Atlanta Technology Companies Skillsets: Questions and Answers

Atlanta Technology Companies Skillsets

When the job calls for a skilled worker, only someone with those skills will do. While the layman might think there’s an overlap between, say, an architect and an engineer, the fact is that you can’t generalize in this type of work. Shouldn’t the same logic apply to the IT company in Atlanta you choose? A general IT company won’t do.

Does Your IT Company In Atlanta Have You Covered?

There are a lot of IT companies in Atlanta – how can you tell which one you should work with? What sets one apart from another? Rates? Products? Or skillsets?

Every trade has its role.

Glaziers cut and install the glass, electricians handle the wiring and electrical components, concrete finishers lay the concrete, etc. You wouldn’t expect one to fulfill the role of another, right?

This kind of strategy shouldn’t end with your network of tradesmen either; you should apply it to everything you do, and to the IT company in Atlanta that you work with.

Just as you wouldn’t expect an ironworker to operate a crane, you shouldn’t expect anyone other than the industry-recognized expert to handle your firm’s IT.

Unfortunately, that seems to be where the industry is headed…

The Dark Future Of IT Companies In Atlanta?

The bad news is that there is a major lack of skilled cybersecurity – and general IT — professionals in the IT field.

When it comes to Atlanta technology companies, and those elsewhere in the US and around the world, there seem to be fewer and fewer skilled professionals.

According to Gartner:

“The shortage of skilled security professionals has been a perennial problem that consistently results in failed security technology deployments. The number of unfilled cybersecurity roles is expected to grow from 1 million in 2018 to 1.5 million by the end of 2020.”

Furthermore, recent polling performed on behalf of Tripwire found even more troubling evidence:

• 93% of polled IT security professionals say the skills required to be a great security professional have changed over the past few years, which is making it harder to find properly skilled cybersecurity professionals.
• 85% report their security teams are already understaffed, and only 1% believe they can manage all of their organization’s cybersecurity needs when facing a shortage of skilled workers.
• 96% say they are either currently facing difficulty in staffing security teams due to the skills gap or can see it coming.

“The skills gap issue continues to worsen,” said David Meltzer, chief technology officer at Tripwire, “which is troubling, since cybersecurity threats only continue to grow. Additionally, security teams are in search of new skillsets to deal with evolving attacks and more complex attack surfaces as they include a mix of physical, virtual, cloud, DevOps and operational technology environments. It’s becoming more difficult to maintain critical security controls, and there are fewer people available to do it.”

Why Is It Important To Work With A Skilled IT Company In Atlanta?

Put simply? Experience and skill can’t be bought or faked. The only way to get it is to put in the work and take the time.

1. IT Is About People – Not Technology.
   While technology is certainly our stock and trade, we’ve been around long enough to learn that at its core (and like nearly any industry), the quality of our offering comes down to our customer service.Want to know a secret?Delivering IT solutions isn’t rocket science. Sure, it takes knowledge and a skillset, perhaps gained via a certification, technical college course, or computer programming degree – but all of this is to say it’s only one part of the process.

   Beyond making sure servers are configured right and Wi-Fi signals are strong, an Atlanta technology company should know how important it is to pay attention to the people using that technology. That’s the foundation of effective IT support.

2. Business Experience Is Invaluable.
   As vital as knowledge of IT is to the services we deliver, business acumen is just as important.Understanding, from firsthand experience, what your needs are, and the challenges it puts up with every day, will allow the IT companies in Atlanta that you work with to better match the right solutions to your obstacles.
3. Experience Helps You Tell What’s A Trend And What’s A Gimmick.
   Above we talked about how it’s important for an IT services company to capitalize on trends for their clients’ benefits. Frankly, that’s an oversimplification.The truth is that the IT industry is rife with new developments, each of which could be a real, beneficial trend to invest in – but it’s more likely to be a gimmick that won’t achieve much in the end.Telling the difference can be difficult, but it gets easier with time. The right IT company in Atlanta will have seen countless IT fads come and go. Not everything is the “next cloud” – those with the right history and skills will know the difference.

What 3 Questions Should You Be Asking Atlanta Technology Companies?

1. Are They Experienced With The Technologies You Use?
   You need to discuss the technologies you use every day, and ensure the IT services company knows how to support them.The key is in finding the IT support provider that can offer industry-specific expertise and unique service that can’t be found anywhere else.That means finding a support provider that offers services specifically designed to work with the software and file types that your staff uses every day, such as…
   • Microsoft: Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Remote Desktop Hyper-V, and Print queue management and troubleshooting, Office 365 and Azure management and troubleshooting.
   • VMWare: vSphere server virtualization software, Horizon virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), virtual networking.
     
2. Can They Help You Improve With New Technologies?
   In addition to understanding the technology you use, they should also understand and actively apply the potential of new technologies – such as the cloud – to help you improve the way you work.You don’t want to miss out on the latest and greatest in IT innovations.The right Atlanta technology company will be able to give you the advantages that come with the most recent applications of the solutions you already rely on. Specific applications and services, when properly implemented and supported, will allow you to do what you need to in a more productive and efficient manner.
3. Will They Keep You Secure?
   An important part of any IT service is proper digital security. To make sure you are safe from cybercriminals, IT companies in Atlanta should offer a comprehensive cybersecurity skillset in…
   • SonicWall Firewalls: Creating zones on the firewalls, configuring virtual interfaces, creating host address and service objects, deploying NAT policies, and configuring access rules.
   • Basic Threat Protection: Gateway Anti-Virus, Intrusion Prevention Service, and Anti-Spyware
   • Advanced Threat Protection: Capture ATP, and GEO IP and Botnet filtering with Unified Threat Management (UTM), Single Sign-On, VPN, SSL VPN, and Content Filtering Service.

The fact is that there’s a huge difference between the unskilled, one-size-fits-all IT companies in Atlanta, and the ones that really understand the technologies you rely on, and the way you use them.

Be sure to only invest in one with the skills to help you.

Like this article? Check out the following blogs to learn more about selecting an IT company in Atlanta:

Information Technology Companies In Atlanta: Choosing The Right One