In addition to guest posting on the UpCity blog, Bit by Bit Computer Consultants is featured as one of the Top Managed Service Providers in the United States. Check out their profile!
If you run a small or medium business, then IT is the backbone of your industry. But you didn’t set out to be an IT expert. Trying to oversee it alone is stressful and complicated. Wouldn’t you rather focus on your customers and growing your business?
This is where an IT managed services provider (MSP) comes in. They can offer you services and solutions that will optimize, monitor, and protect your IT infrastructure and free you up to do business.
How do you know you need an MSP?
Check out these ten signs that you need managed IT services to see if you’re getting the most from your IT and whether or not you need to partner with a fresh, yet experienced MSP.
Ten Signs That Your Business Needs a Managed Services Provider
1. Just How Old is Your Technology Infrastructure?
Hardware and software components of IT systems evolve so quickly that small businesses often find themselves not being able to keep up, or worse, held back by the prohibitive cost of upgrades. An MSP allows you to enjoy the advantages of the latest IT solutions without breaking the bank, thanks to partnerships with vendors that can result in procurement discounts. What’s more, you can get more out of your current setup with automatic software updates and patches that will maintain robust, comprehensive security and enhance IT performance.
2. Disaster Recovery Plan? What’s That?
The reality is that disasters, whether it’s internal staff errors – someone clicks where they shouldn’t — or external threats such as ransomware can happen at any time and often result in catastrophic data loss and costly downtime. An MSP knows just how badly a data breach or disaster can impact a business of any size and will formulate a plan to keep your data and critical files safe and secure. By deploying a combination of encryption, security protection, and off-site data backup, you will not have to worry about compromising the accessibility and security of your data.
3. Your IT Services Have More Pieces than a Puzzle
With an MSP, you get a one-stop, full-service technology partner. You don’t waste time piecing together different vendors to maintain your current systems or project how to keep them up to speed as your organization grows. An MSP has the bandwidth, knowledge, and experience to put in place a comprehensive IT roadmap geared towards your specific productivity needs. Key services come together under one roof, fully optimizing your entire infrastructure. They can include:
- 24/7/365 Help Desk Support
- Cybersecurity
- Cloud Services
- Application Development
- Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
- Data Storage
- Monitoring, Alerting & System Reporting
- CIO-Level Consulting or Virtual CIO
4. You Don’t Fully Understand Your Technology Infrastructure
Technology is complex and always changing. Without professional technicians, it’s almost impossible for you to get a full overview of your entire technology infrastructure. Your time and resources are limited. This is where an MSP comes in. They will constantly be on the lookout for anything that might put your IT environment at risk and will explain everything in terms you understand. They can also help create a well-defined list of which technology products, hardware, and software are tied to your critical business functions and aptly assign different service priority levels to match them.
5. You Lack a Centralized Network
With a managed network, you can centralize all your applications and servers within managed data centers. This gives your staff access to these data centers within the network and can also provide access to virtual services like storage and backups.
Hear From Industry Experts
Read the latest tips, research, best practices, and insights from our community of expert B2B service providers.
6. You Spend Way Too Much Time on IT Issues
By utilizing monitoring and remote management systems, an MSP can fix your IT without disrupting your business or even having a technician visit your office. And for issues that do require on-site repairs, an MSP can often dispatch a technician to your office the same day. They will give you support where and when you need it, allowing you to quickly get back to running your business.
7. You Don’t Have a Roadmap for Tackling Current or Unexpected IT Obstacles
Many IT projects start out with clear goals but end up not meeting deadlines and going over budget. How and why? No clear project roadmap. An MSP can help guide you through understanding what you need to meet your business objectives and developing a road map to navigate current and future IT obstacles with ease.
8. You Don’t Have the People or Time to Manage Your Technology Environment
With so many IT twists and turns, you just don’t have the time or resources to manage your technology environment. An MSP will be with you every step of the way – from designing solutions to troubleshooting, deploying, maintaining, and monitoring them. For example, if you are looking to make a transition to the cloud but don’t know which cloud solution is right for your business, and don’t have the people and time for those decisions, an MSP is right there for you to help out.
9. It’s Time to Build a Better Budget for Your IT Expenses
With an MSP by your side, you pay one flat affordable rate and get all of the technical support you need. This ensures that you run on a predictable budget, with no surprises for unexpected repairs or issues. Plus, the main difference with this when compared to a break-fix approach is that you can truly rely on your provider to make things work for you, rather than them doing an inadequate repair job so they can nickel and dime you again in the future.
10. Your Remote Working Capabilities Could be Better
Large businesses reap the benefits of having a single converged connection, resulting in mobility and cost savings to their IT infrastructure. What about small businesses? Now that we’re in a new hybrid work environment, mobility allows employees to work remotely without compromising access to all the voice and data applications they need to do their jobs. An MSP will ensure your staff is connected as optimally as possible through VoIP, cloud, and mobile solutions.
In conclusion, your time is precious and that is why we want to help you determine how your business can benefit from managed services. If you found yourself identifying with a number – or even just one – of the scenarios above and would like to know more about how an MSP can help you, simply contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
By partnering with a dedicated team of technology experts, you can stop dealing with time-consuming IT issues, or having to wait for someone to come to the rescue and ensure your technology is giving you the boost your business needs. This means one less thing to worry about – and, let’s face it, in today’s world that is a huge relief.