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If one thing has become clear in the past few weeks, it’s that technology is the number one force keeping your business competitive. Video meetings, Virtual Private Networking and cloud applications are now essential for keeping remote workers productive and your business online.
Businesses that hope to thrive are in a constant race to evolve and adopt to the tech-driven world we live in. But how can small or medium-sized businesses afford to stay ahead of this relentless technology curve? The short answer is outsourced, or Managed IT.
If you’ve ever considered outsourcing your company’s IT, you might think that it is too expensive to hire an outside company to manage your IT. But in our experience, most companies can’t afford not to outsource technology support. It might seem counter-intuitive but hiring a Managed IT provider is often the most economical solution.
These are some of the common arguments we hear from companies that are reluctant to adopt Managed IT:
We can manage with our in-house talent. No one knows our systems better than we do.
True. No one knows your systems better than your IT staff, but what happens when the point person takes a vacation or leaves the company? If you rely on your in-house IT staff to tackle network issues, the person who is the second best at networking tasks may be asked to step in — and your business will suffer from decreased productivity and lost opportunities as a result.
A managed service provider will have any number of highly skilled employees working on every client’s account. If your network crashes and one of your MSP techs is out of the office, one of his/her expertly trained colleagues will step in and solve the problem.
We already have in-house IT people. What would happen to their jobs?
In most cases, companies that adopt Managed IT wind up with happier and more fulfilled in-house staff. By taking responsibility for tedious (but necessary) tasks like network monitoring off your IT team’s plate, your people will be able to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Trust me, your IT team doesn’t enjoy patching servers or upgrading software; they want to be doing programming or strategic work. Given the chance to shine, your IT will not only have plenty of work to do but will have more responsibility and opportunity than before.
Can we trust a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to look out for our best interests?
When working with a reputable Managed IT provider, the outsourced provider must live up to standards agreed upon at the start of a contract. The Managed IT provider should provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA) and, depending on the SLA, provides round-the-clock monitoring, issue resolution and reporting that will ensure your systems are functioning at the highest levels.
Is their security strong? What if we’re opening ourselves up to more security risks?
The cybersecurity threat landscape is evolving; the bad guys are getting better at what they do, and they are finding increasingly more creative ways to steal valuable data from businesses. According to one estimate, the average cost of a data breach is now well over $4 million.
Outside of the Fortune 500, it is almost impossible for an in-house IT department to stay ahead of emerging threats. It’s simply not possible to make one impenetrable defensive barrier, but it is possible to build multiple lines of defense that will frustrate and repulse hackers — or at least deter them enough so they’ll look for a softer target elsewhere. For that kind of defensive perimeter, most companies need the resources and experience of a Managed IT service.
We understand that entrusting your essential technology infrastructure to an outsourced provider can seem daunting. Partnering with an IT provider can save you money, enhance your existing IT team, and take the pressure of IT management away so you can focus on driving the business. Contact us today to receive a free customized assessment that will show you why Managed IT makes sense for your business.
