Is Managed IT Support Worth The Money
Switching to a fully managed form of IT support may be more expensive than your current arrangement. Is it worth the money?
You’ve probably been told about several very comprehensive benefits that managed IT support offers you…
You’ll be more productive!
You’ll be more efficient!
You’ll gain strategic advantages!
…what does any of that even mean?
These amount to little more than buzz words. They mean almost nothing in reality – they’re just easy to promise (because they’re not specific).
What’s the reality of managed IT support? What should you expect to happen when it’s being delivered effectively?
The value that managed IT support offers you will be determined by the actual effect it have on your business, day in, and day out. It comes down to what managed IT support does for you.
What Does Managed IT Support Do?
By definition, Managed Services is a set of best practices, processes, and tools that, when combined with technical knowledge and proper facilitation, delivers an ideal IT-based result for businesses.
In English? Managed IT services are meant to take care of everything IT-related for your organization, proactively preventing problems instead of fixing them after the fact. Simple as that.
For many businesses, the cost of hiring even a single internal IT person is too expensive. They need a salary, training, benefits, vacation… it’s a lot to budget for. That’s why outsourced IT services have primarily become the norm, with service levels varying depending on the Managed IT services company in question.
The type of outsourced IT support you’re likely most familiar with can be referred to as “hourly IT support”. This type of support fixes IT problems after they occur, and charges by the hour.
Managed IT support is generally considered to be a more effective model. In practice, instead of waiting for something to go wrong and stepping in to correct it, an IT company that provides managed IT support takes on all the responsibilities of a traditional in-house IT department. This means working to prevent issues from happening in the first place.
The True Power Of Managed IT Support
When applied directly to specific problems you may be experiencing as a business, a managed IT support approach can make a world of difference:
- Expertise And Experience: With the right managed IT support, you don’t just get access to the range of services and solutions they offer. You also harness their experience in the IT industry. A majority of the IT issues that you experience will be similar (if not the same) as those they’ve already solved for other clients. That means that problems are addressed with proven solutions, reducing timeframes for resolution, and achieving a more permanent fix.
- Confident Security: Another benefit of opting for managed IT support is that you have a partner in your IT support. One that can recommend proven, tested solutions to problems that you encounter – problems like cybercrime and data loss. Managed IT support companies benefit from partnerships with industry-leading solution vendors for these very problems, and they pass those benefits on to their clients. Instead of having to research and find the best solution for security and data recovery, you can instead consult your partner in IT support.
- Strategic Support: When it comes to your business and your IT, you need to think about the big picture. As your business grows and changes, your IT needs to be planned to continue to support it. This requires strategy. Do you have the time and expertise necessary to develop a winning IT strategy? That’s what your managed IT support is for – they help you develop an IT strategy, with up-to-date resources to ensure security, productivity, and efficiency.
Managed IT Support In Northeast Ohio
The right managed IT support is designed to make sure that your technology works properly, without you having to do anything about it. Problems are prevented, daily management is outsourced, and you enjoy the benefits offered by well-maintained IT – as simple as that.
