Small and medium-sized businesses often have laser-like focus on aggressive growth targets and maximizing customers’ positive experiences with their brand. With these pressures and the push to do more with limited budgets and less staff than their larger competitors, these organizations often have little time left over to focus on the IT services that make their business hum.
From conducting internal monitoring of their networks to establishing defenses against cyberattacks to maintaining and upgrading key applications, small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly looking to managed IT service providers as a way to stay at the cutting edge. By doing so, these businesses can make sure the necessary expertise and resources that their IT infrastructure requires are still prioritized in order to remain competitive and to protect their business’s assets.
So just what can managed IT services do for your growing business? Here are a few of the top benefits your organization can expect to see when deciding to make the move to managed IT.
In a labor market where IT skills are in high demand and positions command high salaries, small and medium-sized businesses can be left wondering how to keep up. Additionally, with the rapid growth of technology, it can be hard for IT staff to stay current and manage a diverse range of systems. The end result is a small in-house staff or a series of consultants who come and go as needs arise.
Instead, by partnering with a managed IT services provider, your organization can take advantage of individuals with a depth and breadth of experience who are ready to assist with hardware, software, and implementation services regardless of the platform. These staff are highly trained and qualified to deliver with industry certifications, often benefiting from vendor partnerships for advanced training.
Your network’s ability to respond to a sudden rise in customer traffic or evolve with new applications is another key benefit of partnering with a managed IT service provider. Events ranging from a surge of website visitors to the implementation of data-driven applications can usually bog down your IT performance, but a managed IT relationship can offer support, expertise, and scalable infrastructure to match your speed of growth without having to lock in long contracts.
Finally, with a team in place to monitor your network 24/7, there will always be skilled staff available to respond to issues, freeing your in-house staff to focus on key business initiatives instead of maintenance or break/fix tasks.
Arguably the most significant asset to any small to medium-sized business is the security of your business assets and your customer’s data. As part of their business model and normal operations, managed IT service providers are capable of providing complete and constant monitoring of your IT network and services running in their cloud environment, proactively addressing risks and patching systems, and helping to implement sound security policies and practices.
Managed IT service providers have multiple redundant systems and controls in place to ensure business continuity and system recovery in the event of a natural disaster or cyberattack, preventing the risk of lost customer or business data. Security and disaster recovery plans can be tailored to your specific business operations and requirements.
Small and medium-sized businesses are constantly watching the flow of every dollar in and out of their accounts, ensuring that their money is well spent. In situations where extra capacity, troubleshooting, or special initiatives that require IT support are suddenly involved, businesses can scale up and buy the help and services they need without investing in on-site capabilities, which can be time-consuming and expensive. Instead, a change in course can be as simple as a conversation with your managed IT services account manager.
Additionally, managed IT services providers are constantly training and evolving to meet various regulations and compliance standards. This is especially important in finance, healthcare, or global businesses, where an understanding of updates, rules, and audits can be a constant strain on IT staff.
The decision to partner with a managed IT services provider can unlock many benefits for any business. However, these benefits are amplified for small and medium-sized businesses that are more sensitive to investment costs, changes in technology, and updates to security and compliance best practices. From saving money to benefiting from a cutting-edge, reliable, and scalable infrastructure, you may quickly find managed IT services are right for your business’s needs.