On the face of it, managed IT services seem to be a difficult concept to comprehend and one best suited for larger businesses with deep pockets. However, the main benefit of managed IT is that it is an effective way for businesses of all sizes, particularly smaller businesses, to increase productivity and efficiency, and actually reduce unexpected expenses. Here’s how managed IT can help your small business grow its bottom line.
Managed IT is Enterprise IT, Designed for Small Businesses
If you run a smaller business, you probably are trying to find ways to stretch your dollars and get the most bang for your buck. For example, while it may seem like good business sense to keep using your existing technology for as long as you can, doing so can come with real risks to your business productivity and data security. In other words, when it comes to technology, there’s a fine line between being poundwise and being penny-foolish, and there are better methods to increase your productivity while reducing your expenses. That doesn’t mean always using the latest and greatest technology, but establishing a prioritized budget, having some redundancy planned, and keeping in mind that you need time to maintain the technology you use.
Managed IT services help small businesses make the most of their limited budget in ways that a traditional computer repair shop doesn’t have the resources or inclination to provide. Managed IT ensures that your network and infrastructure are working as efficiently as possible. Your MSP (Managed Service Provider) will also develop systems and protocols to help secure your network from external threats, such as ransomware attacks.
Weak security protocols create dangerous situations for your sensitive data. It is challenging for a business, particularly a smaller business, to regain its reputation after a data breach affects its customers. A feature of managed IT is that it can monitor networks for threats and vulnerabilities and resolve them remotely before they have time to bring your organization to a standstill. Additionally, since the longer it takes to respond to a crisis the more damage you could be facing, managed IT’s 24/7 monitoring and proactive remote response can step in and stop a security event from gaining a foothold in your system.
Two Ways Managed IT Benefits Small Businesses
Cloud Applications: Migrating to the cloud brings a wealth of benefits to your small business, most notably as a cost-savings feature. For example, if your business has been purchasing individual copies of software, not only are you spending thousands of dollars, you also are at risk of using outdated or incompatible software as time passes. Sometimes, smaller businesses might try to “spread out” a licensed application, which is not only illegal, but can get them in serious trouble with the vendor.
Cloud-based subscriptions can not only optimize your overall expenses but also allow your team to use the same generation of applications, due to their automatic and consistent upgrades. A side effect of using cloud-based applications is increased collaboration and communication between your team, clients, and vendors. This is due to the “always available” capabilities of cloud computing. As long as you are able to access the internet, you are able to access your applications, regardless of your physical location. Big players like Google and Microsoft have been very good about making sure their newer “as a service” models bring a lot of value to businesses.
How do we help? We manage your licenses and accounts and make sure your applications, both cloud and on-premises, are kept secure, updated, and documented.
Cybersecurity: The greatest myth small businesses believe is that they aren’t targets of cyberattacks due to their size. The reality is that the majority of ransomware targets are, in fact, small to medium-sized businesses. There are several reasons why this is so. Many SMBs are partners with larger organizations and, as such, often have access to the larger businesses’ sensitive data.
Cybercriminals know that most larger enterprise-size companies often invest considerable resources to protect their data. However, enterprise-level organizations also partner and work with smaller vendors, which can be their Achilles heel. Cybercriminals count on smaller businesses not taking cyber protection seriously enough to put the proper amount of preventive measures in place. Unfortunately, they aren’t often wrong, so smaller companies are targeted over 40% of the time.
Managed IT provides smaller businesses with a series of cybersecurity protocols to protect themselves against cyberattacks. These protocols include:
- Keeping your computers, servers, and network equipment updated and patched.
- Ensuring that antivirus is running and kept updated.
- Monitoring event logs and catching problems before they cause a bigger issue.
- Training your team to recognize a cyberattack, including phishing and ransomware.
- Developing spam and content filters to prevent suspicious emails and content from reaching your team.
- Investing in password management, including multi-factor or two-factor authentication (MFA/2FA).
- 24/7 monitoring allows your MSP to quickly identify and mitigate data breaches before they have time to migrate into your entire network.
Protecting your data is essential to safeguard your business, and managed IT offers the best way for small and medium-sized companies to have the same level of cybersecurity protection as larger organizations.
If You’re a Small Business, Managed IT is for You
The main feature of managed IT is that it provides your business with a plan that considers all aspects of your IT infrastructure and the best way to optimize them. For example, repeated downtime due to recurring technology issues can eat into your profitability. Moreover, these issues can also affect your business due to increased customer frustration due to poor experiences interacting with your company because of the technology issues.
Managed IT can prevent downtime because the services your MSP partner offers are designed to provide solutions for the technology issues that may prevent your business from reaching its full potential. Managed IT can also level the playing field when competing against larger companies. This is because managed IT brings with it best practices, access to high-level technical support, and automation, all of which help you keep your business up and running. Most importantly, managed IT offers all these services as part of a flat-fee rate, which saves you money while you grow your business.
Detroit SMBs; Are You Making the Most Out of Your Technology?
If your technology has stability issues, you’re worried about spam, ransomware, and cyberattack, or don’t have a backup in place, your business is at risk of failure. Fortunately, you don’t have to struggle to solve these problems on your own. We are Detroit’s premier managed services provider, and we can help your organization develop the infrastructure needed to allow your business to compete. Call 248-545-0800 today to learn how managed IT can help your SMB continue to grow.
