Successful business owners know that it is important to reduce operating costs without affecting their company’s performance. Managed IT services can help you save money while simultaneously improving the performance and efficiency of your business. 

What Are Managed IT Services?

Managed IT services are outsourced IT services. It usually involves an agreement or contract between a managed service provider (MSP) and a business. The managed service provider agrees to perform IT services for a negotiated price. An agreement or contract can vary in length. An MSP can provide ongoing services for a business or they can be contracted out on a one-time basis. In addition to negotiating a price for the contract, a business and MSP will agree upon what services will be provided depending on the needs of the business. 

Managed IT services are becoming more popular as the number of small businesses in Canada is growing. At of the end of 2015, 97.9% of businesses in Canada were considered small (less than 100 employees). Small businesses cannot afford an entire IT team which has increased the need for managed services. Even medium and large sized businesses are contracting out IT services to complement their existing IT teams and to save costs.  

Save On Hiring Costs And Employee Expenses

There is a big cost associated with hiring especially if you are a small business with limited employees and resources. You might not have a dedicated Human Resource position and this results in you having to take someone away from their tasks to conduct a job search for an IT position. By outsourcing IT services, you can eliminate this problem. You may also have limited IT needs which doesn’t require a full-time position. By contracting out your IT to a managed service provider, you can save on hiring costs and employee expenses by only paying for the services you need. 

Access To More Resources

If you have a small IT team or a solo IT position, you should still consider outsourcing some of your IT services. You may not be able to provide an IT professional with the best resources to set up proactive and preventative technology maintenance. Since an IT company is specialized, they have better access to resources and can implement IT solutions at a lower cost than if you were to pay for them yourself.  

If an IT worker at your company takes a vacation, IT issues may remain unresolved for a long time. Consider supplementing an IT position with some managed services to ensure you have the resources to resolve issues in a timely manner.

When Technology Isn’t Working Properly You’re Losing Money

You may think you are saving costs by not using IT services but you are probably spending more money in the long run when technology isn’t working properly. Employee productivity is affected by broken technology. The productivity that your business will gain from managed services will greatly outweigh the cost. 

You Can’t Afford A Security Breach

While there is a cost to protecting your business with IT services, there is an even greater cost if you don’t. A security breach could be detrimental to your business. If your business is a startup, you may think this is the time to trim costs, especially on IT services. However, if you end up facing a security breach it could create so many extra costs and legal issues that you don’t have the resources to deal with them and need to close your business.  

60% of companies that get hacked are out of business within 6 months. 

You may also lose the trust of clients as you will appear to be irresponsible. Small businesses are at a bigger risk of security breaches. Hackers know that small businesses may not take the same type of precautions to protect their data as larger corporations would. 

Take Control Over Your Budget

Managed service providers offer a wide range of monthly IT services for a set cost. A good IT service provider will work with you to determine the highest priority services for your business. These types of contracts will generally offer ongoing support for the services you agree upon. This is ideal compared to pay as you go type services. You can run into unexpected costs if you experience a major technology problem without a contract or agreement in place.  

Data Retrieval Will Be Expensive Without A Plan

If you are facing a security breach or any kind of data retrieval, it could cost you a lot of money if you aren’t prepared. It is better to be proactive with your business security. When you outsource your services to an IT company, they will implement the necessary security measures to prevent a security breach or any kind of data loss.

If you don’t consult an IT company until you are facing a security breach this could become very costly. You won’t have as much time to research an IT company you trust and are comfortable working with. 

Finding an IT company before you end up facing a data breach can save you a lot of headaches. They will have documentation of what kind of software and hardware you are using so they will be able to fix the problem faster. They will also be knowledgeable about your business and you will feel more comfortable working with them.

IT Professionals Offer Advice And Recommendations 

Your IT company will get to know your business needs after working with you for a while. They will be able to recommend technology that can help improve the performance of your business. If you ever run into technology-related problems or are looking into upgrading any of your current technology, your IT company will be able to do research and find you an appropriate solution.  

Are you ready to save money with IT managed services? Contact Keystone Technologies to discuss your IT needs.