Now with this problems thought about, think about the companies that you would call if there were a problem with any of them. Were you able to come up with a different company for each problem? Were you even able think of a company for each problem?

There is one issue that many companies seem to get involved in and they do not even realize, to many vendors involved with the major system of a company. This can be a blessing or a nightmare.

The Blessing
With many companies involved in the systems each one can bring very innovative ideas and also bring a variety of solutions to your environment. With cooperation between vendors you can have a highly integrated system that has great potential.

The Nightmare
Many of you can see the nightmare or have experienced it. Having too many vendors involved you end up having to spend time deciding which vendor is responsible for a problem. The finger pointing can get extremely heated and in the end it really only cost the customer more and more money, time and energy.

For a company that does not have an onsite IT department you should try to consolidate as much as possible. It will make diagnosing the issues and any concerns faster and more efficient. It also cuts down on the actual down time that is seen when people are left trying to figure out what vendor is responsible, and then finding out that they called the wrong vendor in the end.

Even though it is nice to have one company doing everything, you should also always have a backup plan. Meaning vendors that will be able to service your company's problems in the event that something happens to the lead contact company. Even the most highly staffed support vendors run into the problems when the volume is very high, or the expertise in solving the problem is great. No matter the company, there will be a time frame that they may be stretched to a point that it may be better to go to the backup vendor.