In 2017, small to medium-sized businesses in North America spent nearly $300 billion on IT services.
And as long ago as 2014, over 90% of small to medium-sized businesses in the US were using cloud-based business solutions.
IT is playing a larger and larger role in the running of businesses of every size. And more and more of those businesses are turning to companies that can offer managed IT solutions.
But what do you get for your money? What can you expect from your IT managed services provider?
Learn more as we look at the services that are most often included in managed IT solutions.
Security and Compliance
With ever more digital data, the need for data security has grown enormously.
All good IT management services should help keep your data secure and reduce the risk of hacking, ransomware and data theft. Intrusion prevention and detection are also key.
In addition, managed IT services should take charge of ensuring your company is complying with regulations. This will take another big worry out of your hands and leave you to focus on the job at hand.
Networking and Infrastructure
With businesses increasingly reliant on data, it’s crucial that your network is robust enough for the task.
Managed services can help take care of your network to ensure that your uptime is maximized. They should also ensure that you have the infrastructure in place to be able to run your business efficiently.
Disaster Recovery
Data loss can have a truly devastating impact on a business.
In the case of a disaster such a fatal server loss, or damage to your premises, you want to be able to get things back up and running as quickly as possible. A business continuity service can help keep that downtime to a bare minimum. In addition, disaster recovery features such as failover measures are a must.
Cloud Services
Cloud services are an obvious way to reduce hardware costs and keep your data safer from loss.
But good IT managed services should also be offering Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions. This allows you to access infrastructure through the cloud and reduce upfront costs as well as storage costs and energy consumption.
Remote Support
When things go wrong, you want to be sure that you can contact your managed IT services provider at a moment’s notice.
Remote support is vital, allowing users to contact their remote managed services provider as soon as a problem occurs. This allows them to get straight on the case. At a minimum, they should be available during your businesses operating hours.
Strategic Technology Planning
Many businesses do not have the budget or business need to keep a full-time Chief Information Officer on staff. This means that many organizations are constantly trying to keep up with what’s working, what’s not, and what’s on the technology horizon. Without a knowledgeable resource to solve the technology riddle, many businesses are at risk.
Adding a Virtual CIO as part of your Managed Services contract is the answer to this dilemma, as well as many other business issues impacted by technology. With Virtual CIO consulting, businesses get everything from network infrastructure and disaster recovery planning to cybersecurity and cloud migration recommendations, all customized and tailored to your business’ specific needs and long-term success.
Want to Know More About Managed IT Solutions?
If managed IT solutions are something that you feel could be of real benefit to your business, then you’ve come to the right place.
We understand that technology is becoming increasingly complex. We handle the IT leaving you to focus on your organizational goals.
If you would like to know more about the services we can offer you, then please contact us at 240.499.2546 and let us take IT worries out of your hands.
