Nowadays, running a dental practice is almost the same as running any kind of business. In order to manage it successfully and to be able to stand out in a crowd of competitors, every aspect of your small business has to work perfectly. One of those aspects is an IT department, and in the following text, we are going to tell you how employing an IT team can help your business.
When hiring a computer service company, there are a few models and plans you can choose from. You can opt for only one or maybe two, and some companies like NOVA Computer Solutions offer a mix of them.
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Firstly, there are so-called “break-fix” services. Basically, you are hiring a professional to come to your office and fix when something breaks. This may include everything from removing viruses to network service upgrade and everything in between. The advantage of this plan is that when signing a contract you may get some discount depending on the number of hours you want to employ a technician.
Secondly, you can opt for managed service IT. In this case, the IT Company takes the role of your IT department. Most businesses opt for this model because building an entire department and training the staff costs a lot of money and can take a lot of time. When you choose this plan, an IT team will not only install software and all programs, but they will also add antiviruses, security system, data back up and even customer support via telephone and email.
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Lastly, there is Software Vendor-Supplied IT Services that include remote support but only for the software you bought from them, and not the entire network, not even devices that use that software. This means that if a problem occurs outside their server or program, they will not be able to help you, so you will have to hire another IT expert to solve your problem, and that will be just another additional expense.
Even though it is always a good idea to have a technician on speed dial in case something goes wrong and also to buy software and get IT support for it, we believe the best option is managed IT services. Why? Well, as your practice grows so do your IT requirements, and managed IT services team can successfully operate your IT. They will install necessary programs, predict any problems before they occur and stop them, and they will even back up all data and patient information on a remote cloud or hard drive, so you will be able to get them all back in case of any trouble.
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Although it may seem highly unlikely that someone will hack a dental office’s database, you can’t take any risks. If hackers get your patient’s private information, they will stop trusting you and you will most definitely lose clients. IT team will install modern security systems that will protect all data. Also, unlike software vendors, you can contact your IT staff for any trouble, no matter how big and serious it is, and they will solve it remotely, as soon as possible.
Lastly, fees differ from one plan to another, so you should take them into consideration, especially if you have just started your practice. However, have in mind that those expenses will pay off in the long run.
