Information technology (IT) is a significant part of business operations in today’s high-tech society. Small business owners are always looking for ways to increase efficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs. Small businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on IT systems but the cost of employing even one in-house IT employee can be significant, let alone an entire IT department. Implementing new technology can be challenging and frustrating and many small businesses are not able to achieve the best performance possible from their technology without help from outside IT experts.
Proactive Monitoring
It is critical for every business to find cost effective ways to manage technology. One option is managed IT services provided by an outside IT service company. The foundation of managed services is remote, proactive monitoring of your business’s network on an ongoing basis. This monitoring is conducted via software installed on your organization’s devices which sends data to your IT services provider regarding each machine’s hardware, software and performance status. This system alerts your IT team to items such as outdated firmware or software, newly released security updates or slow performance, allowing these issues to be proactively addressed before they cause downtime for your staff.
Ongoing Maintenance
The maintenance step in your managed IT services plan provides for addressing and resolving these types of needs before you experience issues. Just like your vehicle, your technology needs ongoing maintenance to stay running well. Maintenance services are primarily conducted through remote access to your devices which allows this work to be completed outside of your business’s normal operating hours, minimizing interruptions to your staff and customers. Sometimes an on-site visit is required, but addressing these items proactively allows for flexibility in scheduling for low impact times such as your team’s lunch break.
Technology Management
The final step in your managed IT services plan is technology management. Through the monitoring and maintenance steps, you have a well-functioning IT system. Your trusted IT business partner also helps you manage your technology and plan for the future. You no longer have to spend your IT budget just on repairs or performance issues; you can now use those dollars to upgrade devices, increase your network’s security, implement mobile technology options for your team and make overall improvements to maximize the effectiveness of your technology investment for your business.
Managed Services
Small businesses often use the “break/fix” model for their technology. Under the break/fix model, your technology is not touched until it breaks; an IT consultant is then called in to fix the problem. Under this model, you could experience significant interruption to your business operations as you search to find a consultant with availability to address your situation. This type of service can also be expensive as there is often a premium rate charged for emergency services and the time needed to assess and resolve your issue by a technician not familiar with your business can be extensive.
Working with an IT services provider and including a managed services plan involves comprehensive, proactive management of your entire network including:
- Remote network monitoring
- Monitoring of network devices such as desktops, laptops, servers and firewalls
- Proactively addressing issues remotely which increases the stability of your network
- Automatic alerting systems assist with resolving issues before they impact technology performance
- Workstation and server support
- Ongoing monitoring and maintenance to optimize computer performance
- Protection against technology threats
- Troubleshooting services and recommendations to prevent repeated problems
- Server installation and administration
- Data backup and business continuity planning
- Ensuring regular backups of your business data occur
- Implementing secure, offsite storage of backups as part of your business continuity plan
- Network security
- Spam management
- Firewall administration
- Anti-virus and malware detection software
- Technology planning
- Policy guidance
- Establishing a replacement schedule and assessing upgrade options
- Evaluating options to maximize the effective and efficient use of technology in your business
- Recommendations for IT investment timelines and budgets
At expertIT, we provide small businesses with technology experts who monitor, maintain and manage business networks in all industries including affordable access to tools often used by larger companies. Contact us today to learn how we can help you simplify IT operations and improve the stability and reliability of your technology so you can focus on growing your business.