Technology, without question, is a part of everyone’s life. Without it, well, it would be virtually impossible for you to read this article. That alone should let you see the gravity of how technology improves our quality of living. But beyond that, technology has a bigger role in today’s world, and that is its ability to help businesses function at an optimum and efficient state.
There is no doubt that the majority of businesses in Australia and the rest of the world heavily rely on IT, from small business to massive corporations alike. Technology serves as a power tool that makes everything run smoother – from customer communication, security, and operational efficiency, data storage/transfer, commercial transaction and research capacity.
However, maintaining the system that enables such functionalities isn’t easy. It becomes even more challenging when something in your systems malfunctions. That’s why it is crucial to have an IT professional to cater all your technological needs.
Managed IT Services
To start, if you run a business, you should know that although technology keeps it running smoothly, it’s not everything. It is a core part of your business, yes, but it can consume most of your time having to maintain those systems!
Your time is better devoted to more important things in your business – growth which leads to success. For that reason, every business – no matter how big or small – should have managed IT services.
What Is Managed IT Services?
As surprising as it is, most enterprises still don’t know much about the very definition of managed IT services. So, before we talk about the benefits, let’s understand exactly what it is.
In a few words, “Managed IT Services” is a service that will take care of the technological aspect of your business. The service will have ongoing and proactive support and keep the device or services it’s put on running at optimal levels. You would have a technician on call at any moment to complete check-ups, maintenance, upgrades, and, of course, troubleshooting.
Think of it as a monthly subscription to an automobile maintenance shop. Instead of the old break-fix solution where you only go to the service centre when there’s a problem, you can go there as often as you want to make sure that your vehicle will always be at its best condition. As a result, problems become less and less frequent, and in return, it allows your car to extend its lifespan significantly. This approach saves you more money in the long run.
Break-Fix VS Managed IT Services
In the past, one of the more favourable solutions was having a break-fix IT service. It meant that an IT expert would only be there for your business when something was broken. If you think about it, during a time when not everyone was using complex networks, and the only concern was getting your printer fixed, break-fix was an ideal solution. The business could still go on without having a printer running or without a few computers working.
However, as time goes by, having a system error or connectivity issue can mean losing thousands of dollars for some businesses. That’s why it is essential to be preventative, and to avoid things going wrong – every program, tool piece of IT equipment should be working and up-to-date. Having a managed IT service ensure this.
The Benefits of Having Managed IT Services
Stable Operations
One of the most promising things that this service offers is stability. Unlike break-fix where an IT professional only arrives during a problem, a managed IT services provider prevents problems from ever happening. That alone shows a huge gap between having an IT partner with an aligned goal with the company in comparison to an on-call service to fix per issue.
Though both are capable of fixing problems effectively, one is more proactive – reducing productivity interruptions and unnecessary costs. Of course, when your business’ operation is stable, the flow of revenue is much easier to stabilise as well.
Security and Recovery
Another benefit you will have is enhanced security. For most companies that deal with confidential information, it is a necessity to have a functional, reliable, and consistent security and recovery feature that’s always up-to-date. With increasing malware, cyber crimes, and hacking activities present, your customer data is potentially always at risk.
Think about an attack; imagine the damages and the cost if the attack successfully acquires confidential data. Not only will a business lose its reputation, but it may also be responsible for compensating if the attacker steals financial data from their customers. That’s why it is critical that security is maintained either by yourself or by a managed IT services provider to do it for you.
Save More Money
Yes, you actually save more money when hiring a professional managed IT service provider.
Why?
That’s because the service instantly provides you IT expertise compared to hiring an IT staff that requires new and consistent training, which forces you to spend more time and money. Hiring a 3rd party managed service from My Computer Support gives you a team of dedicated IT professionals who are always conversant in their field.
Also, they come as a partner rather than an employee. That means they’ll help you in imperative decision-making such as software, equipment, and storage purchases. They will make sure your company will have the best it can get, as their priority is to help your business achieve success – your business’ success serves as an assurance and reflection of their service and is mutually beneficial as you continue business. Furthermore, their rate is retainer and not in bulk compared to break-fix solutions that will ask you to pay expensive one-time fees without follow-ups, reliable history reports, and recommendations.
More Time and Focus on Your Business
Last benefit worth mentioning is the time you gain back from not handling and worrying about the technological aspects of your business yourself. Without having the distraction of technology related problems and system downtimes, you’ll have more time on planning, strategizing, and managing for your business as a whole. This way, you’ll become more productive and allow growth to kick in faster and achieve your goals at a faster rate.
Frequently Asked Questions About Managed IT Services
Do All Types of Businesses Need This Service?
Unfortunately, no. There are some types of business that will greatly benefit from partnering a managed IT services provider, but there are also some that won’t. Though the perks of having an IT professional do sound alluring – and it truly is – you should still first evaluate if your business is a good fit. If you get on a Free Consultation call with us, we can assist with this process.
Is It About the How Big the Business?
Not entirely. Though you might think that the size of the company is what matters in choosing whether or not to hire such services, the primary criterion in deciding is simply the level of what your business’ dependency is on technology.
Even if your company is just made up of ten enthusiastic individuals, as long as that ten cannot function without technology, hiring this service is vital. It would be impractical, costly, and a waste of time to train them to learn about troubleshooting IT related problems.
How to Consider If My Business Does Need the Service?
If you think that information technology is a necessity for your business to function, but you should not be proactively taking care of it. Or you believe that investing in your technology is a must and it’s no longer an optional choice. Perhaps the cost of downtimes is costing you more than hiring an IT service provider. If you can relate to any of these, it’s likely that you should consider having a managed IT services.
How Does Managed IT Services Work?
That would depend purely on the terms you, the business, and the provider agrees on. But in general, the service will take care and provide 24/7 network monitoring of the entire IT facet of the company. Typically, software, system changes, and upgrades are done remotely while hardware is, of course, attended on-site. There is also a Help Desk to help answer you or your employees’ questions.
How Much Will It Cost?
Having this kind of service to attend to all your IT needs doesn’t come at a flat rate but instead at a retainer agreed on with your managed IT provider. The cost depends on the business’ location, technological demands, and the size of its IT infrastructure which is why we recommend our free Consultation before getting started
Most managed IT services provider will use these models to give you a reasonable price with the following pricing models:
Priced Per Device
The most popular means for the IT services provider to give you an easily acceptable quote is through per-device pricing. It just means that there will be a fixed rate for each of the devices you want to be managed per month.
For example, the provider may charge $50 for each desktop computer, $120 for every managed network, $30 per shared printer, and $250 per server. The thing that makes this model particularly favourable is because of its straightforwardness and easiness to negotiate for both parties and you can scale it up or down depending on the devices you want to be managed. to go through complex renegotiations.
Priced Per User
Another straightforward approach is per-user pricing. It is just like per-device pricing that bills every month; the only difference is that the charges solely apply to each employee rather than per company device. One of the great things about this model is that if you have employees who handle a lot of devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets, the rate is still per user no matter how many devices are being used by that employee – as long as those devices are company owned.
Priced Per Package
As for bigger managed services provider, they often provide tiered packages as a quick, reliable solution. The packages contain several IT services for a fixed rate. These packages can be customised, the more services you want to be included in the package, the higher the price. Of course, this allows versatility for a lot of companies – in particular for those who have their IT staff but would still require some extra assistance.
Which Model Works Best?
If you’re asking what’s the best approach for your buck, the answer depends on the nature or environment of your business. If not all of your staff are working with technology, but the devices are still essential to generating more revenue, the first model (priced per-device) would be an excellent choice. On the other hand, if your company heavily relies on technology and each employee is assigned to use one or two devices, it’s obvious that per-user approach would be best for this situation. Lastly, if you need a more custom approach, opting for packages is your best choice.
Final Words
Running a business needs a lot of dedication and focus on all its sectors. But needless to say, some parts of the business demand more. These parts that require more attention are operations, management and administrative works. Although IT is crucial for these parts to work seamlessly, it requires a lot of unnecessary time for owners to be meddling with. Moreover, it brings additional stress to your staff if they themselves have to fix issues which in return make them lose productivity.
That’s why managed IT services is always on demand as it significantly increases the overall performance of any business and not just its IT sectors. If you’re experiencing system downtimes and you think that it is hindering your company’s growth and success, why not hire a reliable managed IT services provider. It’s a better solution than hiring an IT staff that requires time, money, and loads of training just to keep up with its expertise. After all, prevention Is better than a cure.