Proactive IT Management: A Two Way Street

I was having a chat session with one of our IT Consultants; he mentioned that a large part of provider/client relationship is the willingness of the client. Due to their size, smaller organizations (where IT issues arise more sporadically) don’t fully understand what they need from an IT provider. Instead, they usually put things off until they become an issue.

I asked him how hard it is to implement a proactive approach to IT management in cases such as these. He said “If you don’t have the buy-in of Senior Managers, it can be very difficult. As a consultant, you can take small steps such as making sure the systems are updating and virus definition files are current, but you can only address the issues to the extent that the customer wants to address the issue.”

An external IT services provider can be a great resource, with an expansive knowledge bank. However, for the provider to give the best service possible, the client needs to be open and willing to take recommendations and make changes. Making improvements to IT infrastructure and business processes will only help to boost productivity and help to streamline business intelligence.