It may be time for you to consider the benefits of managed IT services in Little Rock. Businesses are increasingly moving towards more non-traditional systems for their IT infrastructure needs. Even at a local level, many small businesses are moving to managed IT services.
A recent study pegs the 2021 growth rate of cloud services spending at 23.1%. This translates to a total of $332 billion. Of that colossal figure, at least $16 billion is estimated to be spent on cloud management and security.
From these facts and figures, it’s evident that companies are spending the big bucks on IT management services. So, let’s talk about what unmanaged and managed IT services really are and what they may mean for your business.
Unmanaged IT Services
Unmanaged IT services refers to a DIY model wherein you and your team members establish your own IT infrastructure. From setting up a website to handling data security for your business, the responsibility is yours. There are no third-party members involved in this scenario.
Benefits of Unmanaged IT Services
The only advantage of adopting an unmanaged IT services model is absolute control. You’ll have direct authority over your technology team and can oversee their work in a closer manner. Moreover, you’ll have the liberty to customize data and networks as and when you need them.
Challenges With Unmanaged IT Services
Unfortunately, there are many downsides to unmanaged IT services—especially if you aren’t a company that is experienced with technology. For starters, it will likely be more expensive, since you’ll need to hire full-time professionals and components on an ad hoc basis.
Besides, you’ll end up spending a lot of time on a non-business-related front. Downtimes, network security attacks, and other glitches have become a frequent phenomenon. There would be many scenarios that would require you to use your better judgment. For instance, how often do you want to backup data? What protocol is to be followed if there’s a hacking incident? Which network switch has to be used?
If you go for unmanaged IT services, prepare to spend a significant chunk of your time dealing with such issues. This is a major reason why even seasoned IT professionals prefer managed services.
Managed IT Services
Managed IT services are the tasks that are undertaken by a professional tech agency on behalf of your company. It’s a subscription-type model wherein you pay only for the services you avail. When you sign up with a firm, you can discuss the scope of work. The list of provided IT services could include maintenance, troubleshooting, network management, and backing up data.
Benefits of Managed IT Services
Since you are hiring a group of professionals who specialize in this domain, there are many advantages to managed IT services:
Availability
As with any other industry, quality and customer satisfaction are of utmost importance in the IT service sector. In a bid to help their clients, most professionals are available 24/7 to solve any snags. They are usually just a phone call or customer ticket away.
This is an excellent value addition for your business. Your team doesn’t have to be woken up in the dead of the night or work in shifts. At the same time, you don’t have to compromise on your business due to a network or server failure.
Problem-Solving Nature
An in-house IT team typically consists of generalists who can reduce downtimes and solve minor issues. However, they lack the expertise to solve major problems or outages. This is where a managed IT services team can come in handy.
Specialized agencies have cybersecurity experts, network engineers, and developers on their teams. They can take stock of a situation and get you up and running irrespective of the issue.
Cost Saving
Let’s say your online clothing business faces four hours of downtime every month. Additionally, you need to run back-ups, maintenance, and upgrades. This means that you need anywhere from 2-8 IT members on your payroll, depending on the scale.
If you decide to hire an agency for managed IT services in Little Rock, the contractors will take care of your requirements at a fraction of the cost. Besides, you can get access to new enterprise software and updates at a good price.
These services can also help fast-growing enterprises and seasonal businesses. If your business specializes only in winter clothing, you might not have the same level of requirements during off seasons. So, you can reduce your bandwidth and backup frequency during non-peak periods to save money.
Challenges With Managed IT Services
While the benefits of managed IT services are significant, you should also be wary of the possible risks of outsourcing your IT needs. Some of these challenges may include the following:
- There might be instances of miscommunication between you and the service provider. It might even lead to conflicts, especially if the agency doesn’t understand your business needs.
- You’ll need to give high-level access for the external team to operate smoothly. The IT management firm should be reliable enough to avoid unwanted data leaks, but the risk is still there for them to occur.
- Migrating from one system to the other takes time. In particular, if you have been managing the IT setup with the help of internal team members, seamlessly transferring data and controls to the agency might be tedious.
As you can see, the potential challenges of managed IT services are plenty, and they are not to be ignored. However, they can typically be mitigated easily—all you need is a professional, reputed, and accountable firm for your IT needs.
Conclusion
Evidently, managed IT services have many advantages over self-serviced ones. They’re economical, hassle-free, and efficient, as a start. That said, these services are beneficial only if your business relies extensively on IT.
If you do decide to get managed IT services in Little Rock, look no further. Scale Technology has a range of solutions to offer, from ransomware protection to network security, cloud services, and all other custom requirements. Reach out to us for a free IT consultation today!
**SOCIAL SHARE DESCRIPTION: Deciding between managed and unmanaged IT services can be difficult. Thankfully, we’ve got just the thing! Check out our list of pros and cons for both types of services, and determine whether managed IT services in Little Rock are right for your business.
