About 85% of all small businesses say that they’re more successful because of digital tools.
As most business owners can attest, if something can go wrong with technology, it will. That’s one reason why many businesses are outsourcing their technology needs to an IT managed service provider.
Can your business benefit from outsourcing IT? It sure can. Keep reading to discover the benefits IT managed service providers can bring to your business.
Table of Contents
1. Manage IT Related Expenses
How much does your business spend on IT costs? If you look at your profit and loss statements, you’ll find that your IT costs may fluctuate from month to month. You’re also spending more than you need to.
There are things that come up, such as server replacement costs, an unexpected outage, the demand for another IT employee, and new software expenses that can eat up your profitability.
With an IT service provider, you can have a provider that charges a flat monthly rate for their services. That allows you to be able to manage your IT costs and keep them predictable.
2. Regulatory Compliance and Security
There are certain industries that have to comply with regulatory change management. Compliance laws are changing often, which can leave your business exposed to penalties and fines for noncompliance.
In the healthcare and financial industries, there are more regulations since these businesses have to protect sensitive data for all of their clients and patients.
Another IT threat to your business is a cyberattack. About 15% of all small businesses experienced a cyberattack in 2019.
In both cases, an IT managed service provider can protect your business. Not only are they up to speed on the regulations in your industry, but they are experts in security.
They’ll have a plan in place to detect threats to your systems, respond to those threats, and prevent them from happening.
3. Scale Up or Down Easily
As a startup business, your needs are going to change rapidly. One day, you may need to hire employees or scale back in order to make a strategic adjustment.
If your business is seasonal, you want to have the flexibility to scale up and down according to demand. By outsourcing to an IT managed service company, you can do that.
As you hire more employees, you need more IT staff to provide technical assistance. It’s very difficult to hire and fire staff, not to mention very costly to your business.
IT managed services can be scaled up and down according to your business needs. That will save your business money and resources over time.
4. Focus on Running the Business
Entrepreneurs pride themselves on being able to do everything in the business, including IT. The thing with having too much pride in that is that you’re taking time away from actually running the business.
What can you do with the time not spent on fixing printers and getting computers to talk to each other? You can go out and get more customers, for one thing.
Let a managed service provider handle those pressing needs so you can focus on building your business.
5. Have Technical Support On-Demand
How often are you or your employees interrupted by simple technology issues? There are times when your team needs support, but that usually falls to you or your IT staff.
That can mean that you and your IT staff are pulled away from important tasks to fix these minor annoyances. Most managed service providers have a help desk option. Your employees can call the help desk with these issues, and you and your IT staff can do mission-critical tasks.
6. Lower Business Risk
Starting a business is a risky venture. You’re investing a lot of time and money into something that may not work out. You can limit your risk by outsourcing IT from the very beginning.
You’ll lower your overall expenses to develop and maintain an IT infrastructure. There are additional cost savings because you don’t need to hire IT staff to manage your internal IT needs.
7. Innovation without the Expense
An IT service provider should be at the forefront of technology and innovation. You can have all of the IT innovation without having to make a substantial investment in research and development.
An IT service provider like Lenet has a focus on innovation that can give your business a competitive edge.
No matter which service provider you use, you’ll have a high level of expertise at your disposal.
How Much Does an IT Service Provider Cost?
You could spend a significant portion of your business revenue on IT. How does that compare with outsourcing to an IT managed service provider? Let’s take a quick look at how these services are priced.
One of the common pricing structures that IT providers use is by pricing per user or device. The more devices and people that an IT service company has to manage, the higher the cost will be to your business.
Other service providers will charge a flat monthly fee for their IT services. They may also charge a flat fee for specific projects, such as a server replacement or installation.
One final option is to hire a managed service provider on retainer. You have access to an IT company for a set number of billable hours each month. Since you’re buying hours in bulk, you’re likely to get a discount on the standard hourly rate.
Hire an IT Managed Service Provider
It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is, you can benefit from hiring an IT managed service provider. You’ll be able to manage your expenses, focus on your business, and have a team of experts that are up to date on the latest threats to your business.
IT service providers are affordable and scalable, so you can grow your IT needs as your business grows. It’s a smart move that every entrepreneur should make.
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