Business Archives - Kutztown, Pennsylvania | Lantek

Most people treat office tech like a kitchen appliance: if it turns on, it’s "fine." But in business, a computer becomes a problem long before it actually breaks.

Tell me if you can relate to this statement: “My IT provider makes money when my business is struggling.” With the old way of managing technology, this is called the “break-fix” model, where the incentives of technology management are completely backwards. If your server crashes or your network grinds to a halt, the provider’s billable hours start to tick, and they start making money off your misfortune. This creates a conflict of interest and poses a question: “Why would a vendor work hard to prevent problems if those problems are their primary source of revenue?”

Running a small business is a lot like spinning plates while riding a unicycle. It’s exhilarating, but the moment one plate wobbles, the whole act is at risk. While many entrepreneurs worry about the big economic crash, the truth is that most businesses don't fail because of the economy—they fail because of internal operational leaks.

As your business grows, your reliance on break-fix IT is going to hold it back from rising to the top. While you might have been able to get by in the past with consumer-grade antivirus and simple solutions, you’re not that small business anymore. You now need to manage cybersecurity threats, cloud migrations, and data compliance, all of which can impact your business’ ability to maintain usual operations.

Is your tech strategy based on your actual business goals, or is it just a game of Whack-A-Mole with broken laptops?

The break-fix cycle of IT is a well-known drain on business profit, but some companies have yet to move away from it. They just assume that if their technology is working fine, it’s not costing the business anything. This is far from true, and the true cost of this is rooted in the amount of billable hours, emergency repair premiums, and staff frustration your company endures.

Remember the good old days? You had an IT problem, you called your Managed Service Provider (MSP), and they’d swoop in to save the day. Maybe they’d fix your server, patch a system, or help you set up a new laptop. It was reliable, necessary, and... well, a bit reactive.

Most business owners view remote work as a perk they begrudgingly handed out during a crisis and now want to claw back. They see it as a compromise on productivity.

Does the new year have your business relocating offices sometime in the next 6 to 12 months? One of the most expensive mistakes a business can make when moving is treating IT like the last box to be packed (or unpacked). Instead of running the risk that your IT won't work as intended in your new space, we’ve compiled the three most important IT considerations for your new office location so your team can hit the ground running.

As a technology expert who has watched the digital transformation of businesses that you never thought would do it, I’ve seen one department consistently struggle: Human Resources. HR is the side of the business that needs some consistency. Whatever else happens, HR has to handle the people-side of a business while buried under compliance forms, payroll disputes, and whatever else they are confronted with. This environment is a recipe for burnout.