How Can Managed IT Services Benefit Small To Medium Sized Businesses

Nearly every business, regardless of size or industry, relies on technology to be the central powerhouse of day-to-day operations and long-term growth plans. Whether processing online orders, streamlining the customer experience, or better enabling employees to do their jobs, technology has become a key aspect in nearly every successful business. And yet, many small to medium-sized businesses do not have the IT support team needed to implement, manage, maintain, and grow this invaluable infrastructure.

It can be difficult for small to medium-sized businesses to find the time, money, or team members to dedicate fully to their IT. Often business owners must compromise on potentially beneficial IT needs to focus on their day-to-day goals, managing their employees and growing their business. Luckily, managed IT service providers, or MSPs, are available to help bridge the gap between investing in a dedicated in-house IT team and failing to reap the benefits that fully managed IT can bring to a business.

MSPs offer small to medium-sized business owners effective IT solutions from experienced IT professionals at a price they can afford. By outsourcing to a larger company armed with the knowledge and resources needed to maintain a business’ IT needs from A to Z, business owners can cut costs on in-house IT while staying up to date on the latest

Reduced Disruption & Increased Productivity

Businesses who do not have a dedicated IT support team often turn to employees from other departments to help diagnose and fix various IT issues. Whether the problem is internet connectivity or a virus that has taken over a company desktop, if employees are taking valuable time away from their prime directive to fix various IT issues, the business will suffer. A managed services provider can give businesses a go-to helpline for issues of all sizes and scopes, allowing employees and management to better focus on business function and growth.

Even if a business has an established in-house IT staff, their efforts should be focused on driving the business forward and scaling with the newest technologies, not trivial IT issues. MSPs can be a great supplement to an existing IT team by offering active monitoring, maintenance, or consulting services.

Scalability

By working with a managed services provider, businesses set themselves up for success when it comes to growing and maintaining their business. MSPs offer scalable infrastructure for IT needs, making it easy to expand on IT services as the business grows or scale back during slower times. Typically, MSPs offer businesses the opportunity to pick and choose the services they need when they need them. By offering options such as customizable service agreements, cloud-based infrastructures, and integrative solutions, MSPs give businesses great flexibility as they shift and grow.

Proactive Security

To protect company data and offer customers and clients the security they deserve, small and medium-sized businesses cannot skim on IT monitoring, diagnostics, threat detection, and security response. However, enterprise-grade security infrastructure can be expensive to integrate and maintain.

MSPs offer an affordable solution that is comprehensive and effective. They can offer a higher level of quality when it comes to IT security solutions at a much lower price than businesses would pay to implement similar services in-house. MSPs can help detect, diagnose, and mitigate cyber threats from hackers and viruses. They can respond quickly to security issues and reduce negative impacts on the business’s bottom lines.

Active Monitoring & IT Support

In addition to security, MSPs can actively monitor a business’s IT systems and respond swiftly to any IT issue – from workstation malfunctions to network outages to mobile device problems. MSPs help reduce downtime due to IT issues and help small to medium-sized businesses get back up and running. Having an experienced managed service provider can help give businesses peace of mind that their IT infrastructure is always operating at peak performance.

24/7 Help Desk Services

For additional peace of mind, MSPs offer 24/7 help desk services which give employees access to a helpline manned by trained, experienced IT professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The help desk gives users effective remote IT support for any issue at a much lower cost than on-site support, making it an ideal option for small to medium-sized businesses. Most issues can be resolved with one phone call, however, MSPs have established paths to escalate higher-level issues to more advanced technicians, ensuring all issues get resolved quickly. 24/7 help desk services give businesses the chance to have the power of a knowledgeable, experienced team that stays up to date on the latest industry-leading techniques without the high price tag of establishing a similarly-qualified team in-house.