Are Managed IT Services Worth It?

Managed IT services can provide you with tons of supportive services, including helpdesk services, technology maintenance, proactive monitoring, security, training, and more. The question is, are these managed IT services worth it?

What Do Managed IT Services Include?

Managed IT services in NYC and other areas tend to include the following:

·       Platform and application services. Managed IT service providers can help you find, set up, and manage various platforms and applications that you need to keep your business running.

They can help you identify your core needs, look for available solutions, or even build a unique solution if there are no market solutions available.

·       IT helpdesk services. What happens when one of your employees has a question? What happens when they can’t connect to your network?

IT helpdesk services are ideal for this, providing a level of support to your employees whenever they need it.

·       Tech sourcing and maintenance. IT services can also help you find and maintain the technologies you need to keep your business operational, from the laptops and smartphones owned by your employees to the server hardware providing technology to your customers.

·       Data services. These days, data is precious. Your company probably manages ridiculous volumes of sensitive data, so it’s important that these data remain secure – and accessible to the people who need them. Managed IT services can help you with this.

·       Security and monitoring. Most service providers also provide at least some degree of security and monitoring, helping you establish the security systems and protocols you need to prevent data breaches and actively monitoring for suspicious activity.

If a threat is detected or if an attack is in progress, your service provider can step in to mitigate it.

·       Employee training. In some cases, managed IT service providers also conduct employee training, helping to familiarize your employees with your new platforms and services.

What Are the Benefits of Managed IT Services?

Why would you hire managed IT services?

·       Closing the skills gap. It’s estimated that by 2030, the tech talent shortage will be so severe that it will represent roughly $8.5 trillion in lost revenue.

You’ve probably already experienced this talent shortage in your own organization. It’s hard to find reliable, skilled people who want to stick with your business for the long term. It’s even harder to hire people across your departments who are familiar enough with technology that they can use it seamlessly. Hiring a third party can you help you solve these problems in a few different ways.

For starters, you’ll have access to a skilled, reliable team from day one, so you won’t need to worry about hiring or recruiting. On top of that, these service providers can provide your team with all the knowledge and support they need to be effective in their own roles.

·       Improving consistency and reliability. Overall, hiring a managed IT service provider should improve the consistency and reliability of your business performance. Instead of piecing together a strategy from scratch with your internal team, you’ll have a team of external experts handling your most important technology affairs.

You’ll generally experience less downtime, fewer hiccups, and fewer headaches.

·       Saving money. At this point, you might agree with all the benefits you could receive if you secure managed IT services, but you might still be reluctant to move forward because of the costs associated with hiring these third parties.

They can help your organization in many ways, but they also cost thousands of dollars per month in most cases. Is this truly worth it? Much depends on your ability to find a reliable service provider, but generally, the answer is yes.

IT service providers ultimately save you money by reducing your hiring and labor costs, preventing technological catastrophes, and improving overall productivity and efficiency.

What Are the Alternatives?

It’s also helpful to think about the alternatives in this situation. If you don’t hire a managed IT service provider, your options are hiring an in-house team of your own (which will typically be more expensive and more difficult) or attempting to do everything with the team you already have (which will typically be disorganized and unreliable).

Also, keep in mind that the average cost of a data breach in the United States is now $4.35 million. If you don’t have thorough security and monitoring strategies in place, or if your employees are technologically illiterate, your risk of experiencing a data breach increases many times over.

Compared to the cost of a breach, managed IT services are downright cheap.

There are many variables we didn’t explore in this piece, including the nature of your organization and the scope of the managed IT services you’re hiring. But for the most part, the answer to the central question is yes, managed IT services are worth the money.