Technology and IT services have changed from the break-it-fix-it cycle of the 1990s. There are so many new factors for small and medium businesses in their IT landscapes, among them:
- Software is largely stored in the cloud today and updated in subscription-based models.
- Internal IT teams are saddled with learning new types of maintenance and system solutions every day.
- Many companies risk getting bogged down with too much technology with overlapping functionality, but no one on staff knows how to advocate for the right jigsaw puzzle of solutions.
- Few companies can keep up with the rate of technology innovation (either as a customer shopping options or as a user trying to learn them all).
What are Managed Services?
The term “managed services” in relation to IT refers to outsourcing technology-related business administration to a third party.
Depending on just how proactive the IT service provider is, managed services might include:
- Infrastructure management
- Cloud storage
- Server maintenance
- Systems administration
- Data backup and disaster recovery
- Network monitoring and security
- Authentication
There are 4 key benefits to partnering with a proactive IT service provider to manage your network.
The first benefit, alone, is enough to get anyone’s attention.
1: More cost-effective
It’s more cost-effective to hire an IT provider for the managed services you need than to hire permanent staff.
For small and medium-sized businesses, especially those who want to grow with smooth and scalable technology, you remove friction by partnering with a managed services provider. (Whereas, if you add more staff, you add friction.)
2: Grants access to the best tech knowledge
When you work with a proactive managed services provider, you get access to the deepest and most cutting-edge technology knowledge. Small and medium-sized businesses can’t otherwise keep up with all the latest and greatest in technology.
3: Maximizes your team’s uptime
Managed services are also proactive because they prepare your IT infrastructure for disasters and protect it from unnecessary risks. Threats like malware and ransomware are far less likely when a whole team of professionals applies the tightest security protocol to your network.
Outside of the downtime avoided from malicious attacks, your team also enjoys greater uptime thanks to an IT service provider’s available expertise. When you have standard technical issues that can derail an in-house IT team for half a day per user, counting on a managed service provider will give you faster resolution with a team of professionals available to help multiple users at once.
4: Customizes solutions for your business
Managed IT service providers are also extraordinarily savvy in analyzing your business objectives and applying technology in whatever way that helps get your business where you want to go.
What are your business targets?
What is your technology doing now to support those targets?
What could your technology be doing?
Get these answers and all these other benefits by working with a proactive managed services provider.
Keep reading to learn how to know when your business is ready to outsource IT.