A one-man IT provider for a manufacturing business may sound appealing at first. Since a one-man shop may have none of the overhead of an actual company, they are often the least expensive option in the market. However, if you’re considering hiring this type of individual for your manufacturing business, or are already working with one, you should be aware of the following potential pitfalls.
Time Limitations
Like all outsourced IT providers, one-man shops serve multiple organizations. That means he or she may not be available when you have an urgent need. Some even full-time jobs in addition to trying to serve your business, so they may be working onsite at another client at the time you have an urgent need for support.
These providers may be unintentionally spreading themselves too thin because they do not have the luxury of delegating tasks to anyone else. Consider what happens when you can’t get ahold of them for prolonged periods of time. This can lead to unnecessary downtime costing you time and money while you wait on your provider to get back to you. Also, many manufactures need coverage 24 hours a day. Make sure that you speak to your provider about how they accommodate coverage if they are unavailable and ask about guaranteed response times.
Lack of Sophistication
Although these providers may be a “jack-of-all-trades” and quite knowledgeable in IT generally, they cannot be masters of everything. IT changes quickly. Many one-man providers tend to be time-constricted, and so they may have less time to research and educate themselves to keep your organization on the technological forefront.
Additionally, due to a limited number of clients, they tend not to develop the breadth of knowledge to be found across all members in a team. Therefore, he or she may fall short in troubleshooting or solving a problem which can cost your organization dearly.
Lack of Documentation
A one-man IT shop is also less likely to properly document your organization’s IT infrastructure, which includes software and hardware inventory, vendor information, and even security strategies. By closely working with your business, he may know the ins and outs of your network infrastructure, but he may overly depend on his memory to store that information.
This can prevent the provider from prioritizing the documentation of important details, which are often critical when an issue occurs. The lack of full documentation can also make some businesses feel as if they are being held hostage by their IT provider since otherwise they won’t have access to this crucial information.
More Risk
You probably would like your IT resource to regularly confirm backups, update your software, manage your network security, and more. Yet, the one-man IT provider must do the same for many other clients, so when he has his hands full some of these details may unintentionally fall through the cracks causing your organization to have increased risk. Or due to not being able to keep up with best practices, they may not have the most up-to-date technology in place in your network, also increasing risk from outdated technology.
Manufacturing is the second most hacked industry behind medical, keeping sure that your network is using the latest technology to keep out cybercriminals is paramount.
When searching for a company to manage your manufacturing network, make sure that your IT provider can handle their workload, stay up-to-date, document information properly, and make time for your organization, especially during emergencies.
You may also consider a company with a team of specialists. IT companies housing several employees usually cover a broader range of technology and have extensive knowledge on industry specific software. Additionally, each employee typically specializes in one or two areas, potentially offering greater and deeper expertise, which enhances service and the ability to solve problems rapidly.
