IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies & family owned businesses. The following blog article has been provided by Chris-Michael Garrett. Mr. Garrett, is a Sales Coordinator at Dataworks Consulting (www.dataworksconsulting.com):

Outsourcing IT Services Post Business Acquisition

Congratulations on your recent business acquisition! For months or possibly years you brooded over the idea of being an entrepreneur. Today you’ve executed and purchased one.

There may have been questions you asked yourself throughout the process. What sort of business do I picture being in the rest of my life? You looked at the profitability of the company because people get into business to make money. There may have been a time that you were considering if this company is in an industry that you understand.

Now the real work begins. You will be busy integrating your staff, building relationships with your new clients, and developing a sales and marketing plan.  One thing you should not forget is the technology.  You will need to integrate websites, networks, multiple lines of business applications, and email systems.  Now is the opportune time to design and integrate an IT system that will support your business strategy.  Outsourcing the technology piece can take a big chunk of this off your plate.

You need an IT team that can act as a trusted partner and extension of your business. While you focus on growing the company, your IT team is there to protect what you are building. As technology becomes an even more critical part of business, the moments you and your team spend unable to work due to technical issues can be a great deterrent to achieving your business goals.

We, as a technology consulting firm, start off with identifying what your goals and business strategy is for the present and future. This will allow for us to thoroughly review how your technology aligns with existing and future looking strategy. For example, we recently worked with a company that integrated a company that was 100% remote with a company that worked in an office.

Questions to consider:

• Where should our data live – on premise, in the cloud, or a hybrid?
• What applications should we be using?
• What cybersecurity tools should be implemented to protect our data?
• What is our business continuity plan?
• What IT policies are needed for our environment? Should we allow staff to bring their own device (BYOD)?
• Who is managing our security updates?
• How are we managing our technology assets (like computers, printers, and laptops)?

Curious as to how this works? Here is what the process should look like. When working with an outsourced IT company usually there is an assessment first.  This will reveal any gaps or holes that need attention.  From there you should be presented with an IT roadmap or strategy to address the outstanding issues.  The project is then transitioned to what we call the care and feeding stage, continued support and maintenance.  Finally, you should periodically meet with your IT company to review the current IT plan and strategize for the future.

You ultimately purchased your company based on the opportunity and lifestyle you pictured for yourself. This business is likely an extension of what your goals and interests at the time of purchase. You didn’t get into business to do things like fix printers, data security, or building networks. You wanted to pursue your passion.  Let a professional IT services company handle the tech.

If you have questions relating to the content of this article or the services offered by a managed IT services provider, Chris-Michael Garrett would welcome the opportunity to talk with you.  Mr. Garrett can be reached at (425) 687-6185 or cgarrett@dataworksconsulting.com.

IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family owned businesses.  IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.