Did you recently start outsourcing your IT department to a trusted managed IT services company? Maybe managed IT has been on your mind, but you aren’t quite ready to make the switch.
Outsourcing your company’s IT needs is a big move that takes careful consideration and planning. Becoming educated and more familiar with managed IT services significantly benefits your business in more ways than one.
Top 5 Things You Should Know About Managed IT Services
1. Saves Employee Time
2. Saves Business Money
3. Remote Monitoring For a Safer Network
4. Subject Matter Experts and Updated Technology
5. Customized Services
One of the great things about managed IT services is how versatile they are for almost every company out there. Company size, industry type, or location of your office(s), managed IT services are made for your individualized business plans.
Let’s say you're a small business owner, only interested in the safety and security of your business’ files and data.
A managed IT services provider can quote you on the safety measures they feel your business will benefit from the most. You have the power and control to mold your managed IT services to your specific business technology needs.
Alternatively, maybe your business has multiple locations across the country, employing over 500 employees, including an IT department you aren’t interested in eliminating.
Your company could greatly benefit from outsourcing some of the IT duties and tasks your IT department doesn’t have time to fix or constantly monitor. Your IT department and managed IT services team can work together, establishing appropriate job tasks to tackle daily.
Eager to learn more? Read our article, 5 Reasons to Hire IT Support Services.
Whatever your business technology goals are, managed IT services can truly change how your business prospers and grows. Let’s dive in!
Back To Basics: What is Managed IT Services?
Before we begin, let’s go over the basics. Plain and simple, what is the definition of managed IT services?
Managed IT Services is a group of services that a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or third-party provides to businesses in information technology.
These services include remote monitoring, technical support, training, security, virus protection, data backup & recovery, business continuity, technology road mapping & planning, virtual CIO, help desk, application and database development, network management, compliance, hosting, and more.
Managed IT services provides to businesses based on their needs, via three business models:
1) Flat Rate (all-you-can-eat model)
2) Per User or
3) Per Device, and bundled together as a single monthly fee.
In a nutshell, managed IT services are a way to outsource the day-to-day management of your information technology needs. The specifics can vary depending on the services managed by IT service providers.
As you can see in the three business models above, some service providers offer an “a la carte” choice of services. Others offer a complete, interlocking suite of core services.
For example, some companies only offer network monitoring and alerts when a problem is detected —meaning your internal IT staff must fix an issue once it has been identified. Other companies, however, can monitor and alert you of these issues and then resolve the issues for you as an all-in-one service.
The pricing model you choose is entirely up to you and your business's and your employees' needs. Take some time and list your business goals and what you wish to gain from a managed IT services team.
This list helps you better determine the best model for your company. Better yet, present your business needs to multiple managed IT service providers and learn how they can tackle these issues.
Not all companies are the same, and some providers you meet with might not be the best fit for achieving your business technology goals.
Rest assured, if you do proper due diligence and ask the right questions, you will find the right managed IT services provider for your business.
Learn more about managed IT services by reading our article, What is Managed IT Services? How to Tell If You Need Them.
What You Should Know About Managed IT Services
Now that we’ve gone through a little explanation of what managed IT services are, it’s essential you know what your business gains from using these services. Remember, the more you know, the easier it is to identify if these services are best for your business.
1. Managed IT Services Saves Your Employees Time
Time is money. Do you know how many minutes (or hours) a week your employees have to troubleshoot their IT issues? It might be quite a bit more than you think.
If you or your employees troubleshoot your IT issues during your busy workday, this should be a sign that hiring an IT support service is a good idea.
Instead of taking away valuable time that could be spent doing your daily tasks, a managed IT support service team can manage these issues for you. After all, it’s their job to do so.
Hiring an IT support team allows someone else to deal with the day-to-day IT issues that may arise, freeing up you and your employees to concentrate on more pressing and vital tasks.
Especially if your IT team spends most of their time helping your staff with desktop support (i.e., office applications, technical, laptop, and phone support, etc.)
Increasing productivity at your office by an IT support team is also a great way to ensure your issues are correctly resolved. Trusting an IT professional over your employees is a great way to fix the problem without worsening it.
2. Managed IT Services Saves Your Business Money
Let’s be real— there’s nothing better than saving money. It’s even better when you can see the benefits of what you’re paying for. Have you ever read your cable bill and thought, “Why on earth am I paying 200 dollars a month, and what are all these extra charges for?”
Managed IT services break down each charge you’re paying for and provide detailed summaries of the services your business utilizes.
A managed IT services company brings in a specialist (or team of specialists) entirely focused on your issues. A full-time employee would likely have a more general set of IT skills, only applied to various situations or less specific instances.
Moreover, you may pay your entire in-house IT staff more than a single person if you outsource your IT. One managed IT services technician can do everything your entire in-house department can do.
Don’t forget the extra expenses of having in-house IT employees, such as pay and employee benefits.
When a company outsources IT, it doesn’t need to invest in the equipment or software necessary to do that particular job. A managed IT services company can either provide their tools or include the cost of acquiring the equipment in their fee.
This method costs less than if your company bought the equipment outright for each in-house IT employee.
3. Remote IT Monitoring Means a Safer Network
Just like saving money, your business's network security should be at the very top of your list regarding current and future business goals.
Just because you have an in-house IT department doesn’t necessarily mean your network is safe from outside hackers and other threats like viruses. This also doesn’t mean your IT department can fix your security issues if something happens outside of regular office hours.
Think of a managed IT services company as a partnership, where your IT systems and servers are monitored around the clock.
Your managed IT services team receives messages and alerts as changes occur or problems arise, allowing immediate work to fix the issues the minute they happen.
Often, issues arise and can be fixed by the managed IT team before their customer even knows there is an issue. How about that for great customer service!
Regarding security, the sooner your managed IT services team learns about a cyber attack or security breach, the quicker your business can be back up and running.
Close monitoring helps eliminate your office’s downtime you and your employees might face when any technology issue surfaces.
4. Leave It Up To The Professionals: Stay On Top of New Technology and System Updates
The technology we use today is rapidly changing and evolving but advancing at a pace that’s hard for any business to keep up.
A managed IT services team is dedicated, passionate, and always hungry to learn the industry's newest and most tech-savvy trends. Let them inform you of what software and hardware you’ll benefit the most from based on your specific work.
Is your company looking to grow or even create your marketing department to help your sales team bring in more leads? Probably so! More leads generate more revenue for your business.
Well, what kind of technology are you providing for your marketing department to support this department's growth? It would be challenging for your marketing team to succeed if they’re using outdated technology that continually needs updating, upgrading, or “fixing.”
Once you allow an IT support service professional to show you what you’re missing out on, the sooner you’ll be on your way to creating better content while also decreasing the time you spend on tedious projects because of outdated or older programs you might be using.
5. Managed IT Services Customized For Your Business
As mentioned earlier, every business is different, depending on its type, size, location, or work. It can be challenging to find a service specializing in customizing the technology needs specific to your line of work and your employees unless it’s managed IT services.
It is essential to ensure your business receives the specific IT services it needs (based on your business goals) if you want the most out of your managed IT services team.
A managed IT support services provider can offer you several different individualized plans, focusing on various aspects of IT support based on your business.
Choosing different service plans allows you to only pay for what you need while also giving you the freedom to add on services later if necessary. This is where your specific needs come into play by allowing you to customize and design an outsourced IT plan to fit your needs.
Customizing your IT services is a lot like choosing your ideal cable package. Are you more interested in children’s networks as opposed to HBO movie channels? How about an extensive sports package you might want to add once the football season is back?
Your managed IT services support team walks you through every type of IT management service, educating you on the services your business benefits the most.
Managed IT Services & Your Business
Do you feel like you better understand what managed IT services are and how they can assist your business? We know this information isn’t always easy to understand, but with some research, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your business goals.
At AIS, we look for ways to inform all our readers better to help them reach their unique and specific business goals. Every business is different, and we’re here to walk you through every step of the way regarding technology and the services that come along with it. If you want to learn more about managed IT services for your business, contact one of our business technology consultants here.
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