A look at some of the many benefits that managed IT services have to offer for smaller businesses.
Many associate managed IT services with big business and large corporations. However, this is one of the many reasons why small businesses ignore IT services… as they imagine they’re more trouble than they’re worth (especially without IT technicians on hand). With this being said, we’re going to cover some of the benefits that managed IT services have to offer for small business.
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Significantly Less Risks – Since small businesses are not in the IT business, the event of consumer data breaches concerning hacking or Malware can be devastating. However, managed IT services can provide small businesses with the 24/7 security they need to effectively bounce back. This means that in the event of a security breach, the IT services can restore the information with the skill, resources, and speed they possess to secure and protect the data’s integrity (that would have been lost otherwise).
Reduced Costs for IT Labor – Having an IT staff at all times can be very costly and time consuming for a small business. This is especially true in the event where the IT staff needs to be trained before they can be hired. Managed IT allows a small business to access highly trained professionals whenever they are needed.
Expert Assistance – A managed IT platform gives small businesses 24/7 access to IT experts for assistance. Whether it be for disaster recovery or simple support, the managed IT service partner is willing to handle your security, virus and firewall protection, LAN/WAN monitoring, on-sit support, or infrastructure management needs at any given moment.
Controlled Costs – Although many assume that any form of IT support is expensive, the same cannot be said with managed IT support. Most managed IT programs can tailored to the requirements (and budget) the small business needs. To make matters even better, managed IT support allows the small business to focus on core issues… as opposed to IT maintenance.
Less Risk and Downtime – Managed IT allows a small business to track and analyze their information much more quickly and efficiently than in the past. Since past information is stored (regarding the small business) and can be analyzed, it leaves little room for failure or error when launching a new idea or product. By making decisions backed by information, it ultimately reduces risks and downtime associated with new ideas or products.
Capacity Planning – One thing that many small businesses (operating with managed IT) realize is that they always have the managed provider’s tools at their disposal. As the small business information is constantly being monitored, the critical information (that can be used later) is stored as historical data. The data can then be used to analyze trends in capacity performance and make alterations based on the said data.
Considering the information above, managed IT services and small businesses are a winning combination. With a small business focusing on the core work and managed IT focusing on data management/technical support, the relationship can survive the ever changing tides of the marketplace.
