For years, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have relied solely on their in-house IT department to source, install, and maintain the technology systems that support their business activities. And in theory, this makes sense -- why seek outside help when your tech-related services and support can be taken care of internally?
But as times change, more companies are seeing the benefits of outsourcing their IT functions to managed services providers (MSPs). They’re companies staffed by IT specialists who fix issues immediately, answer questions quickly, and find ways to prevent tech problems from ever happening in the first place.
Bringing on an MSP might seem unnecessary at first blush, but there are actually plenty of good reasons for doing it. Let’s take a look at the ways an MSP is able to help your business and what you stand to gain from this partnership.
The labor sweet spot
As your company grows, so too will your technology needs. And during certain phases of expansion your IT personnel might become overwhelmed with support requests. Hiring more manpower may alleviate the workload, but just think about the additional salaries, benefits, and training -- your business may not be able to afford such expenses.
An MSP can handle your overflow IT requests at a fraction of the price of hiring a full-time employee. They’re able to provide automated system monitoring, remote support, performance reports, and much more for a nominal monthly fee.
Comprehensive tech assistance
Small businesses can usually afford only one or two full-time technicians to support the entire company. So what happens when someone takes a vacation or an extended absence of any kind? If something breaks when your IT guy is away, you’ll end up with unproductive staff and missed business opportunities.
But your IT doesn’t have to exist on a knife’s edge like this. By handing the monitoring and maintenance of your office technology over to an MSP, you’ll never experience a lack of IT support, in good times or bad. Most MSPs will coordinate with your IT personnel in advance, take care of current issues, and put solutions in place to prevent them from ever happening again.
Business improvement
Just because your technicians are keeping everything running smoothly doesn’t mean they couldn’t use a helping hand. The more you offload your network issues and computer support to an MSP, the less your staff has to be distracted by them. They will no longer be “firefighters” tasked with putting out IT fires that erupt on a daily basis. Instead, they will have more time to do their jobs.
Insider deals
Another significant advantage of bringing on a managed services provider is exclusive vendor relationships. MSPs often have special agreements with reputable software and hardware vendors that otherwise wouldn’t be available to your company. They can procure the best products at the best prices and negotiate contracts on your behalf, ensuring you get the terms that are favorable to you.
MSPs are the future for SMBs -- are you ready?
Now that you know a few of the advantages an MSP can bring to your organization, it’s time to decide whether you’re ready to hire one. We’ve put together an eBook outlining the key indicators of whether your company would benefit from managed IT services. Click here to download your copy. Or if you want to know how working with an MSP can improve the performance of your IT department, call us at 1-877-879-4733 today for a free consultation.
