Are Managed IT Services Right for You?

Businesses that view their technology as an investment in efficiency, security and stability sometimes have trouble seeking help to improve and maintain their network infrastructure and user experience. Two main questions arise as they choose an IT managed service provider as the best solution for their company to leverage IT to move their business forward.

Is My Business Large Enough for Managed IT Services?

Any company, regardless of size or the number of people employed, will run more efficiently when technology is properly monitored, maintained and managed. With smaller businesses, the person in charge of IT probably wears many hats and has many responsibilities that vie for attention, and IT only gets addressed when there is a fire to put out. Larger companies with internal IT staff might encounter similar problems if the in-house tech is stretched beyond their available time and skill set.

How Does Investment in IT Save Money?

Addressing technology only when it breaks is expensive: You should ask, "Can I afford to have my day-to-day business operations slowed or stalled because my technology can’t keep up?" 

You’re paying too much when it’s too late: An issue that was probably preventable with early detection can escalate into a full-blown business disruption that an on-call technician likely charges a high hourly rate, on top of hardware replacement costs and might not get to you right away. Being proactive rather than reactive to technology issues can allow you to put more money toward improvements that will move you forward.

Don’t forget productivity killers: It’s taking your employees way too long to boot up their computers. Servers and applications are running slowly. Employee devices are full of malware. Non-technical employees are running around troubleshooting tech problems. If this is happening at your company, your present approach to IT management is killing employee productivity and your bottom line.

What happens internally is noticed externally: Don’t think customers don’t see outdated or slow IT mismanagement. When customers need to order or get information on status or availability and your customer service rep tells them, “I’m sorry, our system is down,” they’re noticing, and it’s hurting your business.

Read: 5 Questions to Ask When You Are Evaluating Managed IT Service Providers

Outsourced managed IT services are a good choice whether you have 20 or 500 computers. Investing in technology is an investment in your company's efficiency, security and stability. How your business utilizes IT can enhance your relationships with customers and help create happy employees who are empowered to do their jobs while reducing business costs.