Because of today's reliance on technology, a critical IT outage can grind your organization to a halt, threatening customer service, sales processes, business operations and production. A technology glitch can derail a business for days, and in some cases, mark the end of operations for a company, putting it out of business.
Research reveals the cost of downtime to small businesses ranges from $137 to $427 per minute; for enterprises, the cost can easily eclipse $1 million an hour. Those statistics don't account for natural disasters, which can also sideline an otherwise stable company.
While some IT outages may still happen, engaging with a managed services provider (MSP) can assist small to midsized organizations when it comes to preventable outages. By taking a proactive and systematic approach to IT networks, MSPs help businesses navigate the complexities of technology—from planning to procurement, deployment to maintenance—with a keen eye toward stability and security.
Not sure if managed services are a good fit for your organization? Here are eight ways managed IT can turn technology into a tool versus a distraction in your organization.1. Proactive Maintenance
Frustration, wasted time, and unhappy customers are a handful of reasons that preventing technology outages is a priority for most business leaders. Proactive maintenance, IT health checks and monitoring, and aggressive patch management are simple steps managed services providers take to avoid widespread outages—stopping potential issues before they escalate into full-blown problems.
2. Predictable Budgeting
With stable, monthly costs, managed services agreements bring predictability to your company’s budget. In addition to simplifying IT spending, MSPs provide guidance throughout the technology lifecycle, enabling well-informed financial forecasting and aligning your IT strategy and investments with business objectives. By looking at technology as a long-term investment, your organization gains a clear roadmap for systematic IT improvements.
3. Responsive Support
When a tech outage impacts your ability to work, there isn’t anything more important at that moment. But not all IT problems are equal, which is why MSPs use sophisticated ticketing systems and proven evaluation processes to set priorities for support requests. Problems that impact critical systems or a large group of employees are usually pushed to the top of the list. Your tech partner will have documented, established processes and service level agreements that are clearly outlined in your contract to inform your expectations when it comes to resolving technical problems.
4. Qualified Staff
MSPs invest constantly in their team’s ongoing education through vendor and industry certifications. They work closely with vendors to understand new products, troubleshoot common problems and stay up-to-date on technology’s quickly evolving landscape. When you partner with an MSP, you will find their team well-versed in cybersecurity threats, hardware and software trends, and cutting-edge technology innovations, and most likely, there will be senior engineers with deep, specific expertise in more complex IT issues.
5. Collaborative Approach
Many businesses are surprised to hear that MSPs can act either as a full, virtual IT department or work side-by-side with existing technology experts within your organization. Perhaps you need after-hours support and proactive maintenance activities handled by an MSP while your in-house technology person tackles major IT projects. Most MSPs collaborate well with in-house IT staff, often sharing access to ticketing systems to enable escalation from the on-premise tech to the MSP when the need arises.
6. Affordable Staffing
Compared to the cost of hiring a full-time person to manage your organization's network, handle daily support tickets and troubleshoot large IT issues, an MSP is an affordable, budget-friendly alternative. In fact, the average cost of IT support services is almost always less than hiring a full-time technology specialist, with salaries ranging from about $60,000/year for junior technicians up to $150,000/year for experienced engineers. Generally speaking, the average cost of IT support for small businesses in the U.S. is about $40,000 a year.
7. Vendor Relationships
Much like other corporate contracts, software and services agreements can be overwhelming, full of legal and technical jargon that can make your head hurt. MSPs will not only help with planning your technology roadmap, but they can also manage vendor partnerships, especially when a support issue needs to escalate to the vendor level. Most MSPs build close, strong relationships with partner vendors, plus having someone who “speaks the language” handling vendor and product conversations is invaluable.
8. Vertical Expertise
MSPs don't just build best practices around vendor solutions they use regularly, they also invest in vertical expertise to address the specific needs of industries such as healthcare, legal, education, or retail. Your MSP can deliver vertical best practices into your organization, along with proven industry-specific solutions, compliance playbooks, cybersecurity policies, and more.