Companies need IT support to ensure their computers and network systems for key business activities continue working effectively and without glitches.

The most popular model for small and medium-sized businesses to get their IT support is a break/fix arrangement, which is exactly what it sounds like: When something breaks, an IT technician comes and fixes it.

Chances are you're like a growing number of business owners who have decided to hand over their IT management to a managed services provider (MSP) because you were tired of dealing with technology troubles on a daily basis.

Outsourcing many of your IT-related responsibilities to an MSP will allow you to concentrate on other important aspects of your business.

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.

We all like to think we know better than to click on links that take us to compromised websites. Nowadays, however, it’s not so easy to discern legitimate websites from malicious ones. And if you’re not careful, you could walk right into a costly cybersecurity breach.

For years, companies didn’t have much of a choice when it came to their phones. Either they had to make do with a traditional system or invest in a bulky, expensive PBX system. The problem was that neither solution was ideally suited to small- and medium-sized businesses.

Many business owners are familiar with the concept of disaster recovery, but are left in the dark when it comes to making sense of its terminology. And since disasters can hit your company at the most unexpected moments, having a recovery plan is essential -- but you can’t do it properly until you know what you’re talking about.

When was the last time your company overhauled its computers, servers, applications, and other pieces of crucial IT infrastructure? Sure, you may think you can get by with five-year-old PCs running on Windows XP and outdated software, but putting off upgrades might actually be hurting your business more than you realize.