Preferred Blog

Fundamentally, business is simple: if you take in more revenue than you have expenses, your company is a success. There are just so many elements to manage to ensure that revenues outpace expenses that it becomes difficult to ascertain what you can do to cut costs and see a higher degree of profitability for your efforts.

In the natural course of doing business, an owner/operator will have to face many difficult situations, but none of these situations are as difficult as asking them to determine whether or not to close the doors of the business for good. Many problems could cause a business to fail, but it has to hurt the failing owner a little more when the solution for the problem was not only within his/her reach, it was affordable.

It’s a far too common scene in businesses: an employee is working on an important project when their workstation starts acting up. Flustered, they call in the IT department, but they won’t be able to make it up to them for an hour at least. So, what’s a worker to do? Just sit there and wait? With a Help Desk solution, this wouldn't be an issue.

A business’ critical operations aren’t something that can be casually postponed. Therefore, any issues that present themselves must be attended to as quickly as possible in order to avoid wasted time and lost productivity. A Help Desk solution allows an employee to call in the cavalry, so to speak, the moment something begins to go wrong.

Once the employee contacts the help desk representative, the underlying issue can be identified, rooted out, and resolved. This can all be accomplished without disturbing other members of the business. The employee’s coworkers will not need to be disturbed by a member of the IT team coming up to troubleshoot the problem, and IT will have one less distraction from their innovating responsibilities to deal with this problem.

Finally, the employee will be able to return to their work much more quickly and easily than they would otherwise--minimizing the effects of the issue on all fronts.

If a comprehensive Help Desk solution sounds like it would be a welcome addition to your support, let us know! Reach out to us at 708-781-7110 for more information today.

When your technology breaks down, can you rely on your IT provider to be there in a moment’s notice? What if you need someone to talk you through a troubleshooting procedure? During the weekday you expect them to be available, but what if you’re burning the candle at both ends over a weekend to finish an important project? Furthermore, your office might be closed, but your IT infrastructure still needs to be attended to.

Let’s say that your team is deep within the throes of productivity on a major project, and even the slightest hiccup will knock off their momentum and derail all progress. What would happen if the software they need to do their job suddenly became unusable, or settings on their workstation get changed without their knowledge? Without a reliable IT department, you might be out of luck.

Consider, for a moment, what could happen if you let your employees service their own computer, or work on things without any oversight whatsoever. What if they accidentally misplace data, or remove a component that’s critical to the functionality of their workstation? The possibilities for something to go wrong are limitless. This is why you only want knowledgeable technicians working with your solutions.

However, what if you don’t have it in your budget to hire an experienced IT technician? There remain several opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses that may (or may not) have an internal IT department. Preferred’s help desk solution is among them; it’s capable of providing your team with the support it needs to keep operations moving forward. We can act as your outsourced IT department, whom you can contact at any time should support be needed.

Here are just a few of the many benefits that come with Preferred’s help desk solution:

Convenient support
With a help desk solution, you can have near-constant access to technical support for your business’s mission-critical systems. If your team needs help with an issue, we’re here to help walk them through it. Our team can even remotely access your systems and resolve the problem, which cuts out the expense of an on-site visit, and resolves the issue quickly and efficiently.

Assistance from professional techs
One of the greatest benefits you get from working with our help desk is that you’re not receiving support from some hack halfway across the world; you’re instead working with someone who has a working relationship with your business, and someone who is invested in the success of your organization. We succeed when you succeed, so we’re always happy to go the extra mile for our clients.

Single point of contact
Nobody likes to deal with vendors, and it can be an excruciatingly painful process when your organization has to contact multiple vendors just to troubleshoot a technology component. Instead of reaching out to each one individually, you can contact Preferred, and we’ll act as a single point of contact so that you can keep operations pushing forward.

Does your SMB have the technology support it needs to ensure maximum efficiency? IT management and maintenance isn’t something that the average office worker should be handling; you want only the best and brightest minds caring for your hardware and software solutions. Preferred can provide you with the tools and services you need to succeed. To learn more about our help desk solution, or to ask about our other outsourced IT services, reach out to us at 708-781-7110.

Business owners expect a lot out of their IT network, and rightfully so. However, technology isn’t perfect and can sometimes get in the way of these expectations. To overcome these technology shortcomings, IT administrators and business owners can benefit by outsourcing these expectations, especially when it comes to these three crucial aspects of IT.

IT Maintenances
IT administrators are often given lofty goals to improve the overall performance of their company’s network and infrastructure. Yet it can be a struggle for them to actually get around to achieving these goals if they’re tied down with routine IT maintenance, like applying security patches and upgrading software. What’s worse, when your IT department is stretched thin, their work suffers, fatigue can set in, and morale can deteriorate.

How Preferred Can Help
When Preferred co-manages your IT, we work with your current IT staff to take care of the routine maintenances that are often responsible for tying them down. The beauty of this approach is that we’re able to take care of these maintenances remotely. Essentially, we work behind the scenes so that your IT staff can have the support they need and be the rock stars you hired them to be.

IT Budget
In the same way that it’s impossible to squeeze blood out of a turnip, an IT administrator can’t implement the solutions they need if the money just isn’t there. For those tasked with overseeing technology, working with a budget passed on to them by their employer is often a major source of frustration. After all, they’re trained to work with technology, not spreadsheets.

How Preferred Can Help
Preferred’s managed approach to IT actually frees up money for IT budgets. By taking IT expenses that would normally be categorized as a capital expense and turning them into an operating expense, money will be freed up in the capital column. This means that your IT department will end up with more money to spend on the equipment they need to do their jobs and meet your expectations.

Security Breaches
Nothing can derail an IT objective quite like a security breach, hack attack, or computer virus. The worst thing about security breaches is that they always seem to happen at the worst possible time, like when progress is being made on an important IT project, or when you’re up against a deadline. Anybody who’s ever dealt with a security breach knows firsthand how frustrating it can be to resolve.

How Preferred Can Help
When it comes to protecting your company’s data, you can benefit from having an extra set of eyes. Even if you already have an IT department in place, they would benefit from incorporating Preferred’s assistance, expertise, and security solutions. One way that we can help is by remotely monitoring your company’s network for any inconsistencies and fishy behavior. This is a surefire way to catch a security threat before it breaches your network and does any damage.

To have a conversation about how we can help meet your expectations and IT goals, pick up the phone and call 708-781-7110.

Technology’s incredible growth has brought about a need for technicians who are skilled enough to handle everyday maintenance. As time passes, technology grows more complex, and as such it requires more comprehensive maintenance. Eventually, innovators in the IT industry discovered that their services could be improved by preventing technology problems from happening in the first place. Enter: managed IT services.

Every organization has mission-critical systems that they rely on in order to function, and the IT technician is responsible for keeping them running. Modern technology and best practices have given rise to a new way of managing business technology, one that knocks the traditional break-fix IT out of the water.

You started your business because you have a particular skill set. This is what allows you to continue doing business as usual. However, this also means that there are some topics that you might not understand completely. This is why you hire employees from diverse backgrounds, and it’s one reason that you should consider outsourcing what you can to professionals in specific fields.

When running a business, you can’t always upgrade your technology to the latest and greatest equipment or software every time something new comes out. Yet, you also don’t want to be left behind, which would be limiting to your growth and mobility. Moving forward can be a daunting task, especially if you haven’t revamped your IT strategy in some time. Paying attention to the details is an important part of avoiding potential roadblocks with your future IT strategy.

If you’re one of the unfortunate souls still using Windows 8 (as opposed to 8.1) on your business’s workstations, you should consider upgrading, and as soon as possible. Microsoft has cut off support for its infant operating system, so if you want patches, security updates, and just a better overall operating system, upgrading to Windows 8.1 or 10 is an ideal solution to this dilemma.

When it comes to service jobs, there are two kinds: Those where the work is highly visible, and those where work gets accomplished behind the scenes. Each service is valued and needed, yet, one may receive more attention and recognition than the other. Managed IT service falls under the latter category, and we’re totally okay with that.

A whole lot of technical training is what separates an average PC user from the IT technician servicing their malfunctioning computer. We know a lot about how technology works, and this knowledge is no guarded secret. In fact, we’re happy to share it with you.

As a business owner, you know that technology is a necessary, albeit unpredictable, investment. Your organization thrives off of it operating as expected, yet suffers when it doesn’t function properly. This is the primary reason why the idea of help desk support was first introduced. It’s an effective medium through which your employees can receive tech support when it’s needed most.

In days of old, skilled people of all crafts joined together to improve the quality of their lives and their products. These were called guilds, and they're not unlike small businesses of today; a group of like-minded individuals who come together to make the public's lives easier. Your business is no different, and at PCSI, we understand that.

Outsourcing your companies IT is a great way to free up money and take advantage of time-saving remote services. Businesses have different reasons for signing up for the outsourcing service, but many clients have similar expectations of the results they want out of their managed IT service provider.

One of the most important factors that you should consider when looking for IT staff is how much you can trust them. After all, they’re dealing with your technology. You’re trusting them with incredible responsibility. Therefore, you need to be sure they are honest, hard-working individuals. How can you ensure that you aren’t getting blindsided by your IT staff?

This world is dangerous; there are murderers, serial killers, and identity thieves. These dangerous criminals aside, many people ignore the digital world and find solace in thinking that they are untouchable in their online community. Little do they know, some of the most dangerous criminals in the world exist on the other end of a telephone line, sitting in front of a computer: Hackers. One of the easiest ways to shield yourself from these criminals is to keep your antivirus up to date.

We are creatures of habit. We love our routines and live in "comfort zones." Getting anybody to do anything outside of their comfort zone is always challenging. A comfort zone typically applies to social situations, but it can also apply to technology. Don't let an emotional attachment to old technology keep you from taking advantage of new money-making solutions!

The first pitch of another Major League Baseball season is being thrown this afternoon and with 2,427 more games on the docket in the regular season, it won't be the last. One of the greatest feats a player (or a team) can accomplish in baseball is by throwing a perfect game. To do so, a team's pitcher (or pitchers) must complete nine innings without allowing a baserunner.