Your GTA Business Should Consider These New Year IT Resolutions

#1 -“This year I want my IT provider to proactively work with me to create a real plan for my business technology, track and report performance, and align my IT to true standards and best practices, not just show up when there’s a problem.”

Whether you’re looking to get more out of the IT provider you’re already working with, or you’re in the market for someone entirely new, you’ll want to start by asking a few basic but critical questions. You’ll need to know that they can:

• Provide the expertise, processes and staff needed to help you carry out strategic Business and IT goals.

• Provide constant updates and feedback to ensure your technology is performing at its peak.

• Provide solutions and guidance to help you meet compliance requirements and security best practices.

• Proactively monitor/maintain your IT systems to keep costly downtime to a minimum.

#2 – “I don’t want to worry about IT Security, data breaches or downtime to my business. I want to know that there is a proactive process for ongoing system and security checks and best practices and reporting to remove any blind spots and areas of risk.”

Cybercriminals are evolving and businesses need to keep up. Contrary to popular belief, it takes more than a firewall, antivirus and other IT security tools to ensure that your business is properly protected. You need assurances that an ongoing process exists to verify that your business is adhering to IT Security Standards.

Ensure that your provider:

• Has the process and dedicated resources responsible for IT Standards and Security alignment and reporting so you know exactly where you stand.
• Has a process for identifying potential risks to your business and proactively meets with you regularly to report and interpret those results.
• Will go out of their way to ensure no aspect of your security has been overlooked.
• Creates a plan to keep your business and your data safe, no matter what.

#3 -“I want a better return on investments from my people and technology. I will have a proactive system to measure and report IT metrics and KPI’s to better understand my system performance and implement a process and strategy to regularly review and improve IT performance.”

Most businesses know that IT directly impacts their biggest expense – their people (payroll). Yet many don’t have the systems or processes to measure IT effectiveness, and how IT is positively or negatively impacting productivity. With most businesses being reliant on IT systems for their people to perform their jobs, IT is the core function that every business needs to get right. You’ll need to:

• Ensure there is a process and KPI’s for measuring IT performance.
• Receive regular reporting on key metrics and KPI’s.
• Have scheduled time to review and interpret IT results and put plans and processes in place to improve results.
• Discuss with your IT provider to understand where you have performance gaps and what is the plan for improvement.

#4 –“I will no longer settle for just fixing IT issues. I want a true proactive process in place to maximize my IT and business results.”

This resolution is as simple as it is critical to your business’ ongoing success. If you’ve been relying on a break/fix IT solution to keep your technology running, you likely have increased risk and inefficiencies that are slowing your people down and costing your business money. You should make 2021 the year you leave that behind.

• It’s more important to have proactive processes in place to keep things from going wrong in the first place.
• Installing new equipment and fixing IT issues is only a small part of what a true proactive IT provider can offer your growing business.
• A true IT partner can help you stay ahead of problems and grant the ability to leverage technology in ways you never thought possible!

If you would like to meet with us to discuss how you can start improving areas of your business technology in 2021, click here.

With the 2020 firmly situated in the rear-view mirror where it belongs, I hope you all have your eyes set straight ahead and are ready to take on 2021 with us! 

As per our commitment to timely and effective communications, at this time of year I like to update our valued client base on the goings on here at PACE.  There is a LOT of stuff that happens behind the scenes that we do not always make a big deal about, and this is our chance to get you in the know. 

NEW VPs 

PACE has always prided itself on staying ahead of a very competitive market, ensuring that our clients have the technology they need to maximize their productivity and surpass Best Practices in every way possible.  To this end, we are happy to announce the appointments of Noman Ahmed as PACE’s first VP of Strategic Technologies, and Jay Da Costa as our new VP of Operations. 

An industry veteran of 20 years in positions that run the gamut of IT Management, Noman is responsible for the overall planning, organizing, and execution of all technology functions at PACE. This includes directing our Client Strategy Team to meet and surpass customer requirements as well as the support and maintenance of existing applications and development of new technical solutions.  

As a certified Project Manager with 20+ years’ experience in BI, Data Analysis, Process Management and Business Analytics, Jay is responsible for ensuring that PACE provides an industry-leading proactive and customer-focused approach to our client’s technology.  Jay focuses on the behind-the-scenes procedures that keep your PACE experience consistent and efficient. 

ENHANCED CYBERSECURITY MEASURES 

Over nearly twenty years, PACE has taken client security as one of its highest priorities.  In the past 12 months with the exponential increase in targeted hacking, that commitment has become critical.  PACE has worked hard researching and upgrading internal external security to exceed industry standards and seriously impact hacker’s ability to get through to our clients.  In 2021, we will be rolling out new and innovative security measures to keep you at least one step ahead of the bad guys. 

MICROSOFT TEAMS 

In a short 10 months, the collaborative Microsoft Teams has become the fastest growing piece of software in history for obvious reasons.  Thankfully, 84% percent of PACE customers already had Teams implemented and could hit the ground running immediately.  PACE has been on the front lines of implementing and integrating Teams with new and game-changing features like Teams phone systems and Decisions Meeting software.  Ask our Client Strategy Team for details! 

REFERRALS 

Client referrals are our bread-and butter, and we are thrilled to announce that the past year has been a record breaker when it came to our clients referring new business to us.  Not only is that a true testimonial to the level of confidence our partners have in us, but it also allows PACE to steadily build a knowledge base steeped in like-minded business who value their technology.  It is a win-win for everyone! 

 If you know a business like yours with 20-200 employees that needs a better result in IT, let us know!  If they become a client, we will give you a $4000 credit on your next monthly invoice! 

 That is, it for now – but there is always more coming from PACE! 

Fundraising for Movember: Men’s Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Prostate Cancer