You may find enhancing your company’s online presence challenging if you don’t know much about information technology. This especially goes for smaller businesses and those with no IT department. Fortunately, there’s a solution: managed IT services.
Here, we’ll explain what managed IT services are and discuss their most significant pros and cons.
What Are Managed IT Services?
Managed IT services are a solution that involves outsourcing a company’s IT support and management to a third-party company or organization. Thanks to this, the company can focus on other core aspects of the business and be confident its IT security and network aren’t jeopardized.
Managed IT services are conducted by a managed service provider (MSP) specializing in strategic technology guidance and IT support. Such providers allow companies to access world-class technology and the latest IT trends without hiring full-time IT personnel.
There are several types of managed IT services, the most common being:
- IT support
- IT security
- Troubleshooting
- Maintenance
- Managing cloud services
- Connectivity
The Pros and Cons of Managed IT Services
Managed IT services can be incredibly valuable for any business with an online presence. However, these services also have a few drawbacks that business owners should be aware of.
The Pros
Let’s look into the advantages of managed IT services:
Reduced Costs
Having IT personnel as full-time employees can be a great idea. However, if you own a start-up company or a small business with only a few employees, you probably don’t have the need to hire full-time IT experts. Still, you require someone who understands IT and can ensure your company’s security and provide support.
That’s when managed IT services become valuable. Hiring a managed service provider can help you save a lot of money compared to hiring in-house IT personnel. Besides the significant difference in salaries, you’ll save on office space and equipment.
Increased Quality
You may wonder how someone who works for your company remotely can offer higher quality services than in-house personnel. The answer lies in constant monitoring.
An MSP monitors your system 24/7. This ensures the provider identifies a minor issue before it becomes a significant problem causing delays, interruptions, or security breaches. Thanks to constant monitoring, you can almost eliminate the possibility of downtimes, which can often be expensive and hurt your company’s reputation. In addition, the MSP guarantees consistent quality and uptimes through a legally-binding agreement.
Having in-house IT personnel is certainly beneficial, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have no downtimes. Why? Because IT personnel often need to firefight various issues, i.e., fix the problems that need to be resolved as soon as possible. The personnel often doesn’t have time to monitor the system 24/7 and identify issues before they become alarming.
Specialized and Experienced Personnel
If you hire an MSP, you can have peace of mind knowing you’re working with the industry’s top experts. These people specialize in specific IT fields and follow the latest trends. They use best practices to maintain your network and fix potential issues.
An in-house IT team with a few skilled people often possesses a limited scope of skills. Since the IT industry is constantly changing, you’ll need to spend money on the team’s training and education. That’s the only way to stay on top of recent technology and security measures.
Some business owners may think having one IT expert on the team is better than hiring an MSP. They often forget that this expert will probably have a lot on their plate and may not have enough time to deal with everything. Moreover, this person will have to go on vacation or may need to take sick days. With an MSP, you don’t have to worry about this. The provider is available at all times. Due to this, you avoid having a single point of failure.
No HR Challenges
Hiring one or more in-house IT experts is a lengthy process. If you hire an MSP, you outsource the entire IT operation, meaning your HR team doesn’t have to devote valuable time to hiring IT personnel. Instead, they can focus on other, more important issues that may arise in the company.
The Cons
As you can see, managed IT services can be invaluable for any company. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t a few drawbacks to consider. Here are some of them:
Lack of Synergy
One significant disadvantage of managed IT services is that the MSP you hire may not be able to understand your company’s internal structure and specific business needs. In other words, an MSP can’t specialize in every single line of business.
You can avoid this drawback by finding an MSP that has worked with companies from your industry. If an MSP already knows your industry, you’ll get more reliable IT services.
No On-Site Support
Many MSPs operate only remotely and don’t have a physical office. Due to this, they usually don’t offer on-site support, which can be a problem for some business owners.
To compensate for this drawback, many MSPs offer constant phone and email support so that you can reach them anytime.
No Knowledge Retention
This may be one of the most significant drawbacks of managed IT services. When you outsource your IT operations, your in-house staff won’t have the opportunity to learn more about them. Therefore, your team doesn’t retain IT-related knowledge.
Business owners who want to open an IT department someday should consider whether hiring an MSP is a good initial step.
Map Your Technology Direction
Every business requires technology to operate efficiently. Small businesses and companies with limited resources don’t need to hire in-house IT personnel to ensure their network is working impeccably. Instead, they can hire an MSP that offers managed IT services.
If you need top-quality managed IT services in New York, Totowa, Pennsauken, Edison, or Ft. Washington, contact Docutrend.