In the last three years, companies have spent more on managed IT services. Managed service providers are being used more by companies than hiring additional staff. There are many reasons why this is so. Let’s take a look at nine benefits of managed IT.
1. Predictable costs that are also scaleable
Managed IT companies charge a monthly fee for their services. It’s easy to plan your IT budget because you know exactly how much you’ll be paying.
You can adjust the level of support that you receive as necessary. You could, for example, increase support during the initial launch of new software or hardware. After your staff has become familiar with the new technology and is comfortable, you can decrease the support level.
2. Lower Up-Front and Ongoing Prices
There are significant upfront and ongoing costs involved in hiring IT staff within your company. Onboarding and training costs will be required to help new employees get started.
Once they are trained and work, you will have to pay their salaries, benefits, and insurance.
If you select a managed service provider, you won’t be charged for any of these services. Everything is covered by your monthly fee.
3. Rapid Response Time
Many responsibilities are common for IT staff in-house. They may not be able switch gears immediately if there is an outage. Even if they are able to, it may mean that something else must be done.
Managed IT service providers are able to provide the necessary resources immediately by having enough technicians on staff.
4. 24/7 Support
Managed service providers offer 24-hour support and can respond quickly. If you hire in-house employees to work 24 hours per day, at minimum two teams are required to be available.
In addition to the additional staff, there will be operational costs associated with employees who work 24 hours per day. Your overhead costs include insurance, power, office HVAC, and shift premiums for irregular working hours.
5. Current Certifications and Expertise
IT is an ever-changing field. IT professionals need to be certified and trained to keep up to date with the latest technology and changes in software and hardware.
These costs will be borne by your IT staff if they are employed. You are responsible for paying for their continuing education. They also have to be able to do their primary work.
Managed IT service providers must ensure that their staff are certified and trained on the most recent technologies. If they want to offer the best support possible to their clients, they must ensure that their staff are up-to-date.
6. Compliance Support
You must ensure that your business is in compliance with all regulatory standards if you operate in an industry that has strict compliance. Failure to comply could result in fines or even legal action against you company.
Managed IT providers have been trained to comply with regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, (HIPAA), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (SOX). They will ensure that your data and networks remain secure and comply with all applicable standards in order to protect your clients’ data.
7. Cybersecurity Support
Any company doing business online must consider cybersecurity. Let’s face the truth, almost all businesses in today’s digital world are concerned with cybersecurity.
Cybercriminals are always looking for security holes that they can easily hack to steal sensitive information. It’s difficult to stay on top of these threats if you don’t know all the latest security threats.
Security is a game of cat-and-mouse. Once a security hole is closed, criminals will find more. Once those are fixed, the “game” continues.
Managed service providers are able to keep up with all the latest threats and protect your business from them. They can help you train your employees on how to identify and avoid security threats in their daily work.
8. One point of contact
Your IT support team should keep in touch with all vendors if they are part of your in-house IT team. This could be multiple hardware and software vendors that each handle a specific part of your tech stack.
Managed providers handle all the contact for you. They are your one-stop shop for any IT problem or question you may have.
They might be able to negotiate lower rates for equipment because they deal with many clients. If they are buying equipment for multiple clients, the economy of scale can work in your favor.
9. Employees are freed up in-house IT staff
Managed IT companies are a good option for those who have their own IT department. Managed IT companies can take care of a lot the day-today support so your staff can focus on more important business functions.
This is a great way to increase your capacity during peak periods. You don’t have to hire additional staff in-house to cover these needs. Instead, bring a managed provider onboard to help you offload some of that extra work.