If you’re operating a business today, you know how important technology is to getting work done. You need reliable hardware, seamless software, and well-designed networks to operate competitively. But as our reliance on technology grows, so does the complexity of keeping that technology running. For many small- to medium-sized businesses, a large in-house IT department to manage everything just isn’t efficient anymore, which is why so many businesses outsource their IT services instead.
In fact, the number of businesses turning to outsourced services is steadily increasing. In 2017, the managed services industry grew by 2.7% and the managed IT sector is expected to be worth $257.84 billion by 2022. There’s a lot of good reasons for this growth, including lower costs and increased quality of service. Read on to learn more about how manage IT services can help your business succeed.
What Are Managed IT Services?
When you hire an outside IT company to handle part or all of your IT needs, that company provides managed IT services. These IT service providers work on a contract basis, and while they offer many services, they will often let you pick and choose the services you want from them. This means that you may choose to rely on a contractor for some IT functions while keeping other IT functions in-house (and a few IT employees to handle those functions). Or you might turn over all of your IT responsibilities to your IT provider and retain no IT staff. It’s up to you to decide what’s right for your business.
Managed services companies usually perform duties such as network maintenance, testing and installing system updates or patches, regular data backups, new software installation, and cybersecurity. Their goal is to provide whatever services you would expect from your own IT team, but faster and for a smaller cost.
One difference between traditional IT services and managed IT services is a proactive mindset. Traditional IT work has focused on fixing what is broken when it breaks. But managed IT services focus on preventative care. They help you avoid downtime by stopping technology failures before they happen. And this mindset works! A 2018 study showed that unplanned downtime cost businesses around $58,118 for every 100 people they employed. However, the same study showed that businesses that adopted managed IT services reduced server and network downtime by 85%. This results in lower costs and higher productivity over time.
What Are The Benefits Of Managed IT Services?
There are many benefits to adopting managed IT services. Besides focusing more on preventative maintenance, outsourced IT providers help smaller businesses compete with larger businesses. Switching to a managed services plan makes a difference in four key ways:
Lower IT Costs
Managed service providers are significantly cheaper than an in-house IT team. When you outsource many of your IT needs, you are no longer responsible for covering the costs of licensing and training for your staff, nor do you pay for space to house IT infrastructure. You are also not responsible for subscriptions to expensive software required by an IT department. Instead, your IT provider will invest in these tools for their employees and you will reap the benefit. And since many IT tasks can be done remotely, you can shop managed IT service providers nationwide for a team that offers the best service plan at the best price.
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Access To Top IT Talent
Qualified IT personnel are in high demand nationwide, so it can be difficult to hire and retain top talent, especially if you are a small company. However, you can access top talent at a lower total cost by contracting out your IT support. Overall, switching to contract IT support yields a high return on investment since switching enables you to purchase more services of higher quality, but at a fraction of the cost.
Faster Response Times And Constant Network Monitoring
Further, managed services teams provide faster response times than traditional IT departments, as well as constant network monitoring, both of which result in better protection for your data. These companies specialize in the kind of security threats your business must guard against. Not only are they knowledgeable about the best protections for your system, but they also understand laws regarding security compliance for different kinds of data. If something does manage to access your company’s data, your IT services provider can begin neutralizing the threat immediately, substantially minimizing security breaches. This also allows your company to shift the risk of data management to your services provider, offering you greater protection if data is breached.
Flexible Plans Adapted To Growth
Managed services are also flexible. As your business grows, you can adjust your service agreement to provide more or fewer services as needed rather than spending time and money hiring and training new employees. A good services provider will also be able to help you predict the kind of technology you will need in future and plan for upgrades based on your rate of growth and the ways your business uses its technology. Outsourcing your IT department provides you with highly-experienced experts that can offer practical advice, saving you time, money, and inconvenience.
Why Should I Choose TracSoft As My Managed IT Services Provider?
TracSoft has been serving the Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama areas since 1998. Our years of experience and many satisfied clients demonstrate our commitment to customer care. Here at TracSoft, we use industry-leading Kaseya software to provide 24/7 monitoring of your network and non-invasive background maintenance to keep your systems running smoothly.
Whether you’re searching for better network security, dependable network maintenance, secure data backup, or reliable OS and patch management, TracSoft can do it—and we’ll do it with outstanding customer support. Learn more by visiting the IT services page of our website.
Contact our experts today to discuss how we can create a customized IT management plan for you.
