Managed Services
From my experience, many businesses are unaware of how Managed Services can contribute to operating a successful business.
After learning what Managed Services can do for your business, I’m sure you’ll be compelled to let other businesses within your network know about the benefits of having Managed Services as part of running their business successfully!
What is Managed Services?
Managed Services is the outsourcing of specific IT operations to a third party.
Basically you’re hiring another company to monitor and control certain IT aspects of your business operations.
Many small businesses use in-house employees to perform tasks such as back-up and virus scanning. Imagine that your in-house employee is on vacation, sick or simply forgets to complete their tasks … this could result in drastic downtime and loss of information, negatively affecting the business’ operations.
Did you know that 70% of small businesses that experience a major data loss go out of business within one year? If this was your business, would you be one of the 30% of businesses to survive?
System downtime, spyware and virus infections are all distractions that are ultimately time consuming, unnecessary and very expensive. Businesses of all sizes rely on technology, and as a result, Managed Services has become a necessity.
By having Managed Services in place, you will utilize a valuable IT support team that proactively monitors your system to prevent these types of issues from even occurring in the first place.
If an issue does arise, you’ll have an IT force working to resolve these issues and keep your business running efficiently!
Many companies delegate the role of IT Manager to their most “tech savvy” employee who often has no formal IT training. This delegate, without the support of an experienced IT Management Team, may be putting your business at serious risk.
The delegate usually has limited IT knowledge and experience since this is not typically the employee’s primary role or focus; they may even view these responsibilities as a burden.
Without proper monitoring and careful attention, backups may fail and go unnoticed. Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) batteries may need to be replaced, creating a period of time where the UPS offers no protection. Redundant Disks (RAID) may have failed members, creating a false sense of security and disks could become full which will crash your server or cause your database to become corrupted.
Any one of these situations could result in the loss of important data.
“Outsourcing your IT allows you to focus your attention on your core business,” advises Robert Baird, President and CEO of LOGIX Data Products Inc.
Some important questions that you will need to ask yourself can include:
- What are your IT needs?
- How satisfied are you with the IT Solutions you have in place?
- How do you think Managed Services can help your system operate more efficiently?
- How often do you experience downtime? How does this affect your business operations?
- Do you require your employees to have access to your system remotely?
- Are you prepared for a disaster situation?
By answering these questions, an experienced Managed Services Provider can assist you in choosing the services that are right for you and your business.
Reduce risk, reduce costs and increase efficiency by including Managed Services as part of your business!
