For Bakersfield businesses, common IT support issues can significantly impact productivity and bottom lines. Let’s explore ten frequent challenges and their solutions, helping you ensure your technology supports – rather than hinders – your business growth.
1. Delayed Response Times
Imagine if a fire broke out in your office. What’s the first thing you’d feel? Fear, probably. Panic. Confusion. But then, someone calls 911. You’re still concerned, but that worry subsides once you know help is on the way.
It’s normal to feel frustrated when IT issues crop up. But when you think about impending rescue, you’re supposed to feel relief – not even more agitation.
If you know you can’t rely on your IT support team to respond quickly (via helpdesk or on-site assistance), an already inconvenient situation becomes twice as unwelcome. The longer downtime lasts, the more it threatens business continuity, impacting your ability to operate and serve your clients.
2. Too Much Technical Jargon
Let’s say when those firefighters finally do arrive, they start speaking another language. Not literally – it’s definitely English, but their yelling about “dead lays,” the “A-side,” and evacuating the “buffer zone” makes little sense to you and your staff.
What you need them to say is something like “Go wait on the grass across the parking lot so we can start tackling this thing, safely” – wording even someone who’s never seen a fire before would understand.
Similarly, IT providers using too much technical jargon can make you feel utterly alienated from the people who are supposed to be helping you. This contributes to misunderstandings and inefficient problem resolution, often creating – instead of fixing – IT support issues.
3. Reactive IT Support Only
Firefighters do more than put out fires – they’re also active in educating the community about how to prevent them. Just think about the fire safety sessions you might have had in school.
The same goes for IT support providers in Bakersfield. Both terms undersell the full scope of what these teams actually do – or at least, what they should do: prevention alongside problem-solving.
4. Lack of Communication About Security
Everyone in the business needs to be receiving education about how to prevent the proverbial fire – not just your new starters. Your entire team should feel comfortable going to the IT department (whether they’re internal or external) with questions, concerns, or for advice.
And cybersecurity awareness training, delivered in straightforward language and an engaging manner, needs to involve everybody, C-suite included (as this BusinessChief article highlights, they play a crucial role in building a cyber-resilient business). Your IT team should be facilitating and encouraging this.
5. Lack of Knowledge About Data Protection
Alright, enough with the firefighter analogy. We’ll stick with the theme of complexity, though, as we talk about data protection.
For today’s businesses, proper data protection isn’t optional. Without it, you risk losing critical information and facing compliance violations that could cost you heavily.
Despite having support functions, many still struggle with IT troubleshooting related to backup systems, data recovery, and protection protocols. Suitable data protection requires a more specialized skill set, and that involves upskilling and training that plenty of SMBs can’t afford to give their internal team.
6. Lack of Knowledge About Compliance Requirements
Another core complication businesses have to fight to get right is that compliance requirements are becoming inextricable from IT systems. As such, they’re also becoming one of the most common IT support issues SMBs encounter.
Whether you’re in healthcare, finance, or another regulated industry, your IT infrastructure must align with current compliance requirements. Since these regulations evolve often and are essential to stay on top of, your IT team need to know them inside and out.
7. Knowing IT, Not Knowing Your Industry
Plenty of IT teams are true technical wizards. They know the cybersecurity landscape like the back of their hand and could set up a remote desktop with their eyes closed. They excel at the minutia – but they can’t make all that insight ‘fit’ with your needs.
It’s not uncommon for IT guys to lack the commercial astuteness that businesses need to use technology effectively. This is especially true in specialist fields, such as agriculture, medical services, the oil industry, etc. This disconnect – between their vision and yours – can lead to solutions that don’t align with your business goals and won’t help make them a reality.
8. Knowing Your Industry, Not Knowing IT
What about organizations facing the opposite problem? Sometimes your IT person is just the one with the most tech know-how in your office. They’re the IT department by necessity, not because they know all that much about IT.
Relying solely on team members with basic technological awareness can leave your business vulnerable. When fixing IT support issues requires specialized knowledge, this approach often falls short. Anyone can troubleshoot Wi-Fi issues, but providing the proactive monitoring your SMB needs to stay secure and keep systems running optimally is a job best left to the experienced.
9. No Clear Disaster Recovery Plan
Not only do you not know what would happen in an emergency, but you don’t trust the people who should know to lead you through it, either.
A comprehensive disaster recovery plan is essential for business continuity. You need to be clear on the critical systems, recovery time objectives, and key roles within the company. Your plan needs to have been tested for efficiency, and you need to be able to count on the experts to show up and calm the chaos.
- Poor Return on IT Investment
Technology investments should drive efficiency and growth, not drain your resources. When IT troubleshooting becomes constant and solutions don’t deliver promised benefits (like improved efficiency, streamlined workflows, easier customer communication, and so on), it’s time to reassess your support strategy.
The sense that you’re spending more than you’re getting back often results from that misalignment we mentioned; a provider could, for example, suggest a cloud-hosted solution that makes perfect sense to them but turns out to be a bad fit for your team – because you’re not on the same page about what you need from your technology.
The Path Forward
At the end of the day, the most worthwhile way to resolve common IT support issues is to get a new IT service provider – a support team in your area with the technical competency you need. We’ve talked about the power of a local provider before, but the importance of combining technical expertise with industry understanding and speedy support really can’t be overstated.
Good, reliable IT support means:
- Rapid response times
- Clear communication
- Proactive monitoring
- Comprehensive security services
- Industry-specific expertise
- Proven disaster recovery capabilities
Because the goal isn’t just fixing IT support issues as they arise – it’s preventing them from occurring in the first place while ensuring your technology aligns with and enables your business goals.
Grapevine MSP – Fixing Common IT Support Issues for Businesses in Bakersfield, California
Ready to take your business to the next level with reliable and efficient IT support? Look no further than Grapevine MSP.
With our comprehensive IT services, including network management, security solutions, and proactive support, Grapevine MSP is the partner you need for seamless business growth.
Our team of experienced professionals will ensure that your IT infrastructure is fully optimized, allowing you to focus on expanding your company with confidence. Don’t let technology hold you back—contact us today and discover how Grapevine MSP can propel your business forward.
