The world of technology and business has changed drastically over the past two decades. Where once it was unthinkable for a small business to hire outside their four walls for fully managed IT support, now it’s commonplace. These days, most companies simply cannot afford not to consult or work with an IT services company that provides managed IT services.
Whether your business is big or small, there’s no debate that working with an IT services company will put you leaps and bounds ahead of your competition if you aren’t already there. The technology landscape changes on the daily, and without being up to date on the latest technology and security you’ll find yourself lagging behind your peers.
While some business owners are tempted to try and manage their own IT services from within the organization, the simple truth is that the average person doesn’t come close to having the skills or knowledge necessary to thrive and survive when it comes to managed IT services.
What is Fully Managed IT Support?
Professional IT Service companies provide fully managed IT support to their clients. Businesses will always have the option of hiring a full-time, in house staff to handle their managed IT services, but find themselves paying a small fortune to keep up with it. This is particularly true for small business, as these organizations often do not have the financial security or surplus that comes with a large corporation.
Fully managed IT support takes the guesswork and unnecessary spending away from inside the organization and instead leaves it to the professionals outside of the company. These IT experts allow the day-to-day business to run freely, without having to worry about the mundane and often complicated tasks required by IT – and often do so at a fraction of the cost when compared to their in-house counterparts.
Benefits of Professional IT Services
Hiring an IT services company means that an organization will no longer have to concern themselves with technical jargon and an unknown landscape. Fully managed IT support from these companies come with a host of benefits to the business.
Cost Effectiveness
First and foremost, it’s often more cost effective to hire outside of the organization for managed IT services than it is to hire a staff inside the company. In business, the bottom line is the most important factor when making decisions, so it’s crucial to be able to cut costs when you can. The beauty of an IT services company is that they’ll tailor their approach based on the client. A small business may not need all of the high tech (and high cost) options that a large corporation may require, so instead, they can opt for a smaller, more cost-effective package.
Efficiency
When it comes to business, efficiency is the name of the game, and often goes hand in hand with cost-effectiveness.
It’s hard for a company to be efficient when it comes to company-specific goals when they need to worry about IT support within the organization. Sales staff should not be worrying about how to fix their email server, and your marketing team should never have to worry about their next big idea being stolen by the competition. Managed IT services provided by an IT services company allow each team member to play their specific role, without being bogged down by unnecessary technical work.
Industry Expertise
Let’s face it: as knowledgeable and talented as your in-house IT support may be, they probably can’t compete with the skill set of an IT services company.
This starts at the ground level. Because professional IT companies have the budget to hire industry experts, that means only the best will be solving your technical problems. This is an enormous advantage to businesses that decide to enlist fully managed IT support. This also allows for a wealth of different professionals from differing backgrounds to be at your disposal. You’ll have some experts in networking, management, and security just to name a few.
Because these professionals are able to focus on their specific area of expertise, and not the overseeing of multiple different elements of IT support, you’ll be getting the absolute best at their respective positions.
Risk Management
Cybersecurity and cybercrime is a major issue facing businesses these days. Hackers are craftier than ever and develop new ways to breach major data servers daily. You need to look only at the episodes surrounding Sony and Experian for evidence of this – even the big guys aren’t immune to threats.
Fully managed IT support can not only prevent against many attacks but also educate and provide an appropriate response to breaches when they inevitably happen. Preventive measures such as firewalls, antivirus, anti-malware, and high-level encryption are just a few of the steps an IT services company will take to make sure your information, and the information of your customers, stay safe and secure.