Most larger businesses understand that IT services are necessary to be competitive. However, many small businesses still believe these critical services are out of their reach. Fortunately, managed IT with its flat-rate fee makes IT support accessible to Detroit businesses regardless of their size. Let’s go over how a relationship with a managed service provider benefits small businesses.
First, it will help to nail down what managed services are, how they work and what they offer to businesses that incorporate them.
How Do Managed Services Work?
Priced at a flat, monthly rate, managed services are focused on creating a B2B relationship between client and provider to optimize the customer service experience. The core concept of managed services is that instead of the business investing resources (time, manpower, money) troubleshooting their technology, some or all of the process is handed off to an MSP (managed service provider).
An MSP will maintain and monitor an organization’s systems for a flat monthly fee (something within reach of smaller businesses). This means that instead of a company experiencing a technology issue with the resulting loss of productivity and then calling in a “computer repair specialist” with the corresponding fees for assistance, there’s already support waiting in the wings..
Known as the break/fix method, the first process is how IT support has historically been handled: wait for something to break, panic, and then pay whatever is asked for because the longer your system is down, the more money you’re losing. Managed services break this mold because it focuses on proactive maintenance, finding and fixing problems before they can bring down your system.
For businesses who follow the “benefit, not burden” philosophy in regards to their technology, managed IT is there to optimize everything about their use of it. This goes for cost and capability, alike. Since small businesses often don’t have the resources to afford to be offline for any time, managed IT and its proactive monitoring can benefit their long-term productivity.
How Does Managed IT Benefit Smaller Businesses?
Cost Savings
Look, we get it… it can be hard to hear “monthly rate” and associate it with lower costs overall. However, it is important to factor in the value that monthly rate brings with it, and consider how much that much value would cost you if you had to call in a team for each service you get included from a managed service provider.
Alternatively, which would actually cost you more: replacing a pricey server after an issue ruins it, or paying so much each month to keep that server in optimal working order? Time and time again, the value that managed services bring have translated to cost savings over time.
Boosted Productivity
The proactive nature of managed services means that there are just going to be fewer issues to slow your team members down. This means you can be confident that any inefficiencies aren’t coming from the tools your team is using.
Team Education
Cybersecurity needs to be a priority for any business, with best practices instilled in each employee. A good managed service provider will make this a priority—and really, why wouldn’t we? The more secure your team members act, and the more capable they are of catching things like phishing, the easier our job becomes. It’s a win-win.
Monitoring and Maintenance
Of course, we aren’t going to expect your team to catch everything, which is why we provide comprehensive monitoring and maintenance services. Our tools allow us to keep a watchful eye over your entire technology infrastructure, without us having to be there and hovering. Once we spot an issue, we can then resolve it while avoiding as much fuss as possible.
The same goes for any updates that need to be applied or installed. We’ll take care of it all in the background, allowing you and your team to do whatever it is you went into business to do.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
“Stuff” happens. The real question is how ready your business will be when that “stuff” just so happens to hit the fan. Our team will assist by setting up a reliable backup solution to ensure that your data is recoverable and that you can get back in action, despite the various situations that would otherwise put your business processes on hold.
Hopefully, this has given you a better idea of what managed services have to offer. We encourage you to reach out to us to learn more. Give us a call at 248.545.0800 today!
