Here Are A Few Ways Managed IT Services Can Help Grow Your Business
If you’re a small or new business, it’s common to look for ways to keep costs to a minimum. Maybe it’s using personally owned and provided resources to avoid buying them new for the business; or maybe it’s having a friend handle a task here and there at a discounted rate, in exchange for contra or something similar.
One of the most common ways that new and small businesses limit expenses is with their IT support. When they’re just starting out, it can seem untenable to pay for fully managed IT support from a third party.
While relying on unofficial IT support is undoubtedly cost-effective, it’s unlikely to deliver the quality of service and level of responsiveness that a growing business needs. This becomes a serious problem when you consider how important IT is to modern businesses.
Managed IT Services Support Your Business As A Whole
Businesses around the world are starting to realize how valuable well-supprted IT really is to them. IT budgets have grown in recent years, with 44% of businesses planning to increase IT spending in 2020, up from 38% in 2019.
That’s why you need to make an effort to understand how technology can affect positive change in the work that you do. From customer experience to workflow optimization, technology is playing a big role in the way businesses operate.
What Advantages Do Managed IT Services Offer?
1. Expertise And Experience
With the right Managed IT services, you don’t just get access to the range of services and solutions they offer. You also harness their experience in the IT industry.
A majority of the IT issues that you experience will be similar (if not the same) as those they’ve already solved for other clients. That means that problems are addressed with proven solutions, reducing timeframes for resolution, and achieving a more permanent fix.
2. Evolve Your Security
Another benefit of opting for Managed IT services is that you have a partner in your IT support. One that can recommend proven, tested solutions to problems that you encounter – problems like cybercrime and data loss.
Managed IT services companies benefit from partnerships with industry-leading solution vendors for these very problems, and they pass those benefits on to their clients. Instead of having to research and find the best solution for security and data recovery, you can instead consult your partner in IT support.
They can advise you on harnessing new developments in cybersecurity technology, such as next-generation firewalls and antivirus software. These advanced types of cybersecurity software use artificial intelligence to better predict, identify and eliminate harmful malware.
3. Encourage Mobility
Managed IT services provide a basis for deploying a more mobile work environment. You can implement Mobile Device Management and Bring Your Own Device policies that allow employees to use their own devices in combination with the business’ – be sure to equally prioritize the convenience of access with security.
And don’t limit yourself to desktops, laptops, and phones – there’s more out there for you to take advantage of. Have you considered what the Internet of Things and wearable devices can do for workplace efficiency? Now’s the time to get on board – up to 20.4 billion IoT devices will be online by 2020.
4. Harness The Cloud
This is the key to the modern business workplace. With the cloud, you can increase collaboration and simplify management by hosting your data and applications through the cloud – again, prioritizing security in line with the access given to staff members.
Before the cloud, onsite servers were a must for any business that wanted to succeed, but no longer. Today, you don’t need to purchase, install and maintain onsite servers- with the cloud, you outsource it all to a data center instead.
By choosing a cloud solution instead of conventional infrastructure, you will enjoy all the benefits of an up to date and optimized IT infrastructure, without having to pay more than your monthly service fee.
5. Use Data To Your Advantage
With the right information, each choice you make can have attainable and expected positive results for your business; without that information, you may as well be gambling with the future of your company.
Business intelligence is the collection and analysis of data collected such as department productivity, overall growth, sales trends, and customer behavior. Applications of this data can range from something as simple as Spreadsheets for the organization, and storage of data to Online Analytical Processing or Reporting and Querying software. Each has a specific use and offers various benefits to your small business.
Reporting and querying software extracts, sorts, summarizes, and presents selected data. This data could range from sale reports of specific items to a measurement of the efficiency of marketing plans.
