Managed IT support is an increasingly popular option for small businesses, as it takes the pressure off core teams, and allows the businesses to set their goals more ambitiously.
Small businesses have it tougher than most, because they have to compete with bigger competitors, whilst contending with smaller budgets and teams, and fewer resources. Small businesses have their own unique advantages – such as being more agile, and able to build closer professional relationships – but in order to be able to exercise those advantages, they need to ensure their organisation is operating smoothly. In today’s business world, where technology is the backbone of most organisations, having a managed IT support partner can give businesses a lot of freedom. For example, a London-based IT support provider, TechQuarters, told us about some of the most valuable advantages of services like theirs – below are six notable reasons to consider…
Problem Management
Many businesses struggle with downtime due to unforeseen IT issues arising, so wouldn’t it be nice if one could know when these issues are going to happen? While it still difficult to anticipate IT issues with 100% accuracy, there are many things a managed IT support provider can do to help. For example, TechQuarters’ work providing IT support Law Firms rely on was defined by their proactive approach – in other words, they took measures like network and server monitoring, so that they were always on the lookout for issues. This allowed them to spring into action as soon as possible.
Cyber Risk Management
With the increased reliance on the internet, digital communications, storage, and other digital solutions, businesses are under greater threat from cyber-attacks. What’s worse, is that nowadays cyber-attacks can happen to any organisation – even small businesses. Therefore, it is very important to have strong cybersecurity in place, regardless of how big or small of a target you think you are. Managed IT support providers can help clients mitigate cyber risk by implementing modern security solutions, as well as helping clients train and educate their staff on security best practices.
Increased Uptime
Even a simple IT issues can cause an individual to lose an hour of productivity, and a major IT issue can immobilise the entire business. Downtime can be increasingly expensive for a business. One of the key selling points of the IT support Legal firms got from TechQuarters was the prospect of more uptime due to a more proactive approach to IT support. A good support provider should be monitoring their clients network and infrastructure so that, as soon as a major issue arises, they are able to get to work troubleshooting and fixing it.
Round-the-Clock Access
Small businesses may have their own in-house IT team, but in all likelihood, they are working the same hours as the rest of the business. The worst case scenario with this is that everyone turns up to work to find that nothing is working. Managed IT support providers usually have a 24-hour team to ensure that their clients can receive support whenever they need it. According to TechQuarters, there have been a number of times where client’s infrastructure has experienced major issues overnight, and have been resolved before the morning – meaning staff were able to start work as usual, none the wiser.
Proactive Maintenance
One of the defining features of a good managed IT support provider is their approach to support. Gone are the days where IT departments can rely on a break-fix model – the reliant businesses have on technology nowadays is too great. According to TechQuarters, the IT support North London businesses receive from them is entirely proactive – meaning they implement IT problem management solutions that enable them to be prepared for an IT problem as soon as it arises.