It doesn’t matter if you’re a start-up, a SME or even a large corporate company, IT support has a vital role to play within your business. Why? Because it’s IT support that ensures your business runs smoothly, gives you a competitive edge, and any nasty surprises are kept to a minimum (and therefore extra costs too).
When businesses invest in IT support, they give themselves increased flexibility, allowing themselves to grow. Your efforts need to be spent on the business and not wasting time trying to work out why technology isn’t working correctly, or troubleshooting. Basically, having someone else to look after your IT saves you a whole load of time, stress, more stress and money.
IT Experts on hand
When you decide to partner with an IT support company you have all their knowledge and experience on-tap. Technology is great, but it will at some point have an issue, and that’s not an ‘if’, its ‘when’. Whenever you get an issue, just flag the problem with your IT experts, and you can rely on them to get you back on track.
Many IT companies like us have been around for a while and in that time have encountered and overcome many IT related challenges. So, you can almost guarantee that they have seen the issues you’re experiencing before and have the know-how to fix it.
Another great thing about IT support companies is that they are very flexible. They can look after all your IT through a managed IT service or help you out with small one-off projects. They can even work alongside your existing inhouse IT team with a co-managed IT service. Your business can then get as much hands-on help as it needs, when it needs it.
Technical issues get resolved efficiently
IT technicians live and breathe technology and as we just mentioned above, within a reputable and trusted IT support company there’s not much they wouldn’t have seen with their many combined years of experience. So, an IT support company will be able to fix your IT issues fast.
It’s also easy to log a ticket with your IT company, there are normally a couple of ways you can do this. One way is to jump on the phone, you can speak to an IT expert who will log your fault on the ticketing system and get straight on the case. You can also send an email to your IT support email address and this will automatically create a ticket and get it flagged in the queue ready for a technician to act – do check that they can offer this service.
Another way is to log any issues through your IT support company’s software or customer portal on your device. This will raise a support ticket and provide a progress report on the status of your ticket.
An IT support company can help to correct any issues quickly, increasing the efficiency of you and your staff and keeping any downtime to a minimum.
Effective management of data
Your organisations data is the backbone of your business – your most valuable asset. You need to protect your data and ensure that it is kept safe and secure.
A trusted IT partner will be able to effectively manage and backup all your company files and data. You don’t then have to worry about the problems of lost files, viruses, malware, natural disasters or simple human error when someone accidently deletes a file.
Your IT support company can implement for you a data backup and recovery solution so whatever happens you know your data is safely protected.
Connectivity and security
Another very important point to consider is your business connectivity and the security of that connection and network. Your IT support company will set up, monitor and maintain your network, both hardwired and wireless. They will also troubleshoot issues where necessary.
They can supply and maintain everything from your internet connection, through to your VPN, Wi-Fi access points and even your business telephone system and keep everything running smoothly. Downtime can be extremely costly (and extremely frustrating) so a good IT support company will work tirelessly to keep your downtime to a minimum.
Software and security monitoring
Cyber-attacks are on the rise so having the proper security is essential for your business. Last year 83% of organisations reported a phishing scam…
With your cyber security services entrusted to your IT support company you can relax. They will make sure you are following security best practices and even help you to gain Cyber Essentials certification.
Their systems will make sure your software and security have the most up to date versions in place to make sure you are protected. They will be constantly monitoring your systems to make sure it is running smoothly and if any issues or threats are flagged the technical team will be straight onto correcting the issue. Most of the time this happens in the background without you even knowing, so it doesn’t interfere with the day to day running of your business.
Scalability
This last section you might not think as important as some of the above points mentioned, but don’t underestimate it. Scalability is important in order for your business to grow effectively. Your IT support company will help put the fundamental technical IT building blocks in place, and by outsourcing your IT you have more time to spend on what really matters.
In addition, all services offered to you will be able to be expanded and grow with your business. If you look after your IT yourself, or even if a ‘one man band’ looks after it for you, it can become difficult to keep up with the needed IT support as it increases in parallel with your business growth.
For example, if you start to need more and more support, the person responsible will soon find their resources being stretched. This in turn leads to poor support and response times and so extended periods on unnecessary downtime.
A good IT support company will be able to help your business grow and, in turn, grow with your business.
Is IT support really necessary?
Do I need an MSP (managed service provider)? In short – YES. IT support is essential for all businesses regardless of your size. It is at the heart of every business, the cogs that keep a business in operation. Like any moving part it is vital to provide good ongoing maintenance and upgrades to ensure your IT is performing at its highest level.
If you are looking for a trusted IT partner for your business to work alongside, please give us a call today on 01732 243100. We would be happy to discuss your requirements and offer advice – with no obligation.
Also be sure to check out our free 28-page guide – The IT Services Buyers Guide – An unbiased view of what to look for in an MSP and the right questions to ask to create a great partnership.
