Ambitious agencies and SMEs know good tech support is key to productivity and operational success, but not all of them want to, or can, master the art of IT management. Smart businesses understand it’s better to concentrate on what you’re good at and get expert help for something as important as IT, if you don’t have the skills you need in-house.
Even companies with IT resources on-site can struggle to stay on top of everyday issues, and the machine maintenance required to keep the show on the road - leaving little time for strategic, innovative thinking that will future-proof your business. As any business in the cut-throat London market knows, keeping pace on the IT front will keep your head above water, but to swim in bigger ponds among bigger fish, you need to do more than simply stay afloat.
That’s where a Virtual CTO or Chief Technology Officer, can play their part.
How can a Virtual CTO help your business?
A Virtual CTO offers a portfolio of IT solutions, delivered by an expert team of service providers. They can take on the role that would normally be filled by a business’s Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer and/or technology consultants, making them:
- Ideal for businesses that don’t want to develop an in-house tech team or
- A smart addition to an existing team that’s focused on more immediate, day-to-day issues such as break-fixes
Why use a Virtual CTO?
1. Virtual CTOs take care of everything from IT infrastructure management, firewall and virus protection, to WAN/LAN health monitoring, disaster recovery and scheduled on-site support. The list goes on, but their main objective is to keep systems and data safe, secure and accessible, while keeping your IT costs down.
2. Virtual CTOs are proactive, not reactive, and that’s important for fast-paced city businesses, because they’re fastidious about monitoring, measuring and sharing insights that can help improve the way you do business, or give you a competitive edge.
3. A good outsourced IT service provider will be at the forefront of IT innovation too, and offer a wealth of knowledge on new business technology, industry trends and the competitive landscape. That means you’ll reap the rewards of what they can do functionally, but you’ll also benefit from the experience they’ve gained along the way, which can be invaluable.
4. They can provide remote IT support or work on-site. So, if having an expert opinion in the room is beneficial for workshops, consultations with clients, or you want them in the office or worksite to troubleshoot issues as they arise, that’s all within the realms of possibility.
Virtual CTOs understand how to:
- Use IT as a tool for business growth
- Optimise IT budgets
- Manage the cost of IT maintenance
- Customise business processes and
- Design IT infrastructures to keep businesses lean and efficient
4 more good reasons London-based agencies are using Virtual CTOs
#1 Great IT support can take you from mediocre to magnificent
Strong IT management and maintenance is key to uninterrupted productivity. Virtual CTOs deliver this in spades, keeping the day-to-day operation in good shape, while planning for the future. It’s not about throwing huge amounts of money at IT to make it great, it’s about smart use of what you can do within your means, so spend is not only justifiable, but reflected in returns on the bottom line.
#2 Tech road-mapping
The most successful businesses are agile, innovative, and have a clear vision of where they want to go. Virtual CTOs can help realise those ambitions with immediate improvements and longer-term strategic plans that use technology to meet operational and commercial goals. As such, their skills can help build the business in a very tangible and accountable way.
#3 Fool-proof security and disaster planning
Conversations on the best ways to tackle international fraud, global terrorism and even natural disasters are on the up, and disaster recovery and security are particularly hot topics with the GPDR set to kick in, in May 2018.
Virtual CTOs can help businesses of all sizes develop IT strategies that allow for rapid response and protect productivity in the event of a disaster recovery incident.
As the details of the GDPR begin to sink in and the legal obligations of businesses that rely on personal or sensitive information start to mount, expert help (even if only temporary) may be the only way for some businesses to get ship shape and compliant, in time for the May deadline.
#4 Unlimited expert help
Specialist full-time IT consultants are expensive to recruit and notoriously difficult to retain, but even having in-house resources is no guarantee you’ll always have the right person to resolve a specific IT issue.
With a Virtual CTO, there’s total peace of mind that you’ll always have access to the expertise you need to handle any tech task.
At pebble.it, we can offer you the full range of IT support services you need to keep your business on top, and bring the experience and expertise you need to grow.
Find out what we can do for you by booking an audit with us:
