Technical Solutions, a leading managed technology services provider, announced to day that the company will now be serving as a Virtual CIO (Chief Information Officer) for small to mid-sized business (SMBs) who are looking to focus solely on expansion and revenue growth. Technical Solutions will step forward into a vCIO role elevating its position amongst customers that desire a greater level of strategic business guidance.

By not only maintaining the IT infrastructure, planning the technology roadmap and identifying new ways to utilize emerging technologies to enhance SMB productivity its consultation will enable leadership of the SMB to focus exclusively on growth, in order to sustain a competitive advantage. As Technical Solutions makes this move, SMBs of the future will not have to deal with the challenges of technology, its rapid growth and the constant stream of changes. Now, Technical Solutions has the capacity to join forces with SMBs who want a proactive partnership to accelerate organizational growth.

“It may seem like a bold move, but for us, it’s simply the natural step forward,” stated Gene Wells, President of Technical Solutions. “As a true managed technology services provider, we consider it our job to maintain the integrity of our customers’ networks, to look out for new opportunities and to constantly be educating ourselves on the new regulations and advances in our industry. For years, this has been our philosophy and due to the expertise we’ve accumulated over the years, from serving so many companies and benefitting from such a vast array of experience, it just makes sense for us to integrate ourselves in this way. It makes things very personal, yet at the same time, it’s adding formal structure to what we’ve always done for our clients.”

Business owners who are looking to initiate the same type of relationship with a managed IT services provider should launch the program in the following order. Within the first 90 days, the company should establish a foundation for all future technology endeavors in order to protect the business via the simplest, steps first. Those steps are: 1) complete a IT/Infrastructure Diagram, 2) create a Backup/Disaster Recovery Document, 3) create an Acceptable Internet Use Policy, 4) review Network Change Policy and Administration. Once all of these are completed, the next objective for a vCIO is to assess cybersecurity threats and provide proactive solutions to thwart cyber criminals.

“Business owners also need to hold weekly meetings with their managed ITservices provider/vCIO to ensure optimal network performance,” added Wells. “With complex systems, it’s always advisable to work with companies that are willing to meet with you on a consistent basis. This adds an element of accountability which is one of the main reasons why most employers currently have a full-time, on-site CIO.”

One of the best ways for a company to know that the managed IT service provider/vCTO that they’re planning to work with is of the highest caliber is to examine their contracts. Elite providers offer month-to-month, performance-based agreements, instead of locking business owners into long-term, inflexible agreements.“ A company offering vCIO services should be held to the exact same standards as an individual CIO. They need to perform every month, find new ways to enhance the company’s technological capacities and they should also be able to be fired if they’re underperforming,” concluded Wells. “Technical Solutions is taking the lead in an ever changing industry and elevating it services versus the status quo.”