Nowadays, most businesses operate 24 hours a day. If you’re not doing the same, you’re bound to get left behind. However, even if your business works 24/7, you’ll eventually encounter an issue within your information technology (IT) system.
Perhaps, a few of the computers crash. Maybe, the content management software is malfunctioning. Either way, it can lead to considerable downtime, resulting in a huge loss. Unfortunately, you can’t resolve these issues alone. As such, you’ll need the help of managed IT services providers, but since it’s not a very popular subject in the business industry, you might not be aware of it at all, but that’s why you’re here.
Below are six things you need to know about managed IT services providers.
- Prevention Is Their Focus
You may have heard of the term ‘break-fix’ before. Basically, break-fix means fixing something only when it breaks. Examples of break-fix problems include:
- Missing or corrupted files
- Critical devices have a virus
- The server is currently down
If you’ve been in this line of work for a long time, you should know how frustrating these things can be.
Once you encounter a problem, your staff will look for ways to fix it. So, if your staff is fixing the problem, who’s generating sales for the business? In other words, you’ll lose money whenever an IT problem pops up.
The beauty of managed IT service providers is that they don’t focus on fixing computer problems; rather; they focus on preventing problems. After all, prevention is better than cure. As such, IT problems will appear less frequently, which, in turn, will prevent losses in sales.
- They Work 24/7
After reading the first section, you might be thinking, “Why not call a technician or an expert to fix the issue? Wouldn’t that be enough to solve the problem? Yes, that would be enough, but IT problems don’t exactly pick the time they appear, do they?
You may encounter IT issues during midnight on a Saturday, which means you’ll either have to wait until Monday or rely on your staff to fix them. Either way, there’ll be losses. So, where do managed IT services providers fit in all this?
Another advantage of managed IT service providers is that most of them work 24/7. Take Shipshape IT, for example. Depending on what type of service you’re paying for, they can work on resolving and improving your IT system around the clock.
However, just because they’re basically working full-time for your company doesn’t mean they have full control over your business’s IT sector. In fact, you still have the final say on how they do things.
- You Don’t Relinquish The Managerial Control
When they sign up for managed IT services, most people think that they’ll have to relinquish control over the business’s IT systems, but that’s not true. At the end of the day, you still have full control over your business’s IT sector. Hence, you won’t have to worry about conflicts of interest and the likes.
However, you should still provide the managed IT services provider with the necessary authority to fix problems here and there; else, you won’t make full use of their services. Remember, these kinds of services can be a bit costly.
- Costs Are Predictable
Yes, if you want to get the most out of a managed IT services provider, you’ll need to invest a considerable amount of money. But, most of the time, it’s affordable.
One thing to look forward to is that the costs are predictable. To begin with, when opting for their services, you’ll pay an upfront fee, and from then on, you’ll have to pay their company a flat-rate monthly or even annually. Moreover, you don’t have to pay an additional fee in case of severe problems. Simply put, there’s a fixed cost most of the time.
Since the costs are predictable, allocating a budget for IT support will be a piece of cake, but it’s still important to determine whether the cost is reasonable or not. Speaking of which, you may encounter companies that have low rates.
- Legitimate Providers Must Do Proactive Monitoring Or Maintenance
If you ever encounter a company that has a lower rate than other managed IT service providers, you might be looking at a scammer or an impostor.
Impostors refer to companies claiming that they’re managed IT service providers when, in fact, they’re simply break-fix IT support companies. For instance, they might fix your IT problems, but they’re not doing anything to prevent them. Hence, although they can significantly reduce downtime, it can still lead to a loss in profits.
Legitimate companies should be doing monitoring and maintenance at all times. One way to differentiate between the two is by asking them for reports every once in a while. If they’re monitoring your business, there shouldn’t be any problem with providing you with reports. You can also check if your software is updated since legitimate providers usually do regular updates on their client’s software and hardware.
- Most Providers Do Regular Updates Free Of Charge
One of the main targets of hackers is an outdated IT system. After all, if you haven’t done updates on your system for a while, security vulnerabilities and bugs will be common.
Alas, if your staff is quite busy with revenue enhancing tasks, it’s only natural to forget about updating the company’s software and hardware. This can bite you back big time, especially if you have confidential data on one software. Hackers can either sell that data to your competitors or sabotage your operations, such as slowing down your internet, which will lead to downtime.
On the bright side, if you have a managed IT service provider watching your back, you don’t need to worry about cyberattacks since they regularly update your IT systems.
Takeaways
No matter how you look at it, managed IT service providers bring many benefits to your business. You can prevent problems before they happen, you can enjoy their services 24/7, and your information systems will always be up-to-date. The best part is that the costs are fixed, and you don’t have to worry about handing over managerial control to the company. However, you should be wary of impostors using the ‘managed IT services’ hype to scam you out of your money.
With these in mind, you should be able to streamline your IT processes from now on.