Technology systems do not manage themselves: talented people with deep skills are required in multiple technology disciplines to manage our technology platform. The Tech Office is here to keep your operations running smoothly. Here are some key areas where we can help:
- Budgeting — reviewing your annual technology budget to ensure that it is spent efficiently and well-prioritized
- Staffing — finding the right mix of staff and vendor support, and choosing the right vendors
- Contracts — reviewing the contracts that establish your vendor relationships
- Incident Management — preparing for an outage, and responding when something goes wrong
You should review your technology budget with the Tech Office every year in the Spring. We can help you identify potential savings and opportunities to improve your quality of service. We are always looking for ways to leverage savings across our parishes and schools.
The Tech Office has relationships with every major technology vendor working in the deanery. We oversee their performance, and can direct you to those that deliver consistently. We have a network of staff and volunteer technology resources that can consult on every aspect of your operations. We can negotiate contracts for you, or review existing contracts to ensure maximum value.
We advise against outsourcing all of your technology support to vendors. Our technology platform is a strategic asset, meaning our school and parish operations come to a standstill if certain elements fail. We need people on staff that understand our technology systems and processes in detail, and can fix them if something goes wrong. The Tech Office’s long-term plan includes centralized support staff that can fill this role on a shared-cost basis. Vendors will always be needed to provide deep skill sets, but we need staff positions with ownership of our strategic technology assets.