Is it time for your company to outsource IT? IT managed service providers deliver the technical expertise small businesses need at a much lower cost than hiring IT staff. They can recommend, install, and manage technology according to business’ objectives and core competencies and ensure that critical data is safe. That’s why nearly 70% of U.S. small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) work with an IT service provider for some or all of their IT needs.
Is it time for your business to outsource IT?
There are many considerations for SMBs thinking about moving their IT to another company. Here are some key factors to help you decide what’s best for your company. Ready to get started?
Traits of an MSP: An MSP, or managed service provider, is an IT service professional to which SMBs outsource their IT needs. MSPs are the guardians of IT, delivering ongoing monitoring and management of client applications (email, web site, security, etc.) and IT infrastructure remotely. This is typically accomplished through remote monitoring services, which allows them to keep tabs on the health of their clients’ IT environments, change and update systems, and troubleshoot problems. MSPs closely monitor a wide variety of IT solutions a business has implemented, including web apps, desktop and server management software, backup and disaster recovery, storage management tools and security software.
SMB Trends in IT outsourcing: A recent survey by B2B research firm Clutch showed that 69% of U.S. SMBs use at least one IT service provider, regardless of company size. 63% of respondents indicated they also have dedicated, in-house IT staff. However, this percentage was much lower among SMBs with 10 or fewer employees—only 31% of that group have in-house IT staff. MSPs typically deliver services on a subscription basis; companies pay a fixed amount, usually monthly, for a specific set of IT services. Some common examples include, but are not limited to application monitoring and management, helpdesk, email, security, storage and backup and disaster recovery. These services are typically offered either as packaged services, or a la carte,
depending on the needs of the SMB. They are also often priced at a fraction of the cost of a full time IT resource. MSPs work with a variety of technology vendors in order to deliver these services.
Focus on core business operations – and protect business continuity: There are a variety of reasons that SMBs need help from third-party IT firms. IT skill and expense tops the list for smaller businesses. SMBs stand to reduce IT costs while getting the IT expertise they need by partnering with a service provider. Larger businesses typically work with IT providers to offload a number of difficult or time-consuming tasks, allowing their internal IT staff to focus on mission critical activities. The ongoing infrastructure monitoring that IT managed service providers deliver can help SMBs avoid IT issues, data loss and downtime. Small business IT teams face budget and time constraints that make it difficult to deliver the level of monitoring an MSP can. This may be the most important benefit of working with an MSP, because IT downtime can completely derail a small business.
If you’ve never considered an IT managed service offering and are trying to manage your own IT, it’s worth being aware of this cost effective way to have your IT burden lifted.
Keep in mind, all or some IT tasks to a managed service allows businesses to focus on their core competencies. CompuData’s experience in managed IT services, leveraging its expertise as a Datto Business Partner, enables CompuData to empower today’s SMBs with the technologies and security measures necessary to ensure scalable growth and reliable business continuity.
Ready to get started? Contact CompuData today!
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