As a small or medium-sized business, your core expertise is fully wrapped up in the specific service or product you provide. It is also highly that looking after the IT infrastructure in your business is not going to be your forte – unless you’re active in the IT support industry that is. IT solutions for small businesses can be a challenge. And the stark reality is that SMEs often don’t have the resources or knowledge to invest internally in a high level of in-house IT expertise. So, at a time when technology is increasingly driving the way we do business, that can put you constantly on the back foot.
At the same time, many SMEs feel like appointing an IT support company – or Managed Service Provider (MSP) – to manage their IT is a step too far. Or maybe even that Managed IT Support is an expensive solution that is out of their reach. However, this perception is usually rooted in a misunderstanding of what IT support providers do, what they have to offer and, most importantly, how cost-effective they can be for your business.
So, if you are not using small business Managed IT services, here is what you are missing out on:
1. Predictable and cost-effective IT support
The reality is that IT can be costly if you don’t manage it effectively. And trying to solve your IT issues in-house can place an even higher cost on your business.
As highly skilled professionals, IT workers typically demand high salaries. And. as more businesses go digital, the demand for IT staff is also rising which is increasing competition and prices for good IT talent. Hiring an in-house IT manager can cost your business north of anywhere from £42,327 -£53,960 a year. And that is cost of entry – with costs including extra office space, equipment, training, specialist software and other IT related expenses at least doubling the original bill for many businesses.
There are also some other practical issues that you might encounter along the way with an in-house solution including:
- How to ensure you get the right IT resource in place: knowing what you are buying in an increasingly expensive IT recruitment market is a specialism in itself and perhaps note on you have experience of
- Limit on the expertise of the candidate your put in place – IT is a varied specialism with up-to-date experience required in everything from desktop support, to IT Security and getting the best out of Cloud based business applications. And finding and retaining a candidate that spans these areas of expertise is always going to be a challenge. Particularly in a smaller business.
This is where working with a Managed IT support provider – which is specialises in providing IT Support for small business -can really come into its own. Because they typically work with a wide range of businesses they enable your SME to tap into the expertise of a larger, expert IT team. One that has experience right across the spectrum of IT specialisms and that can deliver for services from ad-hoc it support to comprehensive managed services. And all for an affordable, all inclusive monthly IT support fee that can often start from as little as £300 plus VAT per month.
2. Better business productivity
If your staff are trying to juggle managing IT issues with doing their day-to-day jobs then it is inevitable that business productivity is going to suffer. What seem like relatively simple issues – like problems with network connectivity and printers not printing – can quickly spiral into mini projects for inexperienced staff and suck up valuable business hours. From staff who try to solve them without the requisite expertise.
For many small and medium-sized businesses the answer lies in appointing low level, dedicated IT support inside the business to deal with the issue. However, that can be a false economy as an inexperienced IT assistant quickly becomes overwhelmed by IT issues across your business. And this internal IT resource is just another functional resource that needs to be managed. Diverting vital time and focus away from your core business.
Appointing an IT support company to deliver an outsourced IT support solution shifts the IT Management issue to someone else’s desk. Effective Managed IT support for SMEs ensure minimal business disruption– and mean your staff get back to what they do best. Driving your business forward.
3. Access to a team of highly skilled IT professionals
As mentioned above, the IT job market is highly competitive. This makes finding, hiring and keeping IT staff extremely challenging. If you decide to go it alone, you may find it’s a significant drain on your time and HR resources. And the reality is that many IT professionals prefer jobs with IT-focused companies that offer clear growth and career progression opportunities.
IT support providers are able to attract that type of talent more readily. And they are also laser focused on hiring top IT professionals – to ensure that they can continue to deliver a high-quality service to their customer base. One that is based on all staff having the latest skills, training and equipment to operate at the highest level.
And this type of expert talent is available to your SME as part of an IT solution for small business. All at a fraction of the cost of trying to hire it in-house.
4. Pre-agreed levels of IT Support for SMEs
Hiring and managing IT staff is one thing. Upholding IT key performance indicators (KPIs) and maintaining high standards are another. Whether working with in-house or outsourced temporary IT support for small business, you’re usually reliant on nothing but their word that things will go smoothly. And that you can expect a certain level of performance.
However, IT support providers typically work with customers on a long-term basis which means their reputation for service is important. IT also means they are strongly incentivised to build healthy customer relationships that are built on providing first-class IT services.
The benefit for your business. They are able to offer your SME a number of benefits that include:
- guarantees in the form of binding Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
- certain levels of infrastructure performance and availability
- and minimum and maximum response times
5. Effective Cybersecurity protection
As SMEs increasingly take advantage of the business benefits of the internet, it opens them up to the potential risk of some form of Cyber-attack.
In fact, hackers launch 65,000 cyber attacks at SMEs in the UK per day, 4,500 of which are successful. And more than half (51%) of UK SMEs have also fallen victim to a cyber attack. However, despite these alarming numbers, 32% of SMEs don’t have a cybersecurity program. And 50% don’t have an incident response plan in place.
Working with a long-term IT support partner that is familiar with your business means that they are able to do a structured IT audit and recommend an appropriate IT Security solution. Typically, as part of an integrated approach to delivering Managed IT support for your business.
6. Effective IT leadership and planning
At a time when use of digital can really impact the way that your business performs, SMEs risk falling behind the competition without a coherent and well-informed IT strategy. And without a well-defined IT roadmap in place, it is virtually impossible to keep up while maintaining business continuity.
Fortunately, this is going to be part of the service that a high-quality IT Support partner provide. Their success depends on knowing your business – not just your IT systems – inside out. And, as they begin to assess your IT needs via an independent IT audit, they are going to help lay out a strategy that keeps things moving forward. Including also taking account of the types of advances in technology that will impact your business. Whether that is the simple requirement for IT uptime or transitioning to the cloud.
When you outsource your IT support. That is all part of the package.
Can we help?
The good news? It is never too late to find the right managed IT for small business partner.
At Managed IT Experts, we have over 15 years’ experience of helping businesses like yours to make the most of the IT. Together, we’ll put a comprehensive and cost-effective plan for small business IT support services that puts your business on the long-term path to IT success.
So with one of our IT Experts? And start getting more out of your IT now.
