Of all the reasons you started your business, running an IT environment probably wasn’t one of them. But the more you rely on digital tools to connect with customers, plan schedules, keep records, process sales or whatever else you use it for, the more dealing with technology can seem like a full-time job. That’s especially true with concerns about security on the rise. One survey found 62% of small and medium-sized businesses lack the skills to deal with security issues themselves and 52% felt “helpless” to defend against new cyberattacks. You can relieve your burden with managed IT services.
A managed IT service provider takes on the responsibility of securing, monitoring, and maintaining your technology so you can focus on your business.
Here are 5 reasons companies are choosing managed IT services:
1) Stronger Cybersecurity
Businesses face more cyber threats than ever before. It’s hard to keep up as threats evolve – or be confident you’re protected. With a managed services arrangement, you can implement proven layered security processes and always up-to-date solutions to keep your business safe and compliant with data protection laws and regulations. A managed service provider can cover everything from endpoint protection for devices to patch management for your applications, password management processes for your team, network firewalls, external vulnerability scanning and more.
When you don’t have a managed service arrangement with persistent monitoring, virus scanning, password refresh practices and clear security policies, you can be at risk of a data breach. The result can be damage to your reputation, lost time and revenue, regulatory fines and more.
2) Strategic Budgeting and Predictable Costs
You gain more control over your IT expenses with managed services. A cost structure tailored to your business billing means you can budget with confidence instead of incurring unexpected costs when something breaks down. Planned maintenance helps prevent those breakdowns in the first place, and with a partner managing your IT environment, your team can spend less time dealing with IT issues. A managed service provider can also advise you on technologies to invest in to meet your business goals – so you can plan for those expenditures in advance.
3) Operational Efficiency and Business Growth
With a managed service arrangement, you can ensure you get full value from the technologies you’ve invested in. That means maintaining peak performance of the hardware and software you already own, reducing or eliminating downtime, and strategizing on the tools and systems that will best serve your needs down the road. All of this helps you be more productive and efficient so you can grow your business.
Without managed services, if you only ever call for IT help when something stops working – what’s called a “break/fix” scenario – you lose the opportunity that comes with routine, proactive maintenance to get the best performance out of your equipment at all times. Beyond not getting the best return on your technology investment, that can also hamper your team’s productivity.
4) Data Protection You Can Count On
Power outages, fires, floods, pandemics, and other unexpected events can disrupt your business in the blink of an eye. To get back up and running as quickly as possible, you need a rigorous, well-designed data backup and protection plan. A managed service provider can put business recovery measures in place that protect you against data loss even if something happens to your physical IT equipment.
Without a robust backup solution in place, a sudden accident or turn of events can set your business back to square one – having to reconstruct sales orders, rebuild customer files, redo time-consuming work and more, all at a high cost of time and effort.
5) A Proactive Approach
Ultimately, the managed IT service approach is all about being proactive: anticipating problems instead of reacting to them and keeping your technology working at its best instead of waiting for it to break down. This brings you greater security, productivity and return on your technology investments – and also peace of mind.
Are you thinking about managed services for your business? As a managed service provider, Universal Data can help customize a plan that works for your needs and budget. Contact us to discuss your technology needs.