What are the benefits of managed IT services?

[Johnson Perry]

There was a time when the only role of an IT guy in an organization was to fix computers as and when they broke down.  IT departments were understaffed, underutilized and underperforming; primarily because they did not have any processes/plans involving the general maintenance of the IT infrastructure of the firm. It wasn’t long before companies realized that this break/fix method was costing them a lot of lost revenue due to downtime, loss of data and overall productivity.

With time, the role of computers changed. By the end of the 1990s, most offices had expanded their IT infrastructure with several other devices such as fax machines, printers, etc.; giving rise to even more breakdowns, chaos and loss of productivity. Companies started to realize they needed a proactive monitoring and maintenance mechanism that could reduce the number of malfunctions in the first place. 

Reactive to Proactive 

In the early 2000s, fortune 500 companies started outsourcing their IT requirements to managed service providers to help them manage, maintain and repair their IT infrastructure remotely. Today, managed IT Services has evolved into a mature market with companies offering a wide range of services from preventive analysis of threats, network monitoring, system optimization, cybersecurity, data center management and operations, to business and technical advisory services. 

The biggest advantage of a proactive approach is reduced downtime. A few hours of downtime during peak business hours can mean huge losses for a company. And repeated downtimes like these can even mean the death of a brand. But if threats are caught early on, they can be neutralized without ever affecting daily business. With 24*7 dedicated remote monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting; managed IT Service Provider can enable companies to be far more efficient.

A proactive approach can also prove to be highly cost-effective. Despite the common misconception that the break/fix method incurs lower costs, the long-term monetary benefits of managed services are much higher. Service providers usually charge a monthly fee that is predictable, fixed and easy to budget. Wherein the other leaves you vulnerable to emergency expenses of any nature at any given time, without notice. Additionally, this cost can be factored in as a business/operating expense and deducted from taxes; something not possible with the break/fix approach.

The impact on business

Not just a cost-saving exercise, hiring an efficient managed service provider can transform the way companies conduct businesses.

IT Team’s availability for core business work: Outsourcing the daily upkeep and maintenance work frees up the internal IT team for more productive work. Internal teams feel far better engaged when involved in revenue-enhancing activities like product development, feature enhancements and so on as against routine monitoring and maintenance tasks. As a result, those often stand to be neglected; negatively impacting the company’s up-time i.e. revenue.

Access to expertise, superior tools and technologies. Market trends change, industry regulations evolve. It is practically impossible for companies to continually invest in evolving technology, support and productivity demands. And yet, not having the right skill/resource at the right time can be detrimental to a company’s growth. Hiring advanced ServiceNow managed services makes a fully skilled IT department available to companies at the fraction of the cost.

Enhanced Cybersecurity. IBM's 2018 Data Breach Study revealed the average time spent to identify a breach is 197 days, while the time taken to contain a breach is 69 days. Time, expertise and budget constraints are the main reasons why companies fail to be vigilant against cyber threats. As a result, they’re overwhelmed with security breaches, compliance issues and at times, even face critical data loss. Such breaches can become a threat to survival. Managed service providers are an easy way of ensuring compliance, risk assessment, prevention of unauthorized access and steady control over network activities. 

A single platform for quick resolution of queries. The absence of a dedicated help center leads to a lot of confusion and loss of productive time among employees. They don’t know where to get help which often leads to endless discussions and sometimes even misinformation. Hiring managed services is an excellent way of availing your entire team a dedicated support team thus eliminating miscommunication and loss of up-time.

Planning the future. A scaling organization needs to invest heavily in IT infrastructure and security to meet the evolving needs of the business. Such decisions cannot be made without the help of subject matter experts. Companies must therefore carefully choose service providers that can offer sound advice on IT infrastructure optimization and increase their return on IT investment. 

Accessing the need for IT Managed services 

There is a common misconception that only companies with a staff of over 100 should consider outsourcing their IT needs. However, with the changing dynamics of businesses, team size is only one among many other criteria that determine whether or not a company needs a service provider. A company should ideally consider hiring an agency if:

• The business is dependent on its IT infrastructure for daily business procedures (Eg. Banks, BPO/KPOs, etc.) and therefore cannot afford any downtime.
• The business collects/shares critical information and cannot afford a data breach. 
• The company is scaling rapidly and needs to expand storage, add routers, servers, software, etc.
• The company has a limited IT team and needs them to focus on product/service.
• The firm is facing a lot of down-time, network issues.

Choosing the right service provider

All of the above benefits can come into play only with the right partner. A few factors to consider while searching for the one.

• Industry experience: IT services is a vague and broad term. Every industry is unique and keeping up with regulatory requirements needs experience. It is important to find someone with a good track record in your field.
• Growth-oriented: It is not just about outsourcing a few tasks, but about finding a partner that accelerates your growth. Look for agencies that focus on innovation, willing to take up new challenges as well as offer solid advice for not just technological but overall growth.
• Customer service: This one is non-negotiable. The only way an MSP can benefit a business is if it is available and willing to offer help at all times of need. Not just that, a good service provider knows how to anticipate his client’s needs and goes above and beyond to deliver on their expectations.

[labellim]

Sounds good. Good to know that. Thank you.

[Mohammed Kemal]

@Johnson Perry ,

Great points! Thank you for sharing!!!

Managed service providers are an easy way of ensuring compliance, risk assessment, prevention of unauthorized access and steady control over network activities. Do you think the managed service providers can be a risk by themselves for the enterprise organizations in the aspect of security?

Thanks,

Mokemal!

[wardaxan]

Actually, in today's world, such services are beneficial for every user.
Now children are learning about nano-technology from a very young age, which gives hope that our world will become even more progressive in the future.
I studied the field of IT, but I myself have not been able to master everything to the extent required for quality work.
For this reason, I decided to open my own business and entrust all IT work to https://techbullion.com/7-undeniable-benefits-of-managed-it-services/.
It was a great decision

[AniemDariel]

This is a really interesting topic! The way IT departments have evolved over the years is quite remarkable.

[MorfRobert]

It's fascinating to see how companies have shifted from a reactive approach to a proactive approach with the help of managed IT security services. The advantages of a proactive approach are numerous, including reduced downtime and cost-effectiveness. I also appreciate how outsourcing IT requirements frees up internal IT teams to work on more revenue-enhancing activities. It's great to know that even small companies can consider outsourcing their IT needs, as team size is only one of many criteria to consider. When it comes to choosing the right service provider, industry experience and growth-orientation are definitely important factors to keep in mind.