{"id":8814,"date":"2022-02-15T10:02:18","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T21:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinetics.co.nz\/?p=8814"},"modified":"2022-02-15T10:02:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T21:02:18","slug":"it-provider-relationship-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/?p=8814","title":{"rendered":"Do you have the right relationship with your IT provider?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2>Do you have the right relationship with your IT provider?<\/h2>\n<p>Regardless of whether your IT provider is your in-house IT team or a trusted business provider, <strong>do you have the right relationship with them?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The right IT provider will ask &#8220;WHY&#8221; long before they ask &#8220;WHAT&#8221; and will be focused on <strong>proactively adding value to your business.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>They need to be focused on the right things<\/h3>\n<p>We realise that no one wants to buy IT &#8211; for most of us, it is a grudging investment that we make because we have a problem that we need to solve.\u00a0 The role of a good IT provider is to <strong>take your business problems and (hopefully) solve them<\/strong> in the best possible way.<\/p>\n<p>Being focused on the business problem and not the technical issue is an important difference and not as common as you might think.<\/p>\n<p>For example, one client, had a problem printing invoices right at a critical time.\u00a0\u00a0 While it was tempting to diagnose and fix the technical problem, the right answer was to immediately solve the business problem and get invoices flowing again &#8211; and that simply meant redirecting the finance team to go through another printer first.\u00a0 While it was a little inconvenient,\u00a0 the organisation could keep working and we had time to work out and solve the technical problem without the pressure that would have existed otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>This is a very basic example,\u00a0 it is one that illustrates how <strong>IT providers need to focus on the business\u00a0(or user)\u00a0problem first, not the machinery.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In other examples, we\u2019ve seen customers who have been proposed a new server, when what they needed, and was more effective, was a cloud solution like SharePoint \u2013 saving them thousands.\u00a0\u00a0 Too frequently, <strong>we\u2019ve seen customers being sold more storage when all they needed was a tidy up.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even worse,\u00a0 we&#8217;ve seen cases where IT re-sellers sold the same thing regardless of the question &#8211; is the IT person recommending that solution because they get a free\u00a0XBox\u00a0with it, or is it the right solution for you?\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>Are they recommending a solution that fits your needs?<\/strong>\u00a0We saw one case of a small 14 user law firm that was recommended a $50,000 solution when hybrid cloud\u00a0was a better fit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Your IT provider should always ask &#8216;Why?&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>Whether a small job like \u201cdelete this user\u201d (Why? Because they\u2019ve gone on maternity leave &#8211; Oh perhaps we should just disable them then?) to big jobs like \u201cmove me to the cloud!\u201d (Why? Let\u2019s talk about all the options and find the one that fits you best)<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Their first step should always be to understand your organisation.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; saved_tabs=&#8221;all&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;]A <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/flightplan\/\">Kinetics FlightPlan<\/a><\/strong> is the structured process to easily help you find the answers to these questions, and more.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, contact us today.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=&quot;https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FP-brochure-1119-212&#215;300-1.png&quot; title_text=&quot;FP-brochure-1119-212&#215;300&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; _builder_version=&quot;4.16&quot; _module_preset=&quot;default&quot; global_colors_info=&quot;{}&quot; theme_builder_area=&quot;post_content&quot;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&quot;4.16&quot; _module_preset=&quot;default&quot; global_colors_info=&quot;{}&quot; theme_builder_area=&quot;post_content&quot;]<\/p>\n<p>If you aren&#8217;t sure who in your organisation is best to answer these questions, it is probably time you tried a contract part-time IT Manager, to help you manage ALL your valuable IT.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/kare-it-manager-as-a-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">structured, programmatic &#8220;IT Manager as a Service&#8221; approach to help you<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_code _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;]<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->.label{font-family:Montserrat; font-size:14px; font-weight:bold; line-height:24px; color:#474747;}.ampfield{ width:100%; height:45px; border:solid 1px #dddddd; border-radius:3px; color:#999; font-size:12px; font-family:Montserrat; font-weight:bold; line-height:24px; padding:10px; cursor:text; outline:none; margin-bottom:14px;}.ampmsg{ width:100%; height:252px; border:solid 1px #dddddd; border-radius:3px; color:#999; font-size:12px; font-family:Montserrat; font-weight:bold; line-height:24px; padding:10px; cursor:text; outline:none; margin-bottom:16px;}.ampsubmit{ width:80px; height:43px; background-color:#3ec940; border-radius:3px; color:#ffffff; font-family:Montserrat; font-size:14px; font-weight:400px; padding-left:20px; padding-right:20px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:10px; text-align:center; outline:none; cursor:pointer; border:none;}<\/style>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><script language=\"javascript\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> function validateform(){<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->var firstname = document.getElementById('FirstName').value.replace(\/\\s\/g,'');<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               var lastname = document.getElementById('LastName').value.replace(\/\\s\/g,'');<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               var email = document.getElementById('Email').value;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               var worknumber = document.getElementById('WorkNumber').value;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               if(firstname == \"\"){document.getElementById('FirstName').focus();alert('Please Enter Your First Name!');return false;}<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               if(lastname == \"\"){document.getElementById('LastName').focus();alert('Please Enter Your Last Name!');return false;}<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               if (!\/^\\w+([\\.-]?\\w+)*@\\w+([\\.-]?\\w+)*(\\.\\w{2,5})+$\/.test(email)){document.getElementById('Email').focus();alert(\"Please Enter a Valid Email Address!\")<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->return false}<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               if(worknumber == \"\"){document.getElementById('WorkNumber').focus();alert('Please Enter Your Telephone Number!');return false;}<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->               return true;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->   }<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/script><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<form id=\"form_7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\" action=\"https:\/\/msp.amp.vg\/public\/externalform2.ashx\" method=\"post\"><script language=\"javascript\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/cmap.amp.vg\/track\/gloahbt8azdk\/webpl.js\"><\/script> <script language=\"javascript\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> function submitForm(){document.getElementById(\"form_7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\").submit();} <\/script><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><input id=\"token_7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\" name=\"tokenkey\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><input id=\"templateid\" name=\"templateid\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"918939\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><input id=\"formid\" name=\"formid\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"906033\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><input id=\"doubleopt\" name=\"doubleopt\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"0\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><input id=\"successurl\" name=\"successurl\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"https:\/\/cmap.amp.vg\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><input id=\"failureurl\" name=\"failureurl\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"https:\/\/cmap.amp.vg\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div id=\"captcha_7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\" style=\"display: none;\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div id=\"divReCaptcha7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\" class=\"g-recaptcha\" data-sitekey=\"6LeQHR4UAAAAALnbi_6DE8IEoKMjYnZk3IawV-5t\"><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div id=\"divInvisibleCaptcha7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\" class=\"g-recaptcha\" data-sitekey=\"6LdTHh4UAAAAAHXtAKkvkcSmd-Zm_qdKgPUjMVsU\" data-callback=\"submitForm\" data-size=\"invisible\" data-bind=\"submit_7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\"><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div class=\"label\">Your First Name (required)<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div><input id=\"FirstName\" class=\"ampfield\" name=\"FirstName\" type=\"text\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div class=\"label\">Your Last Name (required)<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div><input id=\"LastName\" class=\"ampfield\" name=\"LastName\" type=\"text\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div class=\"label\">Your Email (required)<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div><input id=\"Email\" class=\"ampfield\" name=\"Email\" type=\"text\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div class=\"label\">Telephone (required)<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div><input id=\"WorkNumber\" class=\"ampfield\" name=\"WorkNumber\" type=\"text\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div class=\"label\">Mobile<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div><input id=\"MobileNumber\" class=\"ampfield\" name=\"MobileNumber\" type=\"text\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div class=\"label\">Your Message<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div><textarea id=\"Comments\" class=\"ampmsg\" name=\"Comments\"><\/textarea><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div><input id=\"submit_7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\" class=\"g-recaptcha ampsubmit\" type=\"button\" value=\"SEND\" data-sitekey=\"6LdTHh4UAAAAAHXtAKkvkcSmd-Zm_qdKgPUjMVsU\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><script src=\"https:\/\/msp.amp.vg\/public\/externalform2.ashx?formKey=7e60be7dbf4346fe996bae072ee9c070\" async defer><\/script><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/form>\n<p>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you have the right relationship with your IT provider? Regardless of whether your IT provider is your in-house IT team or a trusted business provider, do you have the right relationship with them? The right IT provider will ask &#8220;WHY&#8221; long before they ask &#8220;WHAT&#8221; and will be focused on proactively adding value to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ceo-it-questions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.kinetics.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}