Managing your entire IT operations internally is a significant ask. It requires you to have adequate skills and capacity within your IT team, substantial budget and the right equipment to keep everything running efficiently and safely.
Because of everything required, IT service management can cause headaches. Due to this, more and more companies are opting against a traditional in-house IT department. Instead, they’re turning to external managed IT services, either partially or fully.
We explore the benefits of utilising managed IT services in your business, including how it can improve security, cost-effectiveness and productivity.
Why you need managed IT services_
1. Free internal capacity
In business, it often feels there aren’t enough hours in the day. Core projects can get left behind as emergencies and daily tasks get in the way.
Managing IT is one of these drains on resource, preventing focus on your business objectives. By outsourcing your IT, you can free up your team to focus on value-adding strategical work. Your IT processes will tick along effortless, so you don’t need to worry about disruption affecting productivity.
2. Improve cost-efficiency
By allowing an external company to take care of your IT, you can reduce the cost pressure on your business.
Although you’ll need to cover the cost of your IT contract, you don’t need to worry about investing in maintenance equipment or training to upskill staff.
And unlike hiring internal staff, you won’t have to cover recruitment costs or overheads, like annual leave or stick pay. This leads to more cost-effective operations.
3. Prevent recruitment challenges
A 2023 report from Forbes stated 93% of UK companies believe there is an IT skills gap.
Businesses building internal IT teams may find it hard to attract and retain the skills they need. It can lead to lengthy times to fill vacancies, as well as the need to offer highly competitive salaries to win over candidates.
An external partner will already have the resource needed to manage your IT. You don’t have to worry about recruitment, while still getting the skills you need to thrive.
4. Access to wider knowledge
IT services suppliers will typically have vast knowledge across different systems and scenarios.
As their specialty is working with businesses to master their IT, they’ll have experience with a wide range of problems and set-ups. This means they can come up with smarter solutions to any issue you face, while consistently providing helpful advice and maintenance.
5. Increased technical skills
Managed IT service suppliers should benefit from industry awards and accreditations. These typically come as a result of advanced training or service quality.
Due to this, they tend to have outstanding technical skills, equalling better support for you. You can gain increased confidence that your IT is being taken care of adequately, while benefiting from expertise and innovation.
Better yet, you’ll get the most of up-to-date training, the cost of which doesn’t need to be covered by you.
6. Emergency care
With an in-house IT team, they likely only work typically office hours. However, you can bet that an IT emergency is likely to happen at the most inconvenient time, outside of your normal operating hours.
If your staff aren’t about, it could be hours until somebody even begins to resolve the issue, leaving you at risk for longer.
Fortunately, most managed IT services companies will offer emergency care. It means you get a swift response, whenever an incident occurs – even in the middle of the night.
7. Consistent coverage
When you have an internal IT team only, there will naturally be times throughout the year where team members are on holiday or fall ill. This can leave you with substantial resource gaps, especially if you have a small team.
However, when working with an external company, you can benefit from consistent coverage. Even if your normal account team aren’t available, they can allocate back-up resource so there are no gaps in support.
8. Strengthen security
IT security is integral to keep your business safe against the growing frequency of cyber threats out there – including hacks, phishing emails and social engineering.
Outsourcing your IT can enhance your security. You’ll have someone dedicated solely to your IT, uncovering and resolving potential weaknesses in your network.
They also typically have a greater understanding of cybersecurity and innovation solutions. As such, you’ll be better protected without having to have internal resource committed to security.
9. Faster resolution
Due to the advantages of managed IT services, such as advanced expertise, up-to-date training and around-the-clock care, you can gain a faster resolution to issues.
IT issues can lead to unwanted downtime, especially if the problem stops your workforce from being able to operate efficiently. If it affects customers, it could lead to a loss of trust or falling revenue. So, any and every issue needs to be resolved swiftly.
This minimises any negative impacts and gets your business back to normal as fast as possible.
10. Access new technology
The world of IT is constantly evolving. It’s changing especially rapidly in the era of automation and AI. Being able to stay on top of the latest tech is crucial to maintaining a competitive edge and improving processes.
External IT experts will be familiar with technology and processes outside of your business. They’ll follow industry trends and will have worked with other customers.
Using this knowledge, they can recommend new systems and equipment that will level up your business. You can embrace innovation and improve efficiencies.
11. Scale easily
As your business grows, so does your IT needs. More demand and more staff results in a more significant IT infrastructure. If this isn’t managed well, you may run into inefficiencies and frustrations.
Fortunately, your external IT contract can scale with your business, without you needing a recruitment drive. As your needs grows, more people can be placed onto your account. The supplier can also make recommendations for technology that will support your growth.
As such, you won’t be limited as you take the next steps as a business.
Three reasons to choose Infinity Group for your managed IT services_
To master your IT set-up, it’s crucial to find the right partner. We’re proud to have worked with businesses of all shapes and sizes to provide dedicated and reliable managed IT services.
Here are three reasons to choose Infinity Group as your IT partner:
- Gain expertise and reliability for a fixed monthly cost. We deliver all our IT services on a proactive basis with an easy-to-understand monthly contract. There are no hidden costs and you benefit from consistent support from our dedicated team.
- Fast response. Our service desk is proud to provide a 5-minute response time on average, meaning you can speak directly to an engineer within moments.
- Certification across operating systems. Our managed IT services team are highly skilled and more importantly certified to implement the latest technology. We can support both Windows and Mac networks following best practice principles.
To find out more about our managed IT services or discuss your needs, contact us today.
