Have you considered managed IT services for your business? These days companies of all sizes rely heavily on their technology and place a priority on being operationally efficient. From servers, desktops, software applications, internet connectivity to phone calls and more, your business runs on IT. As your business grows, technology challenges often become harder to handle on your own or by a single IT consultant. Network downtime, cybersecurity threats, and technology upgrades are only a few of the obstacles that can get in your way. The solution for many smart businesses is hiring a managed IT service firm.
What are managed IT services?
Rather than a break-fix model where you call a computer consultant when something is broken, a managed IT service provider combines flat-rate, unlimited IT support for a monthly fixed fee with the proactive monitoring of IT workstations and infrastructure.
In this all-you-can-eat model of IT support, it puts the focus and responsibility on the IT firm. The more proactive they are and the better job they do at supporting and managing your technology the less time and resources they need to dedicate to putting out fires and fixing issues. It’s a win-win situation for both your company and the managed IT firm. This helps to align both organization’s outcomes.
Why are managed IT services important to your business?
There are several huge benefits to partnering with a managed services provider (MSP) rather than hiring your own internal IT person or having a single IT consultant that you call when things go wrong. Let’s look at some of the main benefits:
Proactive support
Managed IT services offer proactive support by monitoring your network and infrastructure. Instead of your IT firm constantly fixing problems, they try to identify potential issues before they happen to keep your system up and running without emergencies.
Strategic IT planning
What IT systems do you need in 12 or 24 months’ time? Managed services help you think ahead and give you advice on what you need to be planning for from an IT perspective. This ensures you don’t fall behind and that your IT infrastructure and software are upgraded and updated. This will minimize risks such as downtime, viruses, and crashes.
Cost savings and a fixed budget
With a break-fix model, it can be very costly to pay a consultant hourly to try and fix issues with your network or technology when it breaks or you have performance issues. During these critical outages, you have to hope the person can get there quickly enough and spend money for the time it takes them to learn your system, diagnose the problem, and hopefully fix it in the end. With managed services you have a company that is familiar with your systems and a fixed monthly IT budget so you know exactly what your IT support costs will be each month.
Peace of mind
Because managed service firms monitor your networks 24x7x365, you never have to worry that a virus has spread, a hacker has broken in, or a backup has failed to perform. They watch over your entire network, taking the management and hassle of maintaining it off your hands so you can focus on your customers and running your business. Sleep better knowing your IT systems, security, and backups are in good hands.
A complete IT department
Keeping your business secure and operating at peak performance today requires far more than computer support. It demands compliance expertise, ongoing business analysis, proper management of technology points, and professional guidance you can count on. It’s very hard to find all these qualities and experience in a single internal IT person or solo computer consultant. Managed services give you access to a complete IT department at your disposal.
Choosing the right managed IT service provider
Choosing the right managed service provider can be one of the most important business decisions you make. Your managed service provider will become extensively familiar with your business and your systems over time. With the right company, you can count on excellent service that is ready to assist you at a moment’s notice. This shouldn’t just be viewed as just a company you hire but instead, a relationship you develop with a trusted IT technology partner. It’s important that you make this choice carefully as your managed service provider will be monitoring and handling all your network and infrastructure and helping to steer your technology decisions moving forward.
Make sure that you choose a local company that can be onsite when needed and has a history of exceptional customer service. Always check references and find out what their current clients have to say about their service.
We’d like to be your trusted IT technology partner!
The Garam Group is one of Central New York’s premier information technology managed service firms. We provide IT support and cloud phone services to Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, and throughout Central New York. We’ve earned an unmatched reputation for quality, integrity, and client service. We provide technology consulting and support for cloud solutions, data backups, disaster recovery, Microsoft Office 365, security and compliance, HIPAA Compliance, server and workstation monitoring, and helpdesk support. We also provide a cloud-based VoIP phone system that can improve your business communications.
If you are looking for a managed service provider here are some reasons you should choose us.
Contact us today to discuss what we can do for your business and to set up a complimentary Network and Phone Audit.
