Across many years and industries, businesses have been advertising their ‘solutions’ as ways to support and assist their clients. The Cambridge Dictionary describes a solution as ‘an answer to a problem’, and of course, many who use the word ‘solution’ in their business practices are indeed providing an answer to a problem. However, the word has become something of a cliche in recent years—used as an empty promise by businesses from a variety of sectors. When it comes to the technology sector, the origins of the term ‘IT solutions’ mean something much more specific.
‘IT Solutions’ can often be used as a catch-all phrase by businesses that use information technology to solve business problems. By this standard, and with our reliance on technology increasing more and more every year, the phrase ‘IT Solutions’ casts an extremely wide net when it comes to pinning down the tasks involved. For example, an ‘IT solution’ could mean anything, from fixing a phone system to the management of information and data (e.g. infrastructure and cloud solutions).
Another answer to the question, ‘what does IT solutions actually mean?’ is that an IT solution refers to a package of related software as a service programs (SaaS) that businesses sell as a single bundle to their clients. An example of this might be antivirus software sold alongside a spam filter or backup service. Rather than a single service being sold, an aggregation of related products is being supplied. At the end of the day, when it comes to describing a software package or suite as an IT Solution, it must help the customer solve a complicated IT problem or situation.
The ‘IT Solutions’ provided by iomart are packaged up as a bundle or suite, in the same way. However, the difference is that iomart’s services are not exclusively software-based. As well as providing software-based packages in areas like Data Protection and general security—we also provide physical products like Managed Infrastructure which requires physical data centres and apparatus.
So, where does this leave us in terms of defining ‘IT solutions’?
By our standards, an ‘IT solution’ is a bundle of services—whether they are software-based, or physical—that solve the information technology-based problems our customers face. When we refer to an “IT solution”, or any solution for that matter, we’re talking about a bundle or package of products and services which work together to both solve problems and also support our clients’ organisations. Outside of the IT industry, a solution may well mean simply, an answer to a problem (or something you put your contact lenses in!). But, it’s important to make the distinction between this and the solutions offered by information technology companies such as iomart.
If you’d like to learn more about the types of service, and levels of service that iomart offers, get in touch to speak with one of our cloud specialists. We’ll ensure you have a thorough understanding of the undertaking that is moving to the cloud, as well as the advantages it will bring.