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All companies need a proper IT structure to sustain themselves in the tech-dominant business world. For big businesses, it is quite easy. They have a massive budget and entire IT departments at their disposal. However, small and mid-size businesses often don't have this privilege. So what can they do for survival? The solution - Managed IT Services.
A Managed IT Service is a third-party contractor providing a fractional IT Department starting with Level 1 Technicians to Level 3 Engineers and virtual CIO. They save businesses from the hassle of in-house IT management. At a monthly rate, they will handle all the IT requirements of their client. The services include server management, data backup and recovery, cloud computing, network security, and many more.
Are you a small business struggling with IT services? Find out how you can save and grow your company with Managed IT services.
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6 Ways Managed IT Services Can Help Small Businesses Grow
A growing business needs its staff to focus exclusively on core operations. The more it can outsource non-core ops like IT management to trusted third parties, the more time and energy it has to develop. Managed IT services make this possible. Here are some of the ways they help you grow:
Better Cybersecurity
Close to 50% of cyberattacks have been aimed at small businesses in recent years. And if you consider small businesses alone, over 50% of them suffered from cyberattacks during this period. The attacks are so severe that more than half of the victims go out of business within six months.
Hackers got into the Austin, Texas, city network multiple times in 2019 and 2020. An alarming portion of the community was hurt including high-profile government agencies such as the Department of Commerce, Homeland Security, State, and the Treasury, as well as the Pentagon. In addition, cybersecurity firm FireEye and IT software company SolarWinds have also been targeted, along with various airports and local government networks across the United States, among others. And that includes small businesses, too. Remember, hackers are three times more likely to attack a small business because they usually have weak IT infrastructures.
These statistics tell you how important cybersecurity is. However, if your business is in a non-tech niche, chances are you don’t know much about cybersecurity. And considering small businesses barely have an IT department, an expert cybersecurity security team is out of the question.
This is where a Managed IT service can help you. Their experts will regularly assess and monitor your system for vulnerabilities. They can also help SMBs build a strong plan to back up and recover their valuable business data.
At the same time, they can arm you with the right firewall and next generation antivirus antimalware setup for protection against threats specific to your niche. Managed IT services can also train your common staff to recognize threats like phishing emails and links.
Scaling To Your Convenience
Your small business doesn't experience the same flow all the time. There are times when you deal with unbelievably high demand. For instance, during various seasons and holidays or after new products come out. Meanwhile, there are times when things are slow and relaxed for your business. Your IT solutions must be flexible and scalable with this fluctuation.
During periods of increased workload, you need to scale your tech support accordingly. Managed IT services can be of great assistance in this case. They can provide you with on-site assistance during busy seasons so you don’t miss a beat as well as increased bandwidth, extra storage space, and better-suited software applications to support the increased demand.
On the other hand, when you are experiencing times of less stress, Managed IT services can help you to scale back operations. This adjustability of IT services saves costs and resources. Such a level of scalability is hard to achieve with in-house IT services, especially when you are a small business.
Such scalability of your IT system helps you maintain a good brand image and thus grow your business. Your customers can trust you with their orders in competitive times, which makes them come back to you more often.
Also, you have money that you didn't waste maintaining an unnecessarily big IT infrastructure during the downtimes. This can go back into your business and help with the expansion of your operations.
Help With Cloud Migration
Cloud migration means moving your business's digital assets, like, data, applications, and IT resources, from on-premise servers to cloud servers. It means several growth advantages for small businesses.
For instance, you have enhanced protection. Your business can protect itself from cyber data breaches by using the advanced security features and protocols that cloud services provide. The migration also facilitates backup and recovery options during emergencies.
Other benefits of cloud migration include the reduced cost of IT maintenance, scaling your IT resources during increased demands, etc. In other words, Cloud Migration offers you all the support that helps an SMB grow.
However, cloud migration is a big leap for your company. And unless you and your staff have special expertise in IT matters, you won’t be able to do it the right way on your own. Managed IT services can take care of the cloud migration process on your behalf.
Managed IT services can assess your business's current IT infrastructure and identify the best cloud solutions according to your goals and requirements. They can also help with migrating data and applications, testing functionality and performance, and resolving various issues or challenges you encounter during the process.
Once you have migrated, the Managed IT service can optimize the cloud environment for your business and keep you connected to the cloud. They will regularly monitor, address troubleshooting, update, and scale the cloud resources and services.
24/7 Technological Support
If you want your business to retain customers, you need to be there for them 24/7. And for that, your technological supports need to be running all the time flawlessly. If a network or software issue makes your business less responsive to your customers, they will quickly move to your competitor.
Managed IT Services can provide you with this round-the-clock support for optimum growth. Your business can have access to professional IT experts at any time of the day, regardless of holidays or weekends. This can be specifically helpful for businesses that operate on a global scale and have customers in different time zones.
If your business encounters various technical problems during its operation, such as network outages, software glitches, or hardware failures.
You can quickly contact your managed IT service provider and get assistance on such occasions. Their experts can use remote access tools to diagnose and fix the issue. They might also send an onsite technician if required. Thus you can minimize downtime, reduce customer frustration, and maintain productivity.
Also, Managed IT services that monitor your system 24/7 can prevent the escalation of different issues. As a layman, you can easily miss these technical issues or need to recognize their urgency. A good technology Partner can proactively address hardware and software issues to provide seamless business continuity.
If small issues are neglected, they can then get worse over time and result in more costly and extensive damage in the future. But when Managed IT services monitor your system, they can take care of the situation as soon as possible.
Generate Valuable Business Insights
All your business interactions generate a huge amount of data. These piles of data hide the clues for your company's future expansion and growth. IT Consulting services can help you gather and make sense of the data from customer feedback, sales reports, site analytics, social media, etc.
Analyzing the data can help businesses understand their customers' needs, preferences, expectations, and satisfaction levels. They can also identify trends, patterns, and various market opportunities. As a result, the executives can come up with business plans and products that have the greatest chance of success.
IT Consulting can also help small businesses access the latest tools that enable them to analyze collected data from various sources. These include AI technology, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Leveraging technology can provide small businesses insights into their markets, competitors, operations, and of course customers.
Stay Compliant With IT Requirements
When you are a growing business, the last thing you need is a legal disruption. However, you might sometimes unknowingly violate IT Compliance and get in trouble with the authorities. This will take away your valuable time and focus from the business. Sometimes reputational damage from such troubles can hurt your brand's image.
Managed IT Services are knowledgeable and updated about such compliance issues. So, they can make sure your business is complying with them all the time and save you from legal troubles.
Examples include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. Your managed IT service provider can help you better understand and follow these rules. They can also conduct regular audits to measure your IT compliance status.
What is The Most Important Benefit of IT Service Management For Small Businesses?
The most important benefit of Managing IT services for SMBs is protection and increase in systems uptime and related efficiencies. Proper IT management helps your business benefit from the latest industry-specific tech. Plus, you can deal with tech issues to minimize down-time. These help you to speed up production, sales, and customer management.
Managed IT services also save executives from the stress of maintaining their IT infrastructure and buys peace of mind. The service takes care of everything from designing a suitable system to ensuring legal compliance. This means the executives can fully focus on running a more efficient and profitable business. This also gives them more time for refining business strategies and processes.
Also, IT management services can suggest new tools to enhance collaboration among different departments. Because when you monitor and analyze your IT system, it readily becomes evident which departmental collaborations can make your business run more productively and efficiently.
Neglecting IT Management: What Can You Expect?
Information technology connects the business world. So, if you neglect your IT management, expect a lot of bad news for your business. Here are some of the serious impacts of not taking IT management seriously:
Cyberattacks and data breaches: Lack of proper IT management renders your IT systems vulnerable to phishing, ransomware, and other cyber threats. These can compromise sensitive company data, disrupt business operations, damage brand reputation, and land you in legal trouble.
Loss of Customers: You are bound to experience technical and performance issues when you are attending to an increased number of customers. If you don’t have an IT management service to immediately resolve those issues, your customer will lose patience and take their business elsewhere.
Frustrated Employees: Without a well-managed IT system, your employees will face difficulties in every step of their jobs. Technical difficulties can prevent them from completing their task on time. The lack of automation will make their jobs monotonous and unnecessarily challenging. These frustrated employees will bring down productivity.
Non-compliance issues: Without proper IT management, your systems may not adhere to the relevant IT standards and regulations for your industry and location. This can translate to penalties, fines, and lawsuits.
Wasted Resources: Without proper management, your IT systems become clunky and dated. This can result in higher IT expenses due to unnecessary hardware, software, energy, and maintenance costs.
Skyriver IT: Best Managed IT Services in Austin to San Antonio, Texas
If you are a small business based in the I-35 Technology Corridor from Austin to San Antonio, Texas, Skyriver IT can be your best IT service option. We provide networks, servers, cloud, and software support for your SMB. We also help businesses with migrations, upgrades, integrations, installations, Cybersecurity, and other IT projects.
Skyriver IT provides customized cybersecurity solutions for your IT systems. We can assist you to set up firewalls and antivirus to defend against Phishing. We can also help you encrypt and back up your data and help with disaster recovery. Our employee training reduces the vulnerability of your business to such attacks.
We provide consultative IT services according to your business goals and challenges. These include IT planning, budgeting, and alignment. We can also help you with your procurement of products and services from IT vendors. You will learn about all the areas in your IT infrastructure where you can reduce costs.
When your business signs up with Skyriver IT, you are under the watchful eyes of your certified IT professional 24/7. So, all your problems get resolved fast and done right the first time. Our clients see improvements in customer retention and more motivated employees. We have experience with a broad range of industries. So, don’t hesitate to contact us whatever your business needs are.
Conclusion
Managed IT services are essential for any small to mid-size business seeking growth and sustainability. This goes to show IT systems need consistent 24/7 care and monitoring. And that can only be achieved with a Managed IT service. So, contact us today to get the best IT services. Thanks for tuning in.
