Most modern business owners will agree that an ad hoc IT support is a broken and inefficient model.
The technology exists for all business types to source reliable and affordable managed IT support to protect your technology and help your business grow.
The problem with IT 'Firefighting'
The reactive “call us when you have a problem” IT support model is a big mistake made by a lot of new businesses.
They often go to the local big-box store and purchase the best deal on a desktop PC, install the system themselves, then it’s just a matter of time before problems start to happen.
Be it a virus, ransomware or problems moving their email to Office 365, the issues will eventually compound until they finally call for IT support.
These compounding issues can complicate the day-to-day running of your business, and when the IT company is finally called for support, they'll usually leave behind a large invoice.
The big problem with Ad Hoc IT Support:
The problem with a reactive IT support service is that there’s no clear IT strategy in place for the future of the business.
This means that when your business should be preparing to grow to grow, the list of potential IT problems are compounding.
It’s also not in the interest of an ad hoc IT provider to fix the root cause of your problems, because they're billing you hourly – the more problems for them in the future, the better.
Worst of all, this situation is easily avoided if you partner with the right IT company from the get-go.
The managed IT support solution
Fully managed IT support is in essence a formal contract with an IT company to act as an outsourced IT department for your business.
This generally includes a combination of proactive and reactive IT support for your business, using the latest technology to monitor and maintain your systems at all times.
The proactive element of the service includes remote monitoring of all servers, workstations and devices. Your IT service provider should be able to detect problems on the network or IT infrastructure before you even know about them, so that they be fixed with minimal impact to your business.
But on top of fixing issues, there should also be an IT strategy in place.
This is where managed IT services are most handy, as they can look in to your business to design a formalised action plan for your technology success.
This plan is aligned with your goals for the business, with the purpose of using your businesses technology in the most efficient way possible to meet your goals.
What does that mean? There are simple solutions you can put in place from the get-go, such as:
Have a backup system that’s regularly checked to protect your business from security breaches.
Swap out the traditional hard disk drives in your workstation for a solid state device. This will save you approximately 15 minutes per day per machine waiting for your computer to load applications and process items.
A managed IT service provider can also take a close look at your competitors to find common market trends in technology, and make sure your business has the right tools in place to optimise success in the industry.
Getting started with managed IT support
The first thing to look at is your current spend on IT support and services.
How much money has been paid out over the last 12 months of operation?
These costs can be hidden in things like:
- New PC purchases
- Time involved to set up software
- Internet connection issues
- Server faults
- Software licensing
- IT support requests
- Server patches
- IT Staff costs
These are just some examples of where you are already being charged for time where you might not as part of a managed service agreement.
Once you’ve got an accurate idea on what the 12-month cost to your business is for IT support you can then approach the prospect of a managed IT services contract with an eye for finding real value.
Managed IT support with NetCare
Whilst it's easy to perceive IT support and services an expense to your business, modern businesses should see the servicing, support and strategy for your technology as an investment.
NetCare work closely with our clients to ensure their current technologies are fully supported and protected, and help develop a businesses technology strategy that is ready to grow with your business and help you stand out from your competitors.
For further information or advice on how your business can step-away from ad hoc support and start realising the benefits of a managed IT service model, get in touch with us by filling out our .