Who Actually Runs IT at Your Firm, and What Else Is on Their Plate
One of our clients said “I called CMIT when I was no longer good enough to be the IT guy for the company.” This is what Robert Unger, who runs Berman Bedding, described the day he picked up the phone and called us.
I think about that line often.
Ask any twenty person firm around Newton, Waltham, or anywhere inGreater Boston who handles their IT, and you usually get a name back. Often it belongs to somebody who was hired for a very different job.
The responsibility starts with just one small favor at a time, and then it develops into a full 40 hour/week job.
The job that never got written down
Let’s look at some examples of what that person tends to be responsible for: New hire setup and departures. Password resets. The printer. Deciding whether thesoftware renewal that just landed is worth paying for. Watchingthe backup.Answering the client questionnaire about how the firmhandles data. Getting a laptop working before a filing deadline.
Each piece is small on its own. They arrive in five and ten minute interruptions, usually in the middle of work that has a deadline attached to it. That is what makes the total so easy to miss.
What it adds up to
Most of the cost lands in places that never reach an invoice. Hours a partner spends on a workstation. Software nobody has time to evaluate, so the firm keeps paying for it. An offboarding handled quickly on a busy afternoon.
There is an almost secret side to this situation: The person who holds IT becomes the one who knows how it all fits together. When they are on vacation or out sick, the firm waits. Most leaders I talk with have already noticed this. It has just never been anybody’s job to raise it.
Usually nothing has gone wrong
In almost every conversation I have around here, the systems are working fine. There was no incident. What changed is that somebody sat down and added up the hours, or the firm hired three people, or a client started asking harder questions about data.
That is usually the moment the search starts. Somebody looks at the job, sees how much of it there is now, and decides it has grown into somethingworth handing over.
What changes when somebody else holds it
The first thing that comes back is attention. The operations lead returns to operations. The partner returns to clients. The office manager stops beingthe help desk.
The second is coverage that holds up when one person is unavailable. Wemonitor and support systems around the clock, including nights, weekends, and holidays. And because we are based in Newton and work across Greater Boston, when something needs hands on it, that is a short drive.
The third one matters most and it is the hardest to see from outside. The questions that used to sit at the bottom of somebody’s list now belong to someone. Whichlicenses are in use. Whether the backup restores. What to tell the client who asks how theirinformation is handled.
If this sounds like your firm
You do not need a project or a decision in hand to talk it through. If you can name the person who ended up with IT, you already know most of what I would ask about.
I am glad to walk through what ison their plate and what would come off it. There is no obligation, and if your setup is working I will say so.
Call to action
Have a straightforward conversation with me. Call 617-221-4100 or use thecontact form at cmitsolutions.com/boston-ma-1020.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who usually handles IT at a small business or professional firm?+
In many small firms, IT is handled by an office manager, operations lead, partner, or another employee whose primary role is not technology.
2. Why does IT often become someone’s unofficial responsibility?+
It usually starts with small tasks like password resets, printer issues, or new laptop setup, and gradually grows into a much larger workload.
3. What are common IT tasks employees handle internally?+
Common tasks include new hire setup, employee offboarding, password resets, software renewals, backups, printer problems, laptop issues, and cybersecurity questionnaires.
4. How much time can internal IT responsibilities take?+
Individual tasks may only take a few minutes, but frequent interruptions throughout the week can add up to many hours of lost productivity.
5. What are the hidden costs of having an employee manage IT?+
Hidden costs include lost productivity, delayed client work, unnecessary software expenses, inconsistent security practices, and time spent troubleshooting instead of performing core responsibilities.
6. When should a business consider outsourcing its IT?+
A business should consider outsourcing when IT responsibilities are regularly interrupting employees, becoming more complex, or requiring knowledge beyond what internal staff can comfortably manage.
7. What happens if only one person understands the company’s IT systems?+
The business can become dependent on that individual, creating delays and operational risk when they are sick, on vacation, or leave the company.
8. Can a business need managed IT services even if nothing is currently broken?+
Yes. Many businesses move to managed IT before a major problem occurs because they want better support, planning, security, and reliability.
9. What does a managed IT provider take off an office manager’s plate?+
A managed IT provider can handle technical support, device setup, user accounts, backups, cybersecurity, software management, network monitoring, and IT planning.
10. How can managed IT services improve employee productivity?+
Employees spend less time troubleshooting technology problems and more time focusing on the work they were actually hired to do.
11. What is proactive IT support?+
Proactive IT support involves monitoring and maintaining systems continuously so potential problems can be identified and addressed before they cause major disruptions.
12. Why is employee offboarding an important IT responsibility?+
Proper offboarding ensures former employees lose access to company email, files, applications, and sensitive information as soon as they leave.
13. Who should manage software licenses and renewals?+
Ideally, software licenses should be reviewed by an IT professional who can identify unused accounts, unnecessary subscriptions, and opportunities to reduce costs.
14. Why is backup monitoring important for small businesses?+
Simply having a backup is not enough. Businesses need to make sure backups are completing successfully and that data can actually be restored when needed.
15. How can managed IT help with client security questionnaires?+
A managed IT provider can help document security controls, access management, backups, cybersecurity practices, and other information clients may request.
16. Does outsourcing IT mean losing control of technology decisions?+
No. Business leaders still make the final decisions while the IT provider supplies technical expertise, recommendations, and ongoing support.
17. Can managed IT support businesses outside normal office hours?+
Yes. Many managed IT providers offer monitoring and support outside regular business hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
18. Why does having a local IT provider matter?+
A local provider can offer on-site assistance when a problem cannot be solved remotely, reducing delays when physical support is required.
19. What size business benefits from managed IT services?+
Managed IT can benefit businesses of many sizes, including firms with around 20 employees that may not need or want to hire a full internal IT department.
20. How do I know if our current IT setup is still working for our firm?+
Look at how much employee time IT consumes, whether support depends on one person, how confidently you manage backups and security, and whether technology issues are distracting your team from core business responsibilities.
