As a managed IT services provider in Corona and Orange County, we’ve found that the role of the in-house IT person or staff has become increasingly more and more strenuous. With the constant threat of cyber criminals bent on infiltrating company data records, and technological standards constantly changing due to regulations and innovation, a business’s IT department can be overwhelmed. Imagine the resources required to stay up to date on system upgrades, patches, and everyday maintenance. Whether you have a full IT team or a one-man show, you should consider outsourcing your IT support services. There are several signs that indicate that it’s time to outsource your IT support.
Increase Cyber Attacks
Internal IT teams are constantly fighting off the most sophisticated generation of hackers that has ever lived. Old technology and a lack of resources leave businesses vulnerable to cyber threats daily. From breaches, ransomware attacks, and malware, internal IT teams are often outmatched and unable to defend the company from these threats. Hackers can spot vulnerable, and attacks become more frequent. Many businesses choose to work with IT providers because they have expertise in a specific area of IT. For example, 38% of respondents in CompTIA’s survey said that they adopted managed services for “enhanced security/compliance.” This is likely since ransomware attacks and security breaches are constantly in the news, but it highlights the fact that MSPs have deep technical knowledge in specific disciplines of IT. Also, the ongoing monitoring and software management MSPs provide is particularly important, because keeping software patched and up to date is essential to protect against security breaches.
Too Much Downtime
One of the signs that its time to outsources your IT is the amount of downtime you experience. This can often be attributed to slow internet speeds and bad connectivity. Servers become faulty over time and require system updates often. Software becomes outdated quickly and requires updates and patches to say effectively. All these things contribute to downtime and subsequently, declined productivity. Working with a managed service provider allows businesses to offload tasks that are difficult and/or time-consuming. That’s one of the reasons that business continuity services are so popular today. Protecting company data through backup and disaster recovery has long been a pain point for companies of all sizes; MSPs can ensure the SMB company data is fully protected from malicious or inadvertent actions, reducing business risk by putting complex tasks in the hands of experts. SMB’s in Corona and Orange County have seen a massive reduction in downtime through managed it services.
Decline in Productivity
According to the IT industry trade association CompTIA, the top reason SMBs adopt managed services today is to “improve efficiency/reliability of IT operations” (51%). For a very small business, “improve efficiency/ reliability of IT operations” might mean implementing and managing the IT infrastructure. At the other end of the spectrum, it might mean outsourcing some routine tasks so in-house staff can focus on higher-level technical challenges. And, 31% of respondents said that they opted to work with a managed IT, service provider, to “free IT staff to work on strategic projects.” MSPs can provide different levels of support to meet the technical requirements of different businesses.
Conclusion
Moving all or some IT tasks to a managed IT service allows businesses to focus on their core competencies instead of day-to-day IT management. This is especially important for SMBs since they are frequently stretched thin from a personnel and budget standpoint. MSPs can initiate new projects and implement new technologies quickly. They have the resources and flexibility to get projects off the ground which might take weeks or months in-house. Implementing new technology with your existing environment can be complicated and time-consuming. Because MSPs work with a wide variety of clients with different IT needs, they are uniquely equipped to take on complex IT projects. They also have vast experience troubleshooting the products they use—allowing them to resolve problems quickly.
