3 Risks of Relying on Amateur IT Support

Back in the early 2000s, a “tech guy” like a neighbor, a cousin, or a solo freelancer, was often enough to keep a small office running. Nowadays, it’s an entirely different ballgame. The landscape of business technology has shifted so dramatically that you need a strategic professional managing your IT, not an amateur, but not for the reasons you might expect.

Let’s take a look at the risks of hiring an amateur IT provider to manage your tech, as well as the better alternative: working with trusted, reliable managed IT professionals.

Amateurs Might Fix Problems, But Professionals Prevent Them Entirely

The problem with amateurs is that they might know how to fix a problem, but they don’t know how to keep it from happening again—otherwise known as the “break-fix mindset.”

Sure, they might be able to save the day in a pinch, but failing to address underlying issues can leave your business exposed to greater threats. Solo providers aren’t going to invest in remote monitoring and management tools that can keep tabs on your network, and they most certainly aren’t going to provide the comprehensive, 24/7/365 security operations center that your business deserves.

So while you might have an operational printer and a working laptop, you could end up with an unpatched backdoor wide open for a ransomware bot to strike.

Solo Providers Are a Single Point of Failure

Even if your IT guy is on vacation, busy with another client, sick, or otherwise unavailable, you still have to worry about cybercrime and problems with your IT infrastructure.

If you rely on one individual for all your IT needs, you are basically creating a single point of failure that silos knowledge inside that person’s head. If your passwords and network configurations are only known to one person, then it’s much easier for disaster to strike. If issues arise at 3:00 a.m. and there’s no one available to tackle them immediately, you can bet the issue will only get worse over time.

Ultimately, relying on a single professional will limit your business’ capacity for risk-taking, thereby inhibiting growth.

Professional Cybercrime Requires a Multi-Layered Defense

Cybersecurity is a team sport that works best when you have solutions such as Voice over Internet Protocol, Endpoint Detection and Response, Multi-Factor Authentication, and Immutable Backups, all working in tandem—and we bet the IT guy next door can’t offer this.

Without the specialized resources and certifications, an amateur IT provider won't be able to manage these solutions. On the other hand, a professional IT provider like Datalyst knows exactly how to handle it all. With our connections, we can implement viable solutions from reputable vendors, keep your organization compliant with cybersecurity insurance requirements, and implement standardized security solutions that all work together to keep your business safe.

Simply being good with computers is not enough to run a profitable, secure business.

Thankfully, you know exactly who to call for all your IT needs. To level up your organization and transform its IT infrastructure, give Datalyst a call at (774) 213-9701 today.