6 Reasons You Should Consider Managed IT Services
An increasing number of large and small businesses are turning to managed IT services to increase productivity and reduce costs. That's the conclusion of CompTIA's Fifth Annual Trends in Managed Services study, in which more than 3 in 10 managed services providers (MSPs) indicated managed IT services was second only to IT solutions (like incorporating hardware) in popularity among their clients.
Businesses turn to managed IT services for a variety of reasons. Some are concerned about losing (and replacing) key IT staff who are frustrated with an increasingly larger workload. Some worry that they're not prepared to assess new technologies or prevent a disaster because they lack a comprehensive IT strategy—and others are tired of juggling multiple vendors and expensive consultants which make it difficult to predict monthly costs.
The Pace of Technological Change Is Accelerating
Although new technologies (such as applications and cloud-based services) represent a substantial opportunity for companies to grow and compete, they also present significant challenges. When businesses don't have the in-house talent to implement new technologies, they're forced to hire and train new employees, often at a significant cost, for example. There's also the cost of the infrastructure necessary to support emerging technologies and to keep them secure.
Transitioning to a managed IT services solution helps businesses meet these and related challenges—one of the reasons so many companies are opting to partner with an experienced MSP to handle their IT needs in a more strategic and holistic fashion. In 2014, for example, less than 30 percent of businesses used managed services. By the end of 2015, that number had nearly doubled.
That said, hare 6 reasons you should consider managed IT services for your business:
Your in-house staff will have more time to focus on core objectives: whether an issue is critical to your business or relatively unimportant, your IT staff still needs to deal with it. That means many of your IT workers are wasting their time managing time-consuming back-end functions. By outsourcing these operations to a managed service provider, you can free up your IT staff to work on those issues which are most critical to your company's success.
You'll reduce the pressure to continually meet the demand for IT expertise: especially in rapidly-changing areas like cybersecurity and app development, businesses are forever on the lookout for new IT staff who have the skills and knowledge base to provide the expertise they need. Outsourcing these functions to a third-party with technically-proficient engineers relieves this pressure.
Your business will be more agile: businesses change over time, finding it necessary to scale up or down as conditions warrant. The need to deploy massive systems as their companies grow, for example, can mean months (or even years) of work for your IT team. Providers of managed IT services are able to efficiently meet the changing needs of your business and avoid costly disruptions in service.
You'll have around-the-clock support: problems with IT aren't limited to your company's business hours—they can occur at any time of the day or night, 7 days a week. A provider of managed IT services will be there for you, 24/7, giving you the expert support you need to resolve problems quickly and efficiently.
Your business will be compliant: many businesses are challenged by the need to comply with a variety of government regulations, from Sarbanes-Oxley to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Ensuring compliance requires a substantial time commitment from in-house staff. Outsourcing IT operations removes this burden and provides the reassurance that your business will be fully compliant.
You'll reduce costs and bring greater predictability to budgeting: every investment you make in IT is associated with peripheral costs, like those for infrastructure, storage, security, and talent acquisition. The unanticipated costs associated with managing IT in-house make effective budgeting difficult. Working with a provider of managed IT services, you'll be able to break down costs into fixed monthly payments. You'll also reduce costs: managed services cut IT costs on average by 40 percent while doubling operational efficiency.
Conclusion
Many businesses have resisted turning to a managed IT services provider because they think they'll lose control of their IT operations or that the cost is prohibitive. In fact, the opposite is true. Managed IT services put you in the driver's seat, making it easier to do long-term planning, reduce costs and enhance productivity.
To learn more about the ways our managed IT services will help you increase productivity, reduce costs and grow your company, contact us today.