Many business owners, managers, and C-level executives have cursed their business technology and the difficulty/complexity of the issues that come with them. Nearly every type of business relies on information technology to manage parts of their business but it can be frustrating when things don’t work as they’re supposed to and it affects productivity and performance.

If you’ve been managing your network and IT setup in-house or on a break-fix basis you’ve undoubtedly got a working list of common problems that crop up and plague your team. The positive news is that by partnering with a managed services provider (MSP) you can ask them if the issues you’ve identified are things they can resolve or suggest solutions for.

Managed Services means outsourcing day-to-day IT management and technical support on an on-going basis to make business operations more efficient and cost-effective, rather than having a staff of full-time IT personnel to perform those duties. However, managed services can work with the IT professionals in your business as well. Instead of running around trying to fix the more menial issues, they can focus on some of the core areas of your business that can be improved from a technological perspective.

From a CompTIA managed services survey: “50% of respondents indicated that they would consider using an outside IT firm in the next two years, another 15% are currently evaluating an outside IT firm, and 2% plan on using an outside firm in the future. What is it that is driving increased interest in managed services solutions?

Here are five ways a managed services strategy can turn those IT headaches you’ve been having into head starts for your business:

1. Scalability – Custom amount of support based on evolving needs

Most MSPs can tailor an agreement to your needs and their capabilities so you’re getting the exact solution and amount of support you need. Each business has specific requirements they need managed when it comes to their infrastructure and applications and these needs change over time. Think of a MSP as your IT team that is always the right size for your business as it evolves.

2. Decreased Risk – Reduce downtime

Proactive monitoring and maintenance means solving problems before they become bigger issues, which differentiates it from the break-fix model where your on-site IT staff waits for things to break before fixing it. Managed IT services are proactive instead of reactionary. With a service level agreement between you and your MSP, you can be confident in knowing issues will be resolved within an agreed upon amount of time – every time, regardless of how busy on-site employees are.

3. Certified Experts – MSPs often have highly certified teams

Rather than having to hire or train people certified working with different technologies and methodologies, partner with a MSP that has certified professionals on hand to solve any issues or assess any problem areas. Technical issues often require specialized skillsets that you may not have on hand when the issue occurs and may not need after it is resolved.

From IT Career Finder’s page on IT Certifications:

• 75% of IT managers believe certifications are important to team performance.
• Companies employing certified IT professionals experience lower turnover and increased productivity.
• 66% of managers believe certifications improve the overall level of service and support offered to IT customers.

4. Save Time and Money – Less hiring and training additional staff

IT issues don’t come at the same frequency every month and you don’t want your staff overloaded or without anything to do. You also don’t want only one employee to hold all the keys and risk losing them and all of their accumulated experience. Save time and money by moving from your old systems to cloud apps. According to a NSK Inc survey: “82% of companies say that moving to the cloud has saved them money.”

5. Increased Focus – You focus on your business, let the MSP handle the IT

Don’t get distracted by having to manage and resolve each tech issue that comes up. Increase productivity and get more time to work on achieving your business goals by ensuring you have a trusted partner who can manage your IT and network set-up on a daily basis. If you do have internal IT staff this will allow them to focus on your core business goals instead of having to put out fires as issues come up.

If you have IT headaches that you want help with or a professional assessment on what things could be improved or managed better when it comes to your infrastructure and applications, you can request a free consult with one of our senior managed services specialists.

From the same NSK Inc survey: 90% of IT decision makers found at least ONE area of improvement in their IT department. Find out where yours is for free and then decide if you’d like to partner with Resolute Technology Solutions to tackle IT problems on a go-forward basis.