Decision making for a business, accounts for some of the biggest and most stressful parts about owning/managing, and running a business. Making a decision could result in anything from a big mistake costing the company a lot of money, to a risky success that boosts earnings. For this reason, many business owners seek the help of advisors and hire people who have dedicated their lives to predicting and making educated decisions based on historic information and current events or advancements. In fact, there are companies that solely exist for advisement and consulting base on research and information gathered through methods, like surveys.
Consulting companies are usually hired by other businesses to help with decision making when it matters. However, sometimes they can be frustrating to work with. The way a consulting firm works is very similar to like that of a parent or teacher. The employees of the company are there to research the needs of the customer and provide them with solutions and advice onto how to go about fixing implementation problems that the business is having. Although help with decision making through an advisement company, like Gartner, sounds like a good idea, it may not be the right solution for everyone.
Even though you may have contracted a company, like Gartner, to advise your company for technology needs, it however does not mean that they will fix the issues for you. Like a teacher or parent, they are there to guide you through the process, but most of the time, they leave the implantations and technology fixing to the company.
This is much like when a teacher shows you how to do something in class, but you are on your own at home with your homework. For an extremely large companies and cooperation, with many devices and employees that have an in-house technology department, this method works great. By doing this, the tech department can work on fixing in house issues, while the outside company makes the best decisions to make, in regards to upgrades and new technology. However, with smaller and medium sized businesses it may not be the right decision.
Since advisement companies do not fix technology but rather advise about it, this can be a problem for companies without their own technology department. In order to carry out the advice and recommendations of the research company, they would have to source help through other means. This would involve having to contact vendors and service providers in order to carry out the recommendations of the advising company. Although this may not seem like too big of an issue, it can complicate things to where they cause more of a headache than not.
And if something were to go wrong, finding the company responsible for the mistake can take time, money, and a lot of effort.
At Firestorm Cyber, we have encountered these issues very frequently in the past. Companies would opt in for an advisement company because of a slightly cheaper cost of entry. But in the end, they are greeted with a headache of having to source their own labor and vendors to work with each other to implement the changes. Getting multiple vendors involved can also be more expensive. Different companies charge different amounts for different services. And when something goes wrong, parties will point fingers at each other, because admitting fault would result in losing money.
Although it may seem enticing to employ a research company for advice, unless you are prepared for indirect help and willing to take the risk of juggling vendors and service providers, this could be a move in the wrong direction for your business. Instead consider contracting a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP). An MSSP works differently than a consulting company in many ways. Essentially, an MSSP company does everything that a consulting company does, like Gartner, but more.
Although MSSPs, like Firestorm Cyber, do not solely focus on consulting, they focus their technology solutions based on the use case of the customer and what the end goal is. By doing this, the MSP acts as the vendor, service provider, and troubleshooting team. By reducing the number of parties involved, you reduce the possible points of miscommunication and errors.
By doing this, if an error were to occur, during something like device installs and cabling, there is less of a headache finding the one responsible for the mistake and fixing the problem. This, in turn, speeds up the process of troubleshooting and diagnosis; a faster diagnosis decreases down time and money spent on the problem.
To learn about products, features, and benefits about using an MSP for your business, contact us, at Firestorm Cyber. Choosing a business that provides services for your needs can be difficult. And sometimes, a business may need more than just consulting in regards to technology services. Be sure to weigh your choices and what the pros and cons could be of choosing one over the other.