How to leverage IT as an advantage rather than an expense.
Information Technology (IT) is intrinsic to modern business. Yet 80% of small businesses still say they struggle to take full advantage of technology. That’s why more companies than ever now turn to managed IT service providers to close the gap and improve IT ROI.
So, how does it work? Here are eight ways you can boost your investment in IT through managed IT services.
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Focus on Your Core
Most small and medium-sized businesses executives have to keep a lot of plates spinning to stay in business.
Each “plate” here is a support system, like payroll, HR, or IT, and they soon add up. Before you know it, you’re devoting vast swathes of your business to tasks that don’t even align with your core business focus.
By working with a qualified IT managed service provider, you can avoid carrying all these burdens in-house. Instead, you can focus on your business objectives without sacrificing your support systems.
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Save Money
Building even the basic IT infrastructure for your business can be a costly process. Add to that the cost of securing skilled IT staff and the inevitable cost of future upgrades, and it’s no wonder smaller businesses struggle to manage IT expenses.
To make matters worse, a company can be “charged” for failing to invest in IT by lost business opportunities or disasters like data breaches.
This is where managed IT services can help to cushion your business. Your provider will keep you equipped with the latest tech, protecting you from costly downtime and giving you access to experts. Yet the cost for this is a predictable expense that plays better with your cash flow than the ups and downs of building IT in-house.
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Reduce Downtime – Enhance Performance
There’s a vast gap between IT solutions that are merely good enough and those that bring out the potential of your business.
Sadly, many smaller companies are stuck with the former. Mediocre solutions may provide access to technology stacks that meet the industry’s basic requirements and allow the organization to function in a fundamental sense. The real competitive advantage, however, is the ability to leverage IT to enhance performance. Likewise, aging infrastructure can hamstring business potential with decreased productivity due to downtime in a ‘break-fix’ environment, and increased security risks due to outdated protocols or software.
Businesses that use expert managed service providers can boost their performance without adding FTEs or costly overhead. These businesses can access world-class technology, gain strategic insights, and reduce downtime.
All of this leads to a competitive advantage that often puts them ahead in their industry.
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Reduce Risks & Cybersecurity Threats
Cybercrime and other cybersecurity risks stand as some of the most significant existential threats companies face today. Cyber threats can interrupt service, land a company in legal hot water, damage reputations, and even close businesses for good.
Yet many companies admit they aren’t ready for a major cybersecurity incident, and many don’t even worry about the risk. Cybersecurity simply places too many demands on small businesses.
IT service management can help you control risk by equipping you with expert cybersecurity assessments & guidance, state-of-cyber technology, AI-powered antivirus & malware protection software, and ongoing active threat monitoring. Many top managed IT service companies provide a complete cybersecurity package they can offer to clients.
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Build Superior IT Strategy
IT literacy remains surprisingly low in the modern business environment. And finding IT expertise is even harder. For businesses who would rather focus on their core business than become IT experts, this environment can make it almost impossible to build and maintain a robust IT strategy.
That’s why accessing external expertise makes such a big difference. By tapping into IT managed services with virtual CIO services, you gain access to senior-level IT strategy insights without huge internal investments.
This could be enough to decide the fate of your business, given that tech deployment is a vital tentpole of many business plans.
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Access World-Class Skill
That ability to access highly skilled IT experts doesn’t apply to IT strategy alone.
IT isn’t a single field—it’s a broad umbrella containing many highly specialized skill-sets. Current in-demand specializations include the likes of PCI DSS, disaster recovery, and cybersecurity.
Even making a one-time investment in these specialist areas isn’t enough. As technology evolves so quickly, it can be hard to keep up with the level of development and technology advancements.
A managed IT service provider has this aspect covered. Their business relies on cultivating highly skilled teams, and they pass that advantage on to you. In this way, you can access all these specializations to utilize just when you need them without adding them to payroll.
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Secure Business Agility
A period of growth can be one of the riskiest times for a business, and the rise of digital business has only emphasized that fact. Scaling up your IT can put enormous strain on your cash flow and leave you vulnerable.
Yet, the speed at which your business needs to react to market conditions seems to increase every day. This creates a conflict between the current “inertia” of a company and where it needs to be.
IT is one of the most common problems to deal with when there’s a sudden need to grow or shrink a business.
Managed IT services build agility into your business operations. You can expand and contract your operations as needed without the inertia that comes with in-house infrastructure. Instead of investing heavily in fixed capital assets or short-term band-aids, managed services help your business flex without the growing pains.
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Enjoy 24/7 Monitoring, 99.99% Uptime
There’s nothing like a bit of downtime to remind you how much the modern business relies on its IT. For each tick of the clock, you could lose thousands of dollars.
Downtime isn’t always avoidable, but, like most risks, you can squash its probability curve with constant monitoring. Yet, most smaller companies don’t have the business bandwidth for round-the-clock monitoring.
Managed service providers plug that gap by giving you visibility across your network to address issues before they arise. Keeping your business humming and productive is an essential priority for any business and utilizing the 24/7 monitoring and IT support of a managed service provider does just that.
The Many Benefits of Managed IT Services
These eight benefits of managed IT services should illustrate why more businesses than ever have turned to MSPs (managed service providers) to close the IT gap. By working with a qualified managed IT service company, you can improve your IT ROI and give your company the edge it needs to take on the competition.
Calling all Toe-Dippers
Not sure if a Managed IT Services plan is right for your business yet? Take a free spin with a complimentary IT Risk Assessment from Dallas’ top managed services company. Or, give us a call at 469-522-2022 any time and let us show you how to turn your IT department from a cost center to a profit center by leveraging IT as an asset.
About GlacisTech
GlacisTech is a managed service provider (MSP) and managed security solution provider (MSSP) for small to medium-size businesses in the Dallas and North Texas region. GlacisTech helps businesses grow by providing innovative, state-of-the-art IT solutions that allow its customers to reduce network downtime, increase operational efficiencies, and cost-effectively scale their IT to meet the demands of their growing businesses.
GlacisTech’s suite of Worry-Free IT services includes managed IT, cybersecurity, virtual CIO, managed compliance & remediation, and cloud services.
Glacis Technologies, Inc
1130 East Arapaho, Suite 184
Richardson, TX 75081
24/7 Customer Support 469-522-2022
ITsupport@GlacisTech.com
