Technology makes modern-day business possible by increasing efficiency and generating useful insights through data. Your networks house your information and make it possible to get more work done than ever before. As one of your most valuable assets, your network deserves the utmost care and attention when it comes to upkeep.
Many businesses assume that the only option for network management is to delegate it to the in-house IT team, but that’s far from the truth. Managed IT and technology services provide expert support and service for your network, so you can focus on what your business does best. The business benefits of managed services in combination with the money you can save make it a smart solution for companies of any size.
What Are Managed Services?
Every business uses technology as a means to compete in their field and maximize efficiency. Businesses rely on networks and IT more than ever, and the funds needed to maintain an in-house team keep rising. For many small businesses, this often means sacrificing the quantity or quality of network maintenance efforts to conserve limited resources.
Managed services are a way to outsource maintenance and repairs to experts. A top-notch managed services provider (MSP) performs multiple functions for your company, such as
Network Administration
Data Backup
Network Security
Communications
IT Support
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MANAGED SERVICES VS. BREAK-FIX SERVICES?
Break-fix services ruled the market for decades. When businesses experienced a problem with a server, they would call up an IT expert and try to explain the issue. If they were lucky, a solution could be found quickly. If they weren’t, they would be stuck with expensive repairs and downtime. This type of reactive service is known as the break-fix approach.
Managed services, on the other hand, offer constant and consistent monitoring of your systems with the goal of preventing failures wherever possible. Remote monitoring means your service provider can always see what’s going on and fix it directly.
The pros and cons of managed services make it clear that partnering with an MSP is the best way to simplify your IT management affordably. These are the top 10 financial and business benefits of managed services.
1. Predictable Low Cost
Can managed services cut down cost? The answer is yes. It can also make your IT expenses more predictable. With managed services, your costs are neatly packaged into a set amount paid on an annual or monthly basis. An in-house IT team, on the other hand, comes with many more frequent and unexpected expenses that can quickly drain your budget.
Networks come with a lot of equipment that needs to be maintained and sometimes repaired or replaced. MSPs provide maintenance as well as repairs as part of the contract, so a fix that might cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket is absorbed by the provider. This model shields your budget from extreme fluctuation, improving the stability of your business overall.
Small businesses benefit immensely from managed services because the up-front cost to start is so much lower. When a business starts from scratch, the initial costs of hiring and training a team while simultaneously paying for the servers and other equipment necessary can be financially overwhelming.
2. Scalability
The price tag associated with maintaining an in-house IT team is a big one, and that’s why you often see teams that are understaffed, overworked and unable to get everything done due to a lack of time and resources. That doesn’t work on a daily basis, and it definitely doesn’t fly when your company is trying to expand.
Training even one additional employee for your IT department costs thousands of dollars, and there is never a guarantee that they’ll even stay with the company. An MSP absorbs the cost of training, and you’ll never have to worry about your IT experts jumping ship.
Scaling networks takes significant coordination, manpower and new equipment. It’s a huge cost for any company, and it often takes an IT team’s focus off other important functions like security. Managed services can help you expand or upgrade systems when you need to, without having to hire and train employees you won’t necessarily need later on.
MSPs help your business stay flexible when it comes to resources and can accommodate swift changes an in-house team might not be able to respond to efficiently.