How managed services can simplify daily operations
Many businesses are facing a confusing and difficult time dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. At PRO OnCall, we remain committed to helping your employees and customers throughout this time. We are prepared to equip your business with the right IT solutions to keep business moving forward and with little disruption to daily operations.
Every business relies on technology today to operate. If you’re like most organizations, your reliance on technology is growing every year, which means the challenges that come with managing your networks and IT systems are growing as well. With the coronavirus forcing everything to work from home, your technology needs to be secure now, more than ever before.
According to The 2020 State of IT, annual report, the business technology market has reached nearly $4 trillion in annual spending. Businesses of all sizes are increasing their budgets as they strive to stay on top of IT priorities, such as data security and cloud adoption.
This doesn’t just mean that information technology is becoming more important. It also means managing IT is becoming way more complex.
This complexity is making it harder to gain the efficiencies-all this technology promises – which is exactly why managed services have become such a critical asset for businesses today. By outsourcing some or all of your IT tasks to an experienced managed service provider (MSP), you can take back control of your IT.
Here’s an in-depth look at the specific ways that using managed services can drive efficient IT, helping your business be more secure from home, accomplish more and spend less in the long run.
Better cybersecurity assurance
Businesses today, and small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, are incredibly vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to the Verizon 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report, 43 percent of cyberattacks target small businesses. Once an attack occurs, the financial fallout can be catastrophic. Cybersecurity incidents cost businesses $200,000 on average.
When your in-house team is out of the office, they can only do so much to stop cyber threats. However, a managed service provider can use a range of techniques to keep your business safe. These include constant monitoring, security awareness training, network and firewall protection, data encryption and backup, and real-time threat prevention and elimination.
Freed-up IT resources
When your MSP handles essential tasks such as system monitoring, testing, and help desk support for your employees, your in-house staff is free to work on tasks that can help to drive your business forward, during this uncertain time, your business needs all hands on deck.
Right now, they may be spending a good chunk of the day putting out IT ‘fires’ around the office, such as lost passwords or dealing with a piece of hardware that’s not working properly. With an MSP doing the IT support work remotely, your staff can help with building new software and features for existing solutions, consulting with other departments about purchasing new technology, and other business-critical tasks.
Access to top experts, resources, and tools
When you only have an in-house IT team, you’re limited by the skill set, experience, and tools that the team has to work with. With managed services, you have access to a range of IT experts who know how to use the latest technologies.
Also, because an MSP focuses solely on IT, it can focus the bulk of its budget on acquiring world-class resources and ensuring its staff is up-to-date and knows how to leverage the latest tools in the industry. This level of nearly unlimited access can open many doors for your business, and help your business get through the COVID-19 safely.
Use of a full-time fully staffed IT department at a fraction of the cost
Speaking of cost savings, by partnering with a managed services provider, you can tap into a full-time IT department without having to pay all the associated costs. That’s right – a fully equipped IT team in your corner that you can afford, even as a small business owner. You won’t have to pay for benefits, onboarding, or full-time salaries.
Saving money during the coronavirus pandemic is important, because businesses everywhere are struggling to make ends meet or even keep their doors open.
This is one of the ways that managed services aren’t just making managing IT more efficient – but revolutionizing what small and medium-sized businesses can do with their IT.
Proactive monitoring
With an MSP, you can take a proactive approach to your IT network. Your managed services provider will monitor your network remotely around the clock, which means you have experienced professionals looking out for any potential issues before they become a problem. Especially with employees working from home, your business data has been opened up to many more risks than before.
This can help your business to avoid expensive downtime and the loss of your data. It can also empower you to make smarter decisions regarding your IT systems – your MSP can provide regular reports on your network’s performance and vulnerabilities that you can use to figure out when to upgrade systems, increase your cybersecurity, or take other vital actions.
Consistent monthly rate
Using managed services can also make it easier to direct your IT budget for the new solutions and hardware you need. Because you only pay a fixed monthly rate with an MSP, you can predict how much you’ll need to spend and determine what you can use for future IT investments. Saving money right now is important for the well-being of your business.
Reliable response services
How much time do your employees waste waiting for help with setting up their account or troubleshooting their tech issues? When you partner with an MSP, you’ll be able to count on fast, reliable response times. Your employees will experience less disruption to their workflow – and less frustration.
Cloud computing and data backup
Today, everyone has to be working from the cloud. The coronavirus pandemic has shifted how work is being done. With everyone working from home, the cloud if important so that everyone can access the same data at the same time. While cloud technology offers everything from great flexibility to enhanced business continuity, it’s also one more thing for your IT team to manage.
Partnering with an MSP that offers cloud services including cloud monitoring, cloud migration, and cloud backup can streamline your experience using the cloud.
Simplify the lives of employees
Using a managed services provider can make everything from software upgrades to cloud migrations smoother. Your MSP can prevent downtime and handle IT issues for your workers fast. Even more importantly, managed services allow your IT resources to focus on creating apps, functions, and other solutions that will make the workflows of your employees even more streamlined. All this adds up to a more efficient, more productive, better-empowered business.
Making things simpler for employees during this trying time, can improve productivity and eliminate stress. While the world is in confusion, have a handle on your business and employees’ peace of mind.
In the midst of chaos, you have a friend in PRO OnCall
Our IT experts are here to help answer your questions around the clock. We understand that you may have some questions about new ways to better serve your employees and customers while working from home because of coronavirus. As always, we are here to help answer any questions and provide you with any new and ongoing support needed to get through this unusual time.
