Who Should Handle Your IT?

In our evolving COVID-19 world, we’ve had to re-learn the way we act and think. What worked for our businesses in the past might no longer help us in the future. The pandemic caused a seismic shift for many small businesses. Those who learned to adapt to the changes thrived and survived. With COVID-19 not off the table yet, we’re now in a time where business owners need to be strong, flexible, and determined. That is why we will show you why you need a Managed Service Provider to handle your IT.

If we look back on the pre-pandemic world, we had it pretty good. Of course, life was never perfect, but we had it good compared to other times in the past – the world wars, the strife of the depression, and the hardship of the last housing crisis. At our fingertips, we had a smartphone containing answers to anything we wanted to know. Technology was our friend. 

Thriving and outsourcing 

The businesses that thrived in the pandemic, and came out of the other side, knew what they needed to do. They had a support system that made sure they knew what they needed to do to handle your IT needs. That support system? It’s your MSP. The Managed Services Provider who took care of things when they were on the shaky pandemic ground keeps businesses running.  

While every business owner would love to stand on their own two feet and be self-reliant, the truth is that the most successful enterprises do not. Instead, they outsource to experts so that they can work entirely on their business without having to worry about how to handle their or your IT. 

Relying on an MSP to handle your IT 

One of the main reasons why many companies outsource their IT support is for cost reduction. By outsourcing, you don’t need to worry about employing a person in-house. What’s more, unlike a single employee, an MSP is available all year round, 24 hours a day. They won’t take sick leave or go on vacation, for example. Imagine your sole IT employee is away in the Maldives when you have a cybersecurity issue! 

Another important reason why many companies prefer to rely on an MSP is due to the secure infrastructure. MSP data centers and IT infrastructure is more secure when compared to a standard IT system in a business. This extra layer of security means that network data is protected. Of course, business cybersecurity is something we can’t take lightly. 

Finally, using an MSP means your company can centralize all of its servers and applications within a managed data center. With centralized data, you can have storage, backup infrastructure, and virtual services as well. 

Do I need an MSP? 

Only you can answer that question. However, it’s probably a good idea if you’re a small business with many employees wearing more than one hat. One drawback is that small businesses often suffer from knowledge gaps concerning IT updates and developments. With an MSP, no employee will have to wear the “IT Wizz” hat – they can all concentrate on their roles. You’ll have complete peace of mind about your cybersecurity with IT experts on board. 

Small businesses often need more predictable budgets, too, and if this is the case, an MSP can help. Since the cost of IT changes frequently, it can be daunting for small businesses to even put a figure on their future IT expenses. In addition, budgeting for IT is not easy! One month you might not need anything at all, but the next, you might need to deal with a broken computer, a security issue, or need a crashed server. With an MSP, you can choose to pay a flat fee each month, which makes budgeting much more predictable. And because all of the systems are maintained, they last longer, which again reduces costs.  

Can you be self-reliant to handle your IT? 

Of course – and there’s nothing wrong with this if you know what you’re doing. If your company is in the IT industry itself, it might make sense to do everything in-house, for example. It’s up to every business owner to weigh the positive and negative aspects of overseeing your technology. As most owners soon discover, hiring an MSP to take care of the technology is often the most cost-worthy solution. If you’re interested in learning more about Managed Services, contact us today!