Managed IT – the right choice for small businesses
Technology has progressed to the point where it’s hard to stay competitive if you don’t use industry standards in your various business operations. For small businesses, this typically presents numerous challenges when it comes to managing their IT needs because they often have limited staff and financial resources.
Many small- and medium-sized businesses find Managed IT to be a feasible solution, as it provides them with the robust technologies they need at a price they can afford. Often the cost savings are significant, and it frees up their resources to dedicate to other areas of the business.
What is Managed IT?
Managed IT is an option many companies are now turning to as an alternative to an in-house IT team. It entails outsourcing some or all of their IT functions to a third-party. This partnering company is referred to as a Managed Services Provider or MSP, and its role is to monitor all aspects of your company’s IT functions.
MSPs can fit in your small business’ plan in a variety of ways to help strengthen your existing IT team. For instance, today’s businesses are faced with the risk of becoming victims of cybercrimes or data breaches. They also have to adhere to industry and regulatory compliance requirements. An MSP can help fill in any gaps for these needs or in any other IT area that could be bolstered. Below are just some of the ways an MSP can help your business:
- Managing IT infrastructure
- Providing tech support to customers or staff
- Managing software inventories
- Performing security patches and updates
- Handling IT maintenance and monitoring
- And much more!
Outsourcing these and other types of functions are especially useful for smaller businesses that don’t have the level of staff needed to keep up with these essential tasks. Many of them cannot afford to hire a full-time team or don’t have the resources to enable them to stay updated with the latest technology upgrades to help keep them both competitive and secure.
What are The Benefits of Managed IT
Working with an MSP offers many benefits. The great thing about working with an MSP is you can create a customized solution and, if you don’t have an IT team, an MSP can effectively fill this role for you. Any functions performed are outlined in a mutual agreement signed by both parties. You’ll have a full IT team at your disposal for a fraction of the cost it would cost to you recruit, onboard, hire, and retain technical employees. Your partner can help you:
- Minimize downtime and prevent outages from occurring.
- Handle all backups of data to ensure this valuable asset isn’t lost or destroyed.
- Meet IT requests in a timely fashion to keep the workflow moving.
- Reduce infrastructure costs, which can put a drain on your IT budget.
- Provide a full level of security to ensure your IT equipment and data integrity remain intact.
- Offer access to the newest technologies that might not otherwise be affordable.
- Give access to excellent cloud solutions at a minimal cost.
- Provide remote services, freeing up your physical workspace to use for other purposes.
- Free staff from the burdens associated with basic and/or complex IT tasks.
- Eliminate the need to pay for your staff to receive up-to-date credentials or training.
- Manage the details associated with a disaster recovery plan.
As you can see, aside from being cost-effective, utilizing Managed IT services can enable your company to flourish from an operational standpoint. You don’t have to overburden staff to perform tasks outside of their normal range of responsibilities, and you don’t have to hire dedicated staff to manage your IT needs.
Should Your Business Make the Switch?
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to Managed IT; any business considering this option should carefully consider their needs. This includes evaluating their technology requirements, financial resources, along with the personnel they currently have to manage the technical aspects of a business. For example, if your designated staff members assigned to handle IT tasks have to run to read a manual to learn how to fix the problem for every issue that arises, they might not be the best person to handle it. This is also a pretty good indicator that an MSP would be a good investment for your business to operate efficiently.
Managed IT is an optimal solution for companies that may have limits with their budgets or are lacking IT expertise within their organization. Not to mention, buying new equipment is expensive, yet upgrades and repairs are an ongoing project to ensure networks, hardware, and software are up-to-date and secure. With an expert provider, you can rest assured you’ll have no more headaches associated with breakdowns, replacements, and costly routine maintenance. Instead of draining financial resources with repairs, upgrades, and other IT expenses, they can take care of these tasks for one affordable monthly fee. Ultimately, this results in an ability to dedicate more resources and time to focus on your company’s core competencies. In the long run, this can help you to boost your revenue and drive overall growth.
MSP companies typically structure payments, so you pay for what you use, effectively eliminating paying for things you don’t. A monthly payment makes budgeting easier, along with an ability to reallocate your financial resources to where you need them most.
Small businesses often find they receive a great ROI when they invest in Managed IT services. If you’d like to learn more about implementing Managed IT in your Minneapolis business, contact Definitive Technology Solutions, Inc. today.