Small businesses often have to make do with smaller budgets and limited resources. They usually cannot afford robust IT tools and staff, making it difficult for them to keep technology running smoothly. That’s why they are more likely to experience frequent downtime, security issues, and other IT concerns that can hinder workflow and affect productivity. The easiest and most practical solution to this problem is to partner with a managed IT services provider (MSP).
What’s an MSP?
An MSP is a company that offers outsourced IT support and services such as network monitoring, vulnerability scanning, hardware configuration, patch management, software installation, data backup, cloud migration, cybersecurity, and more — depending on the needs of their clients. For a flat monthly fee, an MSP can supplement your existing IT staff or become your company’s IT department.
Why should you partner with an MSP?
Here are several ways MSPs can take your small business to the next level.
#1. Reduced downtime and other IT issues
A Gartner study revealed that the average cost of IT downtime is $5,600 per minute or $300,000 per hour. This could even reach as high as $540,000 per hour for other organizations, which could endanger any business’s financial stability. Aside from the monetary implications, downtime and other IT issues also gravely affect employee productivity and morale, customer retention, and company reputation.
With managed IT services, downtime and other technology issues are handled immediately and systems are restored rapidly. In fact, an MSP prevents such problems from even happening or escalating by proactively managing IT systems with monitoring tools, patches, upgrades, scans, backup and data recovery processes, and other measures.
#2. Secured systems and fulfilled compliance requirements
Alarmingly, more than half of small businesses suffered a breach within the last year. That’s because 43% of cyberattacks are now aimed at small organizations, but only 14% of the latter are prepared to defend themselves. What’s even worse is that 60% of small companies go out of business within six months of a cyberattack. These terrifying statistics clearly emphasize the importance of prioritizing cybersecurity.
But as cybercriminals become increasingly sophisticated with their tactics, cybersecurity must be handled by experts. MSPs are fully equipped with up-to-date knowledge, experience, tools, and processes to continuously fortify your multilayered cyberdefense. They constantly monitor your network and systems to find any vulnerabilities, which they proactively fix to prevent any attacks.
What’s more, MSPs comply with industry standards for storing, transferring, and protecting data so you are assured that you are compliant with the extensive and complex security practices imposed by regulatory agencies. All in all, you can rest easy knowing that your data and that of your clients are safe. Stringent cybersecurity measures also save you from financial liabilities (such as stolen funds or hefty regulatory fines) and reputation damage that result from a data breach and unfulfilled compliance regulations.
#3. Minimized operational costs and predictable IT costs
The Global Managed Services Market study estimated that successful managed services help reduce IT cost by 25–45% and increase operational efficiency by 45–65%. That’s because partnering with an MSP helps you save money and time spent on hiring, training, and retaining skilled in-house IT personnel. Managed IT services give small businesses access to a full team of experienced IT staff with a broad expertise and a variety of certifications — at a fraction of the cost of in-house IT employees’ salaries.
Since an MSP can manage all of your IT operations, you also won’t need to spend on maintaining and managing in-house IT infrastructure. Some MSPs even offer rental of IT equipment to save you from the expensive upfront costs of purchasing your own.
Plus, most MSPs offer predictable monthly costs, which makes planning your technology budget much easier. They also create an IT roadmap of service costs and needs so your small business can plan accordingly each month.
#4. Access to up-to-date technology
As technology evolves, so should your business. But with limited budgets, small businesses are often at risk of getting stuck with outdated technology.
With managed IT services, you gain access to the latest technologies and updates without having to pay the heavy initial capital investment typically needed. Instead, you can avail of them for an affordable monthly subscription fee.
#5. Customized and flexible IT solutions
MSPs take their time to understand your small business’s unique needs to provide you with customized solutions. For instance, if your work is data-heavy, they may increase the frequency of data backups to keep your data protected. If you’re struggling to control bandwidth costs, they may suggest a different connectivity solution.
They also tailor their offerings based on your budget and provide flexible solutions so you can easily scale up or down the managed IT services you avail of, depending on your business’s seasonality and growth. This means you only have to pay for what you need and have the ability to quickly add or remove services should the need arise.
Ready to boost your small business to the next level? Partner with Ohio’s premier technology solutions provider: Arnet Technologies. We’ll support your technology so you can focus on growing your business. Avail of our FREE consultation to get started.
