Leveraging Technology to Cut Costs With IT-Managed Services
Do you feel burdened managing your business’s technology? Configuring hardware, updating software, controlling security, and correcting problems are monstrous! How about outsourcing such hassles to a managed service provider?
Small and mid-sized organizations may get enterprise-grade technology and support without the cost of managed IT. A managed services provider (MSP) manages servers, computers, phones, software, security, and more for a low monthly price. No more tech fires or high in-house IT wages!
Background
Before we discuss the substantial cost reductions, let’s define managed IT services.
MSPs handle IT responsibilities for other organizations. This relieves such companies of IT issues!
Standard services MSPs provide include:
- Help desk: Having dedicated IT support available whenever needed
- Device management: Configuring, updating, and securing all hardware
- Network and server maintenance: Keeping things running 24/7
- Data backup: Ensuring no lost data disasters
- Cybersecurity: Handling phishing prevention, firewalls, antivirus software, etc.
Essentially, MSPs become your full-service IT department without needing in-house staff!
There are a few flavors of managed service providers to be aware of:
- Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs): Specialized in IT security needs
- Cloud-Based MSPs: Services hosted in the cloud
- Local MSPs: In your geographic area for onsite needs
- Industry-Specific MSPs: Tailored to healthcare, manufacturing, etc.
Every organization is different; therefore, consider budget, security, compliance, etc., while picking a service. Smaller MSPs provide specialized services, whereas larger ones have more capabilities.
Seeing those juicy cost reductions from outsourcing IT is a good thing! Discover how MSPs provide high-quality tech on a budget.
Key Cost Savings:
Managed IT services to save expenses! People are sometimes suspicious that outsourcing technology saves money. But the savings are genuine. Here’s how MSPs save costs significantly:
Reduced Technology Expenses
Hiring skilled IT workers is costly! Competitive pay, benefits, training, and headcount add up quickly. Even a tiny IT crew is expensive. By consolidating resources and using economies of scale, MSPs may match or beat in-house quality and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost.
Additional savings come from:
- No significant capital investments: No need to purchase servers, software licenses, security tools, etc. Those are covered through the monthly managed services fee.
- Predictable expenses: Flat or usage-based monthly fees allow reliable budgeting vs. unpredictable IT surprises.
- Volume pricing: MSPs leverage their vast customer base to obtain hefty discounts from vendors, passed along to clients.
Increased Efficiency
Lean and timely IT support reduces business disruptions. Compared to in-house IT, managed services minimize downtime by 50-70%! Workers become productive again.
Other efficiency gains include:
- Specialization: MSP techs have up-to-date skills to optimize networks, servers, workstations, etc. No wasting internal resources.
- Scalability: Services scale up or down to meet evolving needs versus having costly excess tech capacity long-term.
Enhanced Security
Cyberattacks endanger all contemporary businesses. MSPs use advanced security technologies and techniques most companies can’t justify or manage. This includes:
- Advanced endpoint protection
- Network access controls
- Intrusion detection/prevention
- Vulnerability testing
- Data encryption.
Backup and disaster recovery reduce ransomware-related business interruption and data loss.
The bottom line? MSPs boost efficiency and pay for themselves while allowing personnel to concentrate on revenue-generating activities rather than technical issues.
Implementation Considerations
Before buying managed IT services, do your research. Verify a few suppliers’ security, SLA guarantees, timeliness, knowledge with customers like you, etc.
Plan for system migration with minimum downtime. Address staff skill shortages and regulate anxiety proactively. Change management avoids problems.
Finally, prioritize services that meet your company requirements while providing flexibility to add/remove capabilities. Consider core help desk, monitoring, and hardware support. Add backups, security, etc., over time.
Conclusion
In today’s market, managed IT services are tactically advantageous. Trust professionals for enterprise-capability security, availability, and support instead of technology.
Describe telling personnel, Our systems just work smoothly now – go drive more business! Your MSP collaboration will save costs and boost productivity, customer happiness, and peace of mind.
What tech headaches can you hand off or eliminate today? Call RLabs today to maximize value!