Data Analytics

Key Benefits of Managed IT Services for Small Businesses

Smaller organizations don’t need to spend big or hire big to get the most out of the latest IT tools.

Twitter

Keara Dowd is a web editor for BizTech, joining the magazine after honing her journalism skills in local news.

Technology is more integral to the success of businesses than ever before. There are more ways to gather and analyze customer information, more efficient systems to track inventory and sales, and mobile devices to make it easy to connect from anywhere. While these advancements can be beneficial for businesses of any size, they may seem out of reach to smaller organizations working with limited budgets and IT resources.

But by looking outside the organization to provide these IT services, smaller businesses can get access to these tools while staying within their budgets. A survey by Clutch found that 37 percent of small businesses that are currently outsourcing at least one process are outsourcing IT. The survey also found that the top reasons organizations outsource are to increase efficiency (24 percent) and to gain access to an expert (18 percent). Both of these can be crucial for small businesses as they strive to get the most out of every dollar.

One way to outsource IT is through managed services. Managed services can help businesses simplify collaboration by bridging the gaps between team tools, monitoring organizational systems and alerting the business when there’s an issue. Having outside experts available when needed can help small businesses grow without the budgetary burdens of extra staff or infrastructure.

Forms of IT Managed Services SMBs are already in use

Many small businesses are already using some form of managed services. According to Spiceworks’ “2019 State of IT” report, organizations with fewer than 100 employees value outsourced IT for data storage and backups (10 percent) as well as communications (9 percent) and hardware support (9 percent).

When it comes to data protection, Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) can be a game changer for small businesses. Unplanned downtime can mean thousands of dollars lost every minute, which can be devastating for smaller organizations. While coming up with a disaster recovery plan can seem daunting and expensive, adopting DRaaS can give small businesses the help they need without the hefty price tag of developing and implementing a plan on their own.

Data-related services may be the most popular right now, but there are other protection services that can pay big dividends, such as cybersecurity. Forty-three percent of cyberattacks target small businesses, and 83 percent of small businesses can’t afford to recover from a breach. Using a managed security service can give organizations the protection they need without spending money they don’t have — which could help them avoid a potential disaster.

Top Considerations When Choosing a Managed Services Provider

In order to fully reap the benefits of managed services, small businesses need to make sure they’re working with the provider that best fits their needs. While these needs will vary from organization to organization, there are some general things for businesses to consider when selecting a provider.

One is to make sure that a provider can set up simple alerts for your systems. It is important to be able to quickly identify potential problems before they affect users’ work so that teams can continue operations as seamlessly as possible. It’s not ideal to rely on employees to report problems, as they might not know what to look for.

It’s also important to find a provider that will look at the larger footprint of an issue. All available data on a problem should be gathered as quickly as possible to discover its root so a permanent fix can be made. The right managed services provider will look at the whole network to find where the right solution should be deployed to keep everything running smoothly long-term.

simonkr/Getty Images