What is your approach to outside IT support? Do you take the “we’ll do what we can ourselves, and bring in outside help only when we can’t handle something?” Does management view external IT support services as a kind of “on-off” service? Too often, business executives view Managed Service Providers (MSPs) as purveyors of specific, one-off services who are brought in “as-needed.” A similar way to which a plumber is hired–clear a drain, replace old pipes, or add a bathroom. Get the job done and leave. Same with a MSP. A business decides it needs a new server or wants a slow network evaluated and “fixed,” but that is as far as it goes. Instead of this “fix-and-go-home” approach, we suggest a different take on the role of the MSP. This approach views the MSP as an ongoing partner that brings strategic value and skills to your business that allows technology to not be an afterthought, but an integral part of both the organization’s present success and its planning for the future.
IT also encompasses a wide range of areas of expertise. An individual skilled in networks, for instance, may not have the necessary background to support software applications.You need an IT support staff that includes individuals with different skill sets. In a very large organization, that could be feasible; however, in smaller and medium-sized organizations, the lack of economies of scale make having a fully staffed IT department economically difficult. As a result, your growth may be impeded because of a lack of depth in the design and support of your infrastructure. Perhaps some things just don’t get done as well as they might. Also, without a depth of available support, your business may be less able to quickly recover in the face of a disaster. One concept that underpins all of your IT infrastructure is that it must be available 24/7. Most small to mid-size organizations cannot afford a team 24/7, leaving them vulnerable. They are less likely to immediately identify an issue and be less able to respond with the immediacy that is required.
Accelerate can supplement specific areas where your business cannot justify full-time staffing by providing 24/7 monitoring and maintenance at a fraction of the cost it would take to hire 24/7 in-house staff. Visit our managed IT solutions page for more information or contact us today for a free full-time managed service quote!