Since the onset of the pandemic, many businesses have turned to managed services to help them survive the harsh challenges experienced in the market. However, the transition from full-time physical work to remote working has placed many businesses in a tight spot.
Therefore, managed IT service providers have taken their time to develop viable solutions to make the transition smooth.
Unfortunately, many business owners are still not familiar with managed IT services and how they can assist their companies. If you are looking into managed IT services to take over some or all your IT functions, ensure you read our comprehensive guide below:
What Are Managed IT Services?
When looking to hire the best managed IT services, you need to understand what they are, what they do, and how they operate. Managed services are core business functions handled by a managed service provider on behalf of your company.
Outsourced business functions are often non-income-producing processes in a company that are equally important. Often these processes run in the background. They include IT functions, payroll services, and workforce management.
Managed IT service companies may help a client manage all or a part of their internal IT functions. They will handle these services on behalf of their client and get paid a fee based on their agreement.
What are the Benefits of Managed It Services?
Did you know that your company’s IT infrastructure is the foundation and backbone of your business processes? This means that most of your departments cannot function as efficiently without the help of reliable technology. Some of these include accounting software tools and customer relationship management systems.
Unfortunately, setting up an in-house IT department is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. You will need to employ new employees and purchase new tech tools. These tools also need regular updates to ensure you’re running a newer and better version of the system.
For this reason, many start-ups and medium-sized companies opt for managed IT services instead. Below are seven significant benefits of hiring a managed IT service provider:
You Will Have Control of Your IT Costs
When you hire an MSP, they will charge you a subscription fee based on your initial agreement. This fee becomes more of an operational expense instead of a capital cost.
For this reason, many companies find this beneficial because they will have all the advantages of a well-functioning IT department. However, they will incur a significantly reduced initial investment without any high additional costs in the future.
On the other hand, the amount you pay the MSP will depend on the type and number of services you need. Increased services mean an increased cost. Therefore, ensure you talk with your MSP to understand their charges better.
Lower Labor Expenses
The process of hiring, onboarding, and training an in-house IT department is quite expensive. Additionally, it may not always give you a desirable outcome.
However, suppose you opt for managed IT services. In that case, you will subcontract IT functions from a third-party company with all the necessary expertise and professionals who will give you the best available service.
Outsourcing will save you thousands of dollars on labor expenses. It will also free up the HR department, allowing them to concentrate on other more critical tasks.
It Improves Your IT Security
If you run a company, paying attention to your cybersecurity and network management will be the key to succeeding. According to a report, small businesses lose an average of $200,000 every year resolving malware attacks and hacking incidents. Company networks are continuously exposed to innovative and new forms of attacks.
Unfortunately, if you don’t have any security systems to handle the new threats, you will be at a disadvantage. The best way to reduce penetrations and hacking is through a managed IT service provider. Below are ways the MSP will protect your company against cyber threats:
- Protects your network against viruses and malware
- Easy identification and resolution of system misconfiguration issues
- Protecting the organization’s essential information by preventing it from getting into the hackers’ hands
- Putting in place up-to-date protective firewalls to avoid any external penetrations from cybercriminals
- Eliminating any security gaps in the systems to lower the risk of hacking
The MSP you hire will ensure that all the above security measures are taken. They do this by monitoring your system 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They implement alarm monitoring and installation of cybersecurity solutions such as IDS- Intrusion Detection Systems, robust antivirus software, and IPS- Intrusion Prevention Systems to keep an eye on your network.
The online security of your company and your employees’ when surfing the internet should be your number one priority. Fortunately, the MSP will give you solutions to ensure the complete fortification of all your software tools and entire network at an affordable price.
This protection includes monitoring and pinpointing mutating viruses and malware. It also includes monitoring for online-based cyber-attacks, suspicious file behavior, and unpatched vulnerabilities.
You Will Have Access To Highly Experienced and Trained IT Professionals
If your company lacks the right personnel to manage and handle your IT functions, outsourcing IT is the best option. Outsourcing means that you will no longer have to worry about managing your own IT department and the cost of operations.
Additionally, managed IT providers often have a team of highly experienced and certified IT professionals in different fields to handle all your needs. You will have access to this team that will handle all your business’s IT operations efficiently and effectively.
They Are Quick To Implement Any New Tech
Updating and purchasing new technology is a costly and time-consuming endeavor. You will need high initial investment to purchase tech equipment and update software tools. Additionally, you will also need to find the right talent, train them and offer the resources and support they need to run an updated IT department.
To avoid this time-consuming task that’s also a strain on your company’s resources, it’s advisable to hire a reputable MSP. Outsourcing will save you and your employees money and time.
That’s because the MSP is responsible for implementing new technology and ensuring that you get the best possible service. Therefore, you will not need to spend time and money training employees and purchasing new technology.
It Helps You Focus More on Your Other Essential Core Business Functions
This is one of the most significant benefits of outsourced IT; the ability and freedom to focus on other essential business functions. Running an in-house information technology department requires you to pay attention to all their processes for informed decision-making.
However, hiring a managed IT provider helps you avoid these complex decisions, which can be quite distracting. This keeps your mind fresh and focused on other core business functions.
If you are considering hiring the best managed IT service provider, ensure you check out Be Structured Technology Group for all your IT service needs. You will get an opportunity to work with Chad Becker who is an IT problem solver and is dedicated to working side by side with clients to meet their business goals
Access To Cloud Computing Proficiency
In the past decade, many companies have shifted from traditional to cloud computing. The shift was also accelerated due to the onset of the COVID Pandemic.
While this shift has been a consistent trend, many businesses are still struggling with implementing cloud initiatives in-house. Other companies often launch their cloud-based projects but don’t know how to 100% utilize its benefits.
One of the primary reasons why businesses struggle to migrate to cloud-based initiatives is a lack of know-how. The good news is that an MSP will have a group of experts in cloud computing which will help you through the whole process of launching your cloud-based initiatives.
They will help you through the entire migration process. They will also help you select the best cloud services that will maximize your return on investment (ROI).
These experts will also help you create a strategy for your new Cloud-based services and align it with your business’s bottom line. They will also analyze your processes and pinpoint any cultural, operational, and technical difficulties you may encounter, and find ways to mitigate them.
Qualities To Look for When Hiring an MSP
Any service provider that comes on board to help you with any business functions must impact your company positively. This should be a key factor when vetting different managed IT service providers in your market. Not only do you want to hire a service provider that will solve your IT problems, but you will also need them to be professional too.
Below are five qualities you should consider when hiring a managed service provider:
- Ensure they have a highly experienced and qualified workforce
- They have the right communication skills when conversing with their clients
- The company has a higher customer satisfaction rate
- They pursue innovation and will always use up-to-date tech tools to handle your company’s IT needs
- They fit into your company’s plans for future expansion or growth
The MSP’s primary responsibility is to keep your networks and systems up and running. However, their team should also be able to use the latest technology to do so. Ensure you also go through the MSP’s online reviews and client testimonials to gauge whether it’s a good fit.
Hire Managed IT Services Today
There are numerous complexities associated with running an in-house IT department. However, hiring managed IT services will relieve you of this burden. This allows you to focus on other essential core business functions.
That’s because you will be working with a dedicated team of highly experienced and well-trained IT professionals who will handle all the intricate details of running your IT infrastructure. Some core services of MSPs include checking your network for vulnerabilities and watching out for any cyber threats.
Did you find this article informative? Check out other articles on our website for more enlightening business tips.
