Support Staff savings claimed by Cloud Based Providers is often overstated vs. the reality!!!
American Technology Solutions (ATS) has found this claim assumes that the customer IT staff is somehow displaced completely because the Cloud Based Solution Provider service takes care of all IT site support. That is not ATS understanding. Is the replacement of IT staff covered in the end user bundle fee from the Cloud Based Provider or are these services at additional costs? Make sure you understand and ask about this. Your company will still require IT support for the following;
• LAN and WAN equipment move, add, change and support services;
• The voice solution move, add and change service for onsite changes;
• Voice software only changes for move, add and change remote service
If the answers to some or all of these questions is yes, then what deliverable metrics, Service Level Agreement (SLA’s), does the provider commit to for these service needs; same day, next day, three days, 5 days, etc.? Often the SLA’s do not meet the need of a fast moving company that may need to add new employees quickly. If your needs are ad hoc and need to be done expeditiously, will the SLA’s from the Cloud Based Provider meet the needs of your business? ATS has enjoyed the great fortune of customers retreating from the Cloud Based Provider solution due to the ongoing service support not meeting the needs of their business or the costs were found to be prohibitive to meet those needs. This is another area in which checking with Vendor provided references is very important. Don’t short change your business by making a fast decision only to find later that a few phone calls with the questions that your business needs are asked and answered.
This is Post 6 in a series of 7 Posts coming daily this July.