10 Benefits of Managed IT Services for Your Business

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office coworkers working on managing their IT services for enhanced cybersecurity

What Are Managed IT Services?

Managed IT services take the stress and worry of keeping your technology updated, upgraded, and secure. With managed IT services, you can focus on core business needs and leave the technology to an expert.

Managed IT services are provided by experienced, knowledgeable third parties. The provider will conduct an initial assessment of the technology in place and needed within a business. From that assessment, the provider will define a customized solution.

There are many benefits to managed IT services. The provider takes over responsibility for the technology stack. While the services may vary, the most common services include:

Monitoring and management of hardware and software, including updating, license management, and installation
Help desk services
Technology integration
Constant monitoring and risk mitigation
Disaster recovery planning
Cybersecurity

In most cases, the managed IT service provider charges a flat monthly fee for the services. This structure provides predictability and reliability.

In-House IT Teams Vs. Managed IT Services

Managed IT services are increasingly replacing in-house IT teams. Here are three of the key reasons for this shift, including:

Shift from Break-Fix. For years, the standard IT approach was break-fix. Internal IT services focused on maintaining equipment and when something broke, they paid to fix it. This approach is costly and can result in delays and frustration.
Personnel and Operational Costs. By maintaining in-house teams, you’re paying salaries, benefits, and taxes on each IT employee, as opposed to a predictable monthly fee.
Lack of Innovation. When you rely on internal IT teams, you’re more likely to miss opportunities to upgrade and add new technologies that could improve your business results and help meet key strategic needs.

10 Benefits of Managed IT Services

There are many benefits of managed IT services. Here are 10 of the top advantages.

Increase Bandwidth at Your Company

With better operational efficiency from reliable IT, your company can expand its collective bandwidth. You’ll be able to do more and do it faster, reaching more customers and selling more products and services.

Increasing bandwidth is a figurative and literal benefit. Managed IT services can improve the performance and functionality of your networks, allowing for better experiences for customers and employees.

Leverage Specialized Skills & Expertise

With a managed IT services solution in place, you can leverage the experienced professionals your provider employs. These staffers work every day with technology, learning about and using the latest and best solutions and saving their clients time and money.

No matter what the technical issue you’re facing, you can rely on your managed IT provider to have a resource available to problem-solve.

Cost Optimization

Cost reduction is essential to your business's success. With a predictable monthly fee, outsourced IT helps you to better budget for your technology costs, instead of waiting for something to break.

Scalability

Businesses seek growth. With a managed IT solution in place, including cloud-based technologies, you’ll be able to easily scale your business, adding additional resources, storing more data, and adding new locations. If you need to scale down your business (such as during seasonal shifts), good technology allows for simple, fast adjustments.

Enhanced Security

Managed IT services are among the most essential defenses against cyberattacks. Cyberdefense is at the core of your managed IT solutions. Constant monitoring of your technologies, systems, and networks can ensure that threats are contained and eradicated before any harmful damage can occur.

In addition, managed IT can ensure that employees are trained and educated about the importance of cybersecurity and how to identify potential risks early.

Minimize Downtime

Despite your best efforts, things break. When they do, you want your websites, networks, and employees to be idle as little as possible.

With managed IT services, you don’t need to wait to find someone to assess and repair damage. In many cases, help desks can address and fix problems remotely. Quick responses by your tech team ensure that you’re downtime will be minimal.

Access Latest Technology

Innovation can make all the difference when it comes to your business success. Managed IT providers also provide counsel, recommendations, and advice about emerging technologies and how they can transform your company. Know you will be on the cutting edge with solutions that can make all the difference and distinguish your company from your competitors.

Ensure Compliance

Compliance is critical today as governments at the state, local, national, and international levels look to ensure businesses protect data and keep consumers from the unwanted effects of cyberattacks.

Maintaining compliance can be complicated, with various mandates, monitoring, and reporting necessary. Turn to your managed IT provider to manage this complexity.

Disaster Recovery Capabilities

If a natural disaster or cyberattack affects your business, your operations can be devastated. Disaster planning and recovery services help ensure that your technology can be restored and back in operation quickly.

Improved Vendor Management

Your business likely involves technology from multiple vendors, for your hardware, software, and servers. These providers are constantly sending updates and new offers. There are also licenses and warranties to manage for each vendor.

Let your managed IT provider coordinate these vendor relationships and ensure that your technology is optimized.

How to Choose a Managed IT Provider

With so many benefits available, it’s important to make a smart choice when selecting a managed IT services provider. Here are some tips when making that selection:

Know What You Need. Before starting, have a clear sense of what you think you need for your managed IT services
Review Experience. Be sure you look for providers who have experience in your industry and your space. It’s best to work with a provider who understands your work and industry trends
Check Services. Be sure to select a provider that offers a broad array of services and has expertise in each one
Ask About Response Times. Speed matters. Be sure your contract spells out response and resolution times
Focus on Security. A cyberattack can cripple your company. Be sure your potential provider has a rigorous approach to cybersecurity

How the Experts at ConsultNet Can Help

ConsultNet offers an extensive managed IT solution for small businesses. With experts on hand to assess, deploy, and manage your IT, you can be confident your technology will operate at peak levels of performance.

To learn more about how ConsultNet can help your business, contact us today.