You know what football coaches hate?
A player who gives up.
Fourth down. The offense needs 8 yards. The game is on the line.
And instead of trying to make a play, someone says:
“Eh… let’s just punt.”
Unfortunately, some IT companies have adopted the same strategy.
Your printer isn’t working?
Punt.
Microsoft 365 isn’t syncing?
Punt.
Your employee can’t access an important application?
Punt.
Your Wi-Fi keeps dropping?
“That’s probably your internet provider.”
PUNT.
Eventually, you start wondering if you’re paying an IT company or a professional punting organization.
The IT Punt
In football, punting isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it’s the smart move.
In IT, however, constantly passing problems along the field isn’t exactly a strategy.
You call your IT provider because something isn’t working. Instead of taking ownership of the problem, you get:
“That’s not really our area.”
Or:
“You should probably contact Microsoft.”
Or everyone’s favorite:
“You’ll need to call your internet provider.”
So now you’re calling three different companies trying to figure out who actually owns the problem.
Meanwhile, your employee is sitting at their desk staring at a computer that still doesn’t work.
That’s not IT support.
That’s IT hot potato.
Who Has the Ball?
One of the biggest problems with poorly managed IT is unclear responsibility.
Your business depends on dozens of interconnected systems.
Computers.
Internet.
Wi-Fi.
Microsoft 365.
Email.
Cloud applications.
Firewalls.
Servers.
Printers.
Cybersecurity.
Backups.
When something goes wrong, these systems don’t always fail independently.
A Microsoft 365 problem could look like a computer problem.
A network problem could look like an application problem.
A DNS issue could make a perfectly healthy website appear to be broken.
That’s why you need an IT provider willing to investigate the entire situation instead of immediately handing you the ball and telling you to run downfield.
“That’s Not Our Problem”
This is one of the most frustrating things a business owner can hear from an IT provider.
You don’t necessarily expect your IT company to control every piece of technology your business uses.
But you do expect them to help figure out what’s happening.
If the problem ultimately belongs to your internet provider, that’s fine.
Your IT provider should be able to identify that, explain what’s happening, and help coordinate the solution.
Instead of:
“Call Comcast.”
You should hear:
“We’ve isolated the problem to your internet connection. We’ll work with Comcast to get it resolved.”
That’s a completely different experience.
One is punting.
The other is taking ownership.
Good IT Support Doesn’t Mean Fixing Everything Yourself
Here’s the important distinction.
A good MSP isn’t necessarily going to personally fix every problem.
Sometimes Microsoft has to fix Microsoft’s problem.
Sometimes your ISP has to fix the circuit.
Sometimes a software vendor has to fix its application.
That’s normal.
The difference is what happens next.
A proactive MSP helps determine:
- What is actually causing the problem?
- Who is responsible for fixing it?
- What information does that provider need?
- What can be done to minimize the business impact?
- How do we prevent the same problem from happening again?
That’s what you’re paying for.
You’re paying for expertise and ownership, not just someone who knows how to reboot a computer.
Don’t Build Your IT Strategy Around Punts
Imagine a football team whose entire offensive strategy was:
Run three plays.
Punt.
Run three plays.
Punt.
Repeat.
They probably wouldn’t score many points.
Yet that’s effectively how some businesses operate their IT.
Something breaks.
Call IT.
IT fixes it.
Something else breaks.
Call IT.
Repeat.
There’s no strategic planning.
No proactive maintenance.
No monitoring.
No meaningful cybersecurity strategy.
No technology roadmap.
Just one long series of punts.
And eventually, the business gets tired of playing defense.
Data Troop Doesn’t Believe in Punting Problems
At Data Troop, we believe your IT provider should be part of your team—not another obstacle standing between you and a solution.
Our approach is focused on proactive managed IT services designed to keep your technology running reliably, identify problems before they become major disruptions, and help protect your business from cybersecurity threats.
When something goes wrong, our goal isn’t to figure out whose fault it is.
It’s to figure out what’s wrong and what we’re going to do about it.
Because your employees don’t care which vendor caused the problem.
They just need to get back to work.
And your customers certainly don’t care.
You Don’t Need Another Punter
Your business doesn’t need an IT company that’s constantly looking for someone else to throw the ball to.
You need an IT partner that takes responsibility, communicates clearly, solves problems, and helps you stay ahead of technology issues.
Don’t settle for an IT provider whose favorite play is “punt.”
If you’re ready for IT support that’s more proactive, responsive, and focused on your business, Data Troop can help.
Contact Data Troop today to find out how our managed IT services can help keep your business moving forward—without constantly punting your IT problems down the field.