Managed IT services help businesses streamline some of the most complicated challenges in their IT environments, while also providing access to professional and proven experts. Before we cover how managed IT services can help businesses, let’s talk about what they are.
Any outsourced, IT-related tasks, processes, or functions handled by a third party are considered managed IT services. While some companies will outsource their entire IT management, others will augment their in-house staff with managed IT services to handle complexities within their infrastructure. There are a lot of benefits to using managed IT services. Read on to learn how they can help businesses improve their operations and bottom line.
1. Save Time
There never seems to be enough time in the day. Keeping up with the day-to-day obstacles and IT issues that always seem to pop up can be a time-devouring task alone. But when you add that work on top of maintaining your IT environment and making sure it’s up-to-date and secure can seem near impossible. When you use managed IT services, it frees up your team to work on other tasks and projects, so you get more done in the day.
2. Peace of Mind
IT is a necessity for businesses, but often it’s not easy or intuitive. You need the right talent to get the job done. In today’s hiring landscape, it can be difficult to attract and retain the IT talent you need to keep your business operating smoothly and securely. It’s one of the biggest staffing pain points today. By leveraging managed IT services, you not only benefit from having highly qualified experts manage your IT environment, but you get the peace of mind knowing it’s being done right.
3. Reduce Costs
The costs associated with recruiting, training, and retaining talent can easily skyrocket out of control. With managed IT services, you can reduce these expenses, while getting access to top talent to manage your IT environment. Not only can managed IT services help reduce your overhead, but they can also help provide more predictable spending.
4. Expert Support Available 24/7
Another pain point of maintaining an effective IT system is the lack of availability when you need it most. If your in-house IT team needs assistance and aren’t using managed IT services, you’re often left dealing with a break/fix support, which doesn’t always provide the same level of service or accountability. With managed IT services, you get 24/7 support from seasoned experts to handle your IT issues when you need it most.
5. Simplify Vendor Management
If you’re using multiple IT vendors to support your infrastructure, managing all the different contracts, contacts, and SLAs across vendors can end up being a full-time job. Not to mention it can add extra stress during your workday. When you partner with a managed services provider, on the other hand, you can work with one provider that can unify your IT system, making it more manageable. Plus, you get the added benefit of having consistent management of your whole IT environment.
6. Access to the Latest Technology
Keeping up with the latest tech developments is a challenge, especially because new tools constantly emerge. When a service provider manages your IT, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you have the latest and greatest tech; they handle that for you. This also saves you the money you would typically spend sourcing, acquiring, and maintaining the latest tools.
7. Flexibility to Adjust Your IT
Flexibility is essential to accelerating your business growth. Scaling up can often involve purchasing equipment or software to meet your growing needs. While scaling down may not necessitate new tools or systems, it does take considerable time and reorganization of your IT assets. With managed IT services, the systematic and technological adjustments needed to support an expansion or contraction are all handled by your managed services provider.
8. Staying Compliant
Compliance standards can get complicated, and it’s easy to miss the latest update or legislation, adding stress and exposing your organization to stiff penalties. Managed service providers are compliant with various IT certifications, and they maintain certifications across a variety of industries, so you can rest assured your IT is compliant with industry standards.
9. Mitigate Your Risk
When you handle all your IT in-house, the risk of downtime is exacerbated, particularly because you may be limited by your in-house backup system and may not have the agility necessary to get your system back up and running quickly. With managed IT services, you have the latest resiliency and continuity best practices and tools working on your behalf, protecting you against downtime, data breaches, and more.
To learn more about what managed IT services are and how they can benefit your organization, read our comprehensive guide to managed services. TPx is here to help make your IT operate smoothly.