In today’s tech-driven world, the quality of a business’s IT infrastructure can significantly impact its efficiency and profitability. As a result, most organizations are looking to find ways to streamline their IT operations and keep up with the ever-changing technology landscape.
One effective way companies are dealing with this challenge is by outsourcing some or all of their IT needs to a Managed Service Provider. This approach enables businesses to reduce costs, focus better on their core activities, and scale resources to match growth and demand for their services.
Before we take a closer look at these benefits, let’s take a quick look at the history of managed IT services to see why they’re a better alternative to the traditional break-fix IT model.
History of Managed IT Services
Computer systems have advanced tremendously over the decades. However, companies have often had trouble keeping up with the rapid pace of technological advancements. In the early days, computer networks were built as simple systems and maintained by a technician. Such maintenance was only performed when issues arose and the system broke.
In time, IT support personnel began to periodically review infrastructure to detect issues before they grew into larger problems. However, these checks could not detect potential issues that could arise in the future. The system was also inefficient and susceptible to human error.
As large companies grew to operate huge IT networks, both software and hardware vendors began to implement better approaches to enable systems to signal issues early using Simple Network Management Protocol.
At first, these improved systems were too complex and expensive for use by small businesses with smaller IT networks. However, these systems have matured over the years and smaller companies are now able to leverage them.
Since most modern companies rely heavily on IT infrastructure to operate effectively, the need for adequate IT support services has come to the fore in recent years. Small businesses with limited budgets and small IT teams often find it a real challenge to keep up with all the important aspects of IT management such as security, backups, patches, and updates.
Fortunately, Managed IT services, however, enable companies – both large and small – to efficiently tackle these issues while focusing on their core business activities.
Benefits of Managed IT Services
To stay afloat in today’s fast-moving and highly competitive business world, companies are increasingly turning to managed IT service providers for the cost, efficiency, and scalability advantages they offer. Let’s take a closer look at these benefits.
Cost-Effectiveness
Partnering with managed IT service providers often results in considerable cost savings for most businesses. Most small businesses lack the budget and resources to completely manage their IT infrastructure in a proactive manner. However, such organizations can benefit from the expertise and resources of a Managed Service Provider at a fraction of what it would cost them to operate a comparable IT department in-house.
In addition, since many Managed Service Providers operate on a subscription-based model, companies to foresee and budget for their IT costs in a consistent manner. As a result, they can take steps in advance to ensure that they keep their operational costs within their budget.
Freedom to Focus on Core Business Activities
Most business owners would rather have their employees focusing on revenue-generating tasks that are critical to their core business than dealing with IT-related tasks. However, to avoid downtime, IT responsibilities have to be delegated to employees. Over time, such routine maintenance tasks may be neglected by internal staff.
Outsourcing IT management to a Managed Service Provider completely eliminates this issue. Managed service providers can relieve internal IT staff of mundane maintenance and other IT-related duties and can enable them to focus on more strategic tasks that move the business forward.
Improved Security and Compliance
As more and more businesses have to handle sensitive customer data, security and compliance with industry regulations is now a major concern for many companies. Managed service providers often provide very secure and robust systems and can help to protect companies from data breaches. If a security breach should occur, Managed Service Providers can take swift action to limit the damage done.
Keeping up with all the policies and protocols required to stay compliant with regulations can prove to be quite a challenge. Fortunately, a Managed Service Provider can help by implementing additional protocols and policies to ensure better compliance.
Scalability
As businesses grow, their technology requirements inevitably increase, eventually outgrowing available resources. Scaling up to meet the increased demand for resources can be a challenge, especially for small but rapidly growing firms.
Managed service providers can offer the support and services needed to accommodate rapid growth and fluctuations in demand. This enables companies to stay productive during periods of high demand for their services.
Proactive Maintenance
Unlike the traditional break-fix maintenance approach, which was costly due to lost productivity during outages, managed services focus on identifying and resolving issues early so as to prevent critical failures. Managed service solutions constantly monitor the IT infrastructure to detect potential issues, vulnerabilities, and threats. Such issues can then be looked into and fixed before they cause major problems.
As a result, businesses can go about their activities without worrying that an issue or vulnerability will result in downtime, temporarily crippling their operations. Managed service providers also leverage cloud computing as well as backup and disaster recovery technologies to keep their clients’ IT infrastructure efficient and reliable.
As technology continues to transform the business world, managed IT services will continue to be important for small and medium businesses looking to stay productive and relevant.
Considering Managed IT Services?
Synditech is a leading managed services provider and listed as one of the Top providers in Vancouver. Businesses in Vancouver, Lower Mainland, and throughout Canada rely on Synditech to manage their back-end IT so they can focus on the important initiatives driving toward their business goals.
We want to work with you to create a flexible operating infrastructure that adapts to new technologies and lets you respond quickly to fast moving business opportunities.
Whether you need remote management or onsite support, Synditech works with you to build a customized IT managed service solution that fits your business requirements. Get in touch with us today so we can find a way to help you and your company grow.
