6 Areas Managed IT Services Offer Businesses Assistance

Business organisations are increasingly handing over part or all of their IT needs to managed service providers. Why so? Because Managed IT services offer too many benefits to ignore, one of the biggest being lowering operational costs associated with acquiring good IT. Everything IT screams money, from infrastructure to tools, applications, devices, technical staff and more. This can be burdensome especially for small businesses and start-ups who are strapped for cash. Managed IT helps alleviate this hurdle. Entrepreneurs also adopt the trend in a bid to increase efficiency, enjoy more uptime, keep the business assets secure, boost their staff morale, among other reasons. If you’ve ever considered jumping in the bandwagon but are not quite aware of the areas managed IT services can come in to assist, you have come to the right place. Here we highlight some of the areas that can be tasked to a managed service provider so that you capitalise on their expertise and resources for success.

1. Software and applications

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a dominant part of managed IT services. A managed service provider will host and deliver software to your business and integrate them into your systems. The MSP will also be responsible for monitoring and keeping them up to date at a fixed monthly subscription. If you’d like tailor made business applications, instead of spending too much time in development, you can easily delegate to MSP with suites such as CAD, Microsoft office 365, CRM etc. Software licensing and consulting are other services under this category.

1. Network infrastructure

Building a business network from scratch is not a piece of cake, and so is maintaining it. The budgetary allocation for infrastructure must be sufficiently enormous. This is why network and infrastructure, a foundational service that partakes developing and/or remote monitoring of networks and infrastructure is your best bet. Your network is what typically enables your business run. A good example is internet broadband, mobile and wireless networks such as LAN, WLAN and corresponding infrastructure such as computer devices, printers, servers etc.

1. Security

Managed IT services offer businesses a reliable and strong line of defence. There are services that entail analysing system security flaws and offering protection geared towards combating cyber attacks, malware, ransom ware, virus, hacking and any other forms of threats to the business system and networks. Protection measures include monitoring and upgrading security software, setting protocols and regulations to be complied with, strengthening passwords and authentication procedures. As a result, your business and its assets are protected at all times.

1. Communication

Managed IT service will host and set up IP telephony for your new organisation to ensure smooth and modern communication with stakeholders without incurring the many hardware costs and inflated phone bills common with traditional phone systems. If you are already in the old system and would like to make a switch to IP phone system, an MSP will help you migrate effortlessly with as little downtime as possible. You can then enjoy data, voice communication and video conferencing among other advanced features with your networks for unbelievably low rates.

1. Data

Data is precious to a business and thus needs a lot of handling. Managed IT data services could be of help in any of the following ways. One, data storage. Two, hosting, maintaining and monitoring of data centres in both on and off premises servers. Three, implementing back-up to prevent data loss and develop disaster recovery strategies for business continuity. Four, data analysis which is fairly new. It is analysing data to pick up outstanding customer trends and patterns in order to influence decisions making and planning. You won’t have to worry anymore about overwhelmingly huge data.

1. IT support

This service offers a help desk. A kind of customer care line where users can call to get assistance on how to remedy technical and network issues. Field support where a technician can come to the premises to check out the problem may also be part of support services package. Break-fix services are also provided for under the same whenever you need an installation, upgrade, replacement or repairs done. Support services may also provide for your staffing needs for example, during special projects.

Even though the list is not quite exhaustive, we’ve basically covered the most common functions that majority businesses are no longer struggling with. You can choose to purchase the managed services independently or as a package depending on the managed service provider and your organisational needs and goals. You can even have multiple vendors who specialise in specific areas. If you’d like to learn more about managed IT services, talk to the experts. We will help you narrow things down to your best fit. That way, you and the rest of your staff can revert to focusing on your core business.