Dear Retail Friends, Customers, and Prospects,
Cloud computing has introduced significant advantages to computer management systems, bringing practical benefits to businesses that use this technology. It’s more efficient in comparison to on-premise systems, and allows more flexibility in day-to-day operations, making it a preferable choice for many retailers. However, cloud computing doesn’t drive down IT complexities and the need for qualified IT professionals is on the rise due to a shortage of cloud infrastructure talent. New technology, as it frequently happens, has created additional issues that internal IT staff is not likely to be able to address due to work load and required level of expertise. We live in a (somewhat) free market economy, which means those with this valuable skill and knowledge will demand higher wages. Consequently, this makes it difficult for businesses to afford necessary IT staff. It is a vulnerability for any type of business, but especially for retail, because a disruption in the operations of a POS system can result in monetary losses, errors in inventory and frustration for the sales team.
When One Step first established itself as a POS reseller, we offered outsourced services to help retailers with their POS and inventory management systems. This grew out of the demand from retailers that couldn’t find or afford necessary and qualified employees. Since One Step has the advantage of servicing many clients, we can locate and retain the necessary talent. This has allowed our clients to receive quality support while spreading the cost.
Due to significant changes in the state of global IT security, the need for managed IT services has increased with the introduction of cloud computing. The threats of penetrating a business computer system are much higher today than they were just three years ago, and the penalties are severe.
When we discuss our Managed IT Services with clients, we receive two distinct types of responses that are often closely tied to the responsibilities of the person we speak with. Business management usually expresses interest in our Managed IT Services and asks us to discuss this option with their IT departments. However, when we communicate to internal IT staff, we are almost always told that things are fine and under control. Based on these patterns in responses, we suspect that this drastic difference is somehow related to individual job security, which is unfortunate due to the direct impact such decisions can make on the profitability and stability of a business. Most business owners or managers are not focused on technology, relying on IT staff to have the company’s best interests in mind—and they probably do, but it’s understandable why external IT support may seem as a threat to their employment.
Realizing that this conflict of interest may result in businesses making compromised IT choices, we introduced our Co-Managed IT Services option. We use the term “Co-Managed IT” because we have no interest or desire to replace any current IT personnel. Our goal is to provide the level of IT services that each business needs, and we value working with our clients’ internal IT staff. Our role in co-management is in providing a high quality level of IT guidance and handling immediate vulnerabilities. We find non-standard approaches and utilize unique methods of stabilizing and prioritizing projects that need to occur in order to ensure a safe and reliable IT infrastructure. We also provide quarterly budgeting for our Co-Managed IT Services clients.
Could One Step’s Co-Managed IT Services be the ultimate solution for your IT needs? Call us today at 1-800-266-1328 and we will be glad to discuss how we can help.
Scott Kreisberg
CEO, One Step Retail Solutions