Eisner - Why you should build your business not your IT department : a guide to selecting the right technology partner to keep ahead of the changes affecting your growing business

A GUIDE TO SELECTING THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

TO KEEP AHEAD OF THE CHANGES AFFECTING YOUR GROWING BUSINESS

DAVID E. EISNER

Copyright 2015 by David E. Eisner

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written consent of the author, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

Published by Advantage, Charleston, South Carolina.

Member of Advantage Media Group.

ADVANTAGE is a registered trademark and the Advantage colophon is a trademark of Advantage Media Group, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN: 978-159932-474-6

LCCN: 2015931125

Book design by George Stevens.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Dataprise, Support365 and Cloud365 are registered trademarks of Dataprise, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned or displayed are property of their respective owners.

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To Nancy: technology is my passion, but you are my love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David E. Eisner founded Dataprise (www.dataprise.com), a Washington, D.C. area-based technology provider, in 1995 and has led its growth from a tiny start-up to recognized leader in providing managed IT services to small and medium-sized businesses. Today, Dataprise has grown to over 200 employees and supports the IT needs for almost 1,000 customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic as well as nationally. In 2014, Dataprise was recognized as one of the top 15 managed services providers (MSPs) globally by MSPMentor. An Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient, Mr. Eisner was recently honored with the Tech Council of Marylands Executive of the Year award as well as being named to the MSPMentor 250 Top People in Managed Services.

Mr. Eisner holds both a bachelors and masters degree in computer science from the University of Maryland and The Johns Hopkins University, respectively. He is an alumnus of the Entrepreneurs Organization and the Board of Visitors for the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland.

Mr. Eisner and his wife, Nancy, live just outside Washington, D.C. in suburban Maryland. They have a daughter, Nicole, and twin boys, Dylan and Alexander.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

This book is for those responsible for evaluating, purchasing, and selecting the information technology needs of small to medium-sized businesses (those generally with less than 250 employees). You own or operate a business or manage its IT functions. To understand the concepts discussed in this book, you do not need any specific technical skill sets, but you should be generally aware of how modern office technology can affect your business and employees. You should keep an open mind about changing paradigms in technology and support. Put simply, if you are accountable for the technology needs of your business, this book is for you.

This is your guidebook on how to choose an IT partner and navigate technology in the 21st century. I will show you pitfalls to beware and opportunities to pursue. To compete in the new millennium-locally, nationally, globally-all businesses need to do things faster, smarter, more efficiently. Technology gives you the means to do that.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GRAPHS, CHARTS AND FIGURES:

M y parents bought me my first computer in 1979, when I was 13. It was a now-vintage Apple II, and, at the time, it was quite an expense for my family, a couple thousand dollars. I was hooked from the moment I first booted it up.

It had only uppercase keys. For a monitor, I used an old black and white television, and it stored the programs I wrote on a cassette recorder. I taught myself how to program using Apple BASIC. At first I used this marvelous machine to organize and graph my middle school homework, which Im sure reassured my parents that it was worth the price. Soon I was writing simple games (and playing them, too).

Back in the early 1980s, I didnt have to worry about how to connect that computer to other high-tech devices. Even if Id had other devices, there was generally no means of connection other than a really slow dial-up modem. And there was no Internet.

Life and technology were simpler then. Things were about to change forever.

Whether you are a start-up or an established business, you cannot survive and grow in this day and age without essential information technology (IT)the computers, PCs, laptops, mobile devices, tablets, and more. So many questions: How much of what do I need to buy? How do I get it all connected together? And even if I can get it to work, how will it help me?

In our modern world, you most likely know, at a minimum, how to browse the Internet, write an email, and print a document. If you have grown up in the last 20 years you have learned to use technology as a critical tool for school at a very early age. And if you are in the workforce today, undoubtedly technology plays a major role in just about every aspect of your work day.

Have you ever stopped to think about all the things that are necessary to keep that technology working smoothly? From your device, to the network, to the Internet and back again there are dozens if not hundreds of connections and applications that all most work together harmoniously. Today weve just come to expect that like the car in the driveway, our technology will just be there when we turn it on.