I have a relative who categorises anything and everything relating to technology as being ‘computer stuff’ – whether it is IT services, printers that are out of ink or even email tools. This outlook is sadly a lot more common than those in the industry would like.
When it comes to companies who require services such as ‘computer stuff’ though, this lack of understanding can make things far less humorous – especially to the technicians and support staff who need to patiently explain what is and isn’t covered in an IT plan.
To get everyone on the same proverbial page, here are some of typical misconceptions that I have personally encountered within the broader IT field.
Typical IT Services Myths and Legends
Whether you are still not 100% sure what all of these complex sounding services are all about, or you want to communicate your needs a bit better with your IT partner, the following myths and legends will soon get you on track…
- Anyone can work with computers. Also known as ‘my uncle’s boss’ son is good with computers’. What is tricky with this misconception is that it implies that there are no skills or experience required to get the job done well. In reality, support employees in IT companies have extensive training that enables them to understand various programming languages. Without this full understanding, you may end up spending far more than you planned when ‘good with computers’ Junior over there makes a wrong move on that hard drive of yours. You wouldn’t want someone who was ‘good with pliers’ to do a root canal, and likewise, you shouldn’t want someone inexperienced to handle your IT needs either.
- IT covers everything technical. Getting back to the ‘computer stuff’, it’s also often assumed that IT companies can fix anything from your broken phone to your wonky fax machine. While some providers are able to offer a much broader service range, IT professionals specifically deal with things relating to actual computers. This includes email, internet, servers, networks, hard drives, software and whatever else may be needed to get systems on the go. Bringing in repair services that are very broad and catch all could mean that there is no expertise in targeted skills area, so you may want to reconsider asking your handyman to take a look at your frozen computer after he’s changed those light bulbs in the office.
- Only large companies need to consider IT help. Let’s say you are running a fairly small little business, which has a website and a few staff members. You do a fair amount of work on computers, with a handful of employees using computers each day. What happens if your server crashes one day, or if your network suddenly fails? You could lose a day’s work or even more – you may even lose all of your data if you haven’t done any backups. Now stop to think how this situation would be if you had some help from IT experts. Even if you have break-it support on call when something goes wrong, you can still make a bad situation just a tad better if you have adequate help. Without any sort of help though, you might find that the bad situation gets even worse when systems can’t be restored.
Of course, there are plenty of other myths relating to IT, technology and even computers themselves. We’d be here all day if we covered everything though, so these ones are a good a place as any to start.
Now that you know a bit more about what IT is and isn’t about, it should be a bit easier to get the help you need, from the right people, at the right time.