level of care my clients' desire for a price micro business can afford.

My business Combo targets businesses with over 15 computers because we find the value proposition of streamlined stable systems makes a sound business case and adds value to the businesses we work with. Others may claim a smaller client can benefit from the solutions; this will depend on the customer and on the technology solutions best supported by the support company.

No support company can support all the available solutions, so there are niche support areas that service providers are best suited to.

My advice is that if you are struggling with your computers, no matter what the size of your business, you will do well to seek a support organisation with happy clients in your market segment. This implies they have solved the problems you are likely to encounter.

You should not expect to find cheap, quick service that has great functionality. This is because good service comes from available people to solve problems and it takes good people to provide good quality service. So before you make your business decision think about the real cost to your business of IT not working as well as it could. Consider the real value of the time your staff spend working around the limitations and then select a solution that fits your requirements.

To some extent your tolerance for pain and level of interest in technology or the desire for problems to just go away will determine when and to whom you should outsource. Just don't leave it too long and upset your staff in the meanwhile.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.

I am buying new computers so how should I license my software for them?

The simple answer to this question is: send me your list of requirements and I will send you the answers. Note that is plural, as each software product you consider has multiple possibilities for licensing. Not to mention that for each type of application there are multiple brands and multiple versions.

We often find companies running the wrong version of an application and struggling with features they need but do not have access to.

There are good reasons for the different versions of the software existing but it is important to understand your requirements and preferences.

Your high level choices, once you have chosen your product are:

• OEM (this implies it is supplied by the hardware manufacturer with the original equipment possibly pre-installed).
• Educational: for organisations involved in education (this can include religious groups and training organisations in some cases).
• Box Product: this is standard licensing available off-the-shelf at retail outlets.
• Volume Licensing: usually purchased as a single disk or download with multiple licenses sold by software resellers.
• Rental programs such as Open Value Licensing: here the software is paid over an extended period or by the year, this can assist organisations that need to conserve cash.
• Subscription licensing by the month or by the year: this is ‘pay as you use’ and works well where it is available, typical with software as a service solutions (SAAS).
  

There are many other models and each have their advantages and disadvantages. Software companies run training courses for resellers, as we do at Combo, so that our staff understands the pros and cons of the various models. We spend several days every year keeping up-to-date with the industry changes so that we can work with our clients to provide the right advice.

Most computers come with the offer of OEM software which the box sellers like because it increases their revenue. Just taking the OEM software that comes with the computer will be the cheapest by purchase price, but may leave you in strife with license management or upgrade options in the future – this is where volume licensing provides a benefit.

The best solution will depend on the size of your organisation, your cash position, the number of licenses you require and the licensing management systems you have in place for tracking usage through your organisation.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.