Every business needs strong, reliable IT support. It keeps you competitive, keeps you efficient, and keeps your data secure. But if you’re a small business owner, how can you juggle day-to-day IT management on top of your already busy schedule?
The answer is surprising but simple: You don’t. You let an expert team do it for you. Here’s why you need managed IT services, what you get out of expert help, and how it can benefit your business right away.
What are managed IT services?
A managed IT services provider keeps every part of your IT infrastructure running smoothly. When you outsource the work, you’ll be able to focus on other things while the provider oversees the:
- infrastructure management
- network security
- system maintenance
- cloud services and server maintenance
- data backup, recovery, and security
Of course, these services might differ depending on your business and industry. Still, whichever of these services you require, know that you and your employees will enjoy industry leading IT support daily.
Why you need managed IT services
Letting a team of professionals manage your IT means more than just having a strong WiFi signal for your customers to connect to. Sure, this matters, but it’s just the beginning. Here are a few reasons why you need to hand your IT support over to the pros.
1. You get 24/7 support.
Many business owners hire in-house IT workers. For some, this makes sense. But what happens, for example, if you have a data security issue after 5:00 PM? What’s your plan if your site goes down during peak holiday shopping season, but your IT staff is off for the holidays?
This unplanned downtime can cost small businesses like yours up to $8,600 an hour.
That’s right.
$8,600 an hour.
However, with 24/7 support, these problems won’t be yours to solve. Just call your provider, and let them handle it. They’ll get to it right away, and you can relax, knowing that they have quick solutions to potentially devastating problems.
2. It means more money in your wallet.
Downtime costs are just the start of your unnecessary spending when you don’t have managed IT services to do the job. When you hire in-house IT workers, you’re not just paying them and paying to train them. You’re also paying for the hardware and software that they use.
If this sounds like a strain, that’s because it is. It’s a lot to manage and a lot to budget for. Take your IT staff for instance. You’re already paying for labor and any new training, but if you have a small team, you might need to hire another specialist to handle a bad situation.
For example, if a power surge wipes out months of work and your team isn’t skilled enough in data recovery to get you back on track, you need to find someone who is. This means spending more money on something that managed IT support could already provide.
Then there’s the hardware and software. You have to research it, buy it, and learn how to use it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. You also might have to pay for any unexpected updates to keep your programs running efficiently. On top of this, when your business grows, you may need new hardware to support the demands of traffic growth.
All of these costs, ranging from hiring and training new staff members to updating your software, can add up quickly. So can $120,000, which is the average cost of a cyber attack. If you want to keep overall IT costs low, stay competitive, and avoid paying $120,000 that you don’t have, your best move is to let a provider handle it.
3. You get expert help in many areas.
As a small business owner, you know better than anyone that it’s easy to stretch your resources thin. You have a problem, and you need a solution, but you just don’t have the resources or range of knowledge to find one.
This is where a team of experts with decades of experience can help. With them, no IT problem, whether it’s hackers, a phishing scam, or server maintenance, goes unsolved. An expert team brings the tools and knowledge to give you a reliable IT infrastructure that keeps your business running at the highest level.
It also gives you peace of mind knowing that your IT is capable hands. When you work with Scale, you work with a trusted team of professionals who love what they do and who want to keep your system safe and easy to use.
4. Your system will always keep up.
As a small business owner, it’s easy to want to keep using the tech that you’ve always used. It’s familiar, fairly reliable, and has worked for you in the past. But if you want your business to grow, you need your tech to keep up with you.
It needs to function at a high level regardless of changes in volume or demand. The ability of your system to do this is called scalability, and it’s how you avoid outgrowing your system. Your provider will add, or scale up, the resources that you need to ensure that your system can always support your growth.
In fact, this is one of the main reasons why you need managed IT services. Technology is always changing, and it’s critical that you change with it. Relying on an outdated system will only put you behind your competition and behind what your customers expect in the modern era.
For more information
Managed IT services can boost your IT efficiency, security, and reliability now and in the long run, all at an affordable price. Contact Scale Technology today at (501) 222-8991, or fill out this form to request a consultation.
