Technology has become the undeniable backbone of every company recently, and IT services for business have become an integral part of our daily lives. During a global recession, there’s an urgent need for businesses to migrate securely to the cloud, automate processes, and get cleaner, quicker access to data.
Depending on the circumstances, IT services for businesses can be executed in-house, or a third party can provide services as a part of the suite of managed IT services. With a managed service provider (or MSP), companies can free up a lot of time typically spent on IT support, security, and backups to focus on moving your business toward its primary goals.
What is managed IT services, and why is it essential?
Managed IT services often handle IT services for businesses with needs surrounding the remote server, desktop, and device management; however, a wide variety of IT services for companies exist that can be addressed according to your requirements.
As a recession looms over our heads, finding an MSP who can meet your business needs while staying within your budget is a great way to get the IT services you need. There is a skill gap between the number of IT professionals needed and the number currently working. This translates into more hiring costs and more time to find a suitable candidate for your business. With an MSP, you can hire a company with several experts already employed who can help you whenever you need them.
Additionally, MSPs also provide you with coverage during vacation and sickness since you are not limited to the few technical people on staff. Without the payroll taxes, legal liability, or benefits each employee requires, MSPs are a cost-effective way to get the IT talent you need at a much lower cost than hiring.
Four key IT service buckets
Managed IT Support
The technological needs of employees can easily drain your company’s resources and time. From hardware and software malfunctions to misunderstandings of data security and backups, many employees struggle with IT. Yet, employees' productivity hangs in the balance when they struggle with IT problems, making it imperative that their IT support needs be met.
IT support services may entail:
- End user support
- Onsite support
- 24/7/365 support
- Workstation monitoring and management
- Server monitoring and management
- User management
- Microsoft 365 support
- Email management and support
- Network management
All employees have variable support needs. Flexibility regarding the amount of support for each employee is an added benefit that an MSP offers your company by scaling with your business as your needs change while still offering 24/7 support for emergencies.
Managed Backups
Backing up data with confidence is uncertain territory for most employees, but it is an essential part of your business’ IT infrastructure. Leaving backups in the hands of your employees can be unreliable at best, as many will put off backups to focus on their core tasks and operations, but at worst, it can mean losing key data due to a lack of backups. Having one employee (or even a few) working to go around to everyone and make sure data is backed up manually can be an enormous drain on time and still doesn’t ensure no data is lost unless it is done daily.
That’s where managed backups come in. Ensure your data is safe by having an automatic backup system in place. Managed backups protect all of your core data, including everything that lives on Microsoft 365 Services and any data on the servers and on-premise computers, as well as doing daily testing, routine maintenance, and restoring any lost data.
Managed Security
With managed security, you can work with your MSP to get an understanding of the best cybersecurity options for your business and come up with a response plan in case anything goes wrong. You get more peace of mind by having a concrete plan in place to address any cybersecurity issues that arise while also having a team that stays up to date on cybersecurity threats developing and consistently updating your plan. IT Services for businesses that can help keep your employees safe, protected, and connected are necessary to keep your company’s data and hardware secure and operational.
You might come across a wide range of managed security IT services as you explore your MSP options. Modern businesses often need support with device security, user security, and application security.
How managed security keeps your company safe:
- Device security not only protects your hardware but also includes maintaining the integrity of your servers.
- User security adds the human element by providing enhanced phishing screening and ensuring employees follow security best practices through training sessions.
- Application security ensures the safety of updates to applications, keeps a whitelist of secure apps that can and should be used for work purposes, and looks for additional advanced threats to your systems through your applications.
Managed Firewall
Firewalls allow your employees to stay connected while keeping unwanted traffic, websites, malware, and cybercriminals out. They are always evolving to adapt to new threats, and they are adaptable to meet your business needs and budget while still keeping you secure. MSPs not only provide managed firewall services but also can use them to satisfy compliance and cybersecurity insurance requirements, which can add to your peace of mind while keeping your company safe.
When you need IT services for your business, you can opt for in-house, but the advantage of hiring an MSP to provide solutions to your issues outweighs the former. There are many IT services for businesses available, so you should always do your research about finding an MSP that meets your budget and needs. As we face a global recession, it is paramount to find the right fit for an MSP partner.
If you want to up your IT game today, you can start with Your Go-To IT Guide, which walks you through how to start addressing some of these key IT services for your business.
