One of the inevitabilities of starting and operating a successful business is that your IT infrastructure will eventually outgrow itself. While you might have been able to start operations with just a couple of people, the same network that used to work just fine is likely bowing under the stress of additional employees and workstations. If you want to build a sustainable and reliable infrastructure, it’s best that you rely on experts who can help your company stay as competitive as possible, regardless of how much you grow.
That’s where managed IT comes in. It’s an easy way to ensure your business is not just doing the bare minimum with its technology. Here are three simple ways managed IT can help your business optimize operations.
You should never assume that your business is “too small to notice.” Instead, you need to assume they’ll come for you because of your lesser defenses.
If you manage your own cybersecurity infrastructure, you’re almost certainly wasting your time and energy when you should instead be outsourcing it to a managed IT provider. MSPs like First Column IT help small businesses just like yours prevent breaches through 24/7 monitoring. When combined with additional layers of security tools—think multi-factor authentication, advanced endpoint detection and response systems, and security awareness training—you have a multifaceted cybersecurity approach that is sure to make hackers take one look at your network and say, “Nope, not this one. Next.”
The ultimate goal here is to make your infrastructure so difficult to break into that hackers simply give up and move on to the lower-hanging fruit. Remember, most cybersecurity incidents can be prepared for and prevented with enough forward thinking.
The “break-fix” model will hold your business back forever if you let it, and we’re not about to accept that.
If you’re waiting around for your technology to break before you take action, you’re paying a huge hourly bill in the form of employees sitting around, doing nothing… and that’s on top of the repairs and replacements you're already paying for. Managed services involve prioritizing uptime and preventative maintenance so you only pay a flat monthly fee as opposed to an outrageously unpredictable and expensive bill. In other words, we’re not profiting from your technology failing like all the break-fix schmucks out there; instead, we’re making money from your technology staying operational. The distinction is important.
The most beautiful thing about this model for IT management? You profit from this arrangement, too.
Does your business have backup and disaster recovery? Do you even know the difference?
In reality, your backups are what enable disaster recovery to happen in the first place. A USB storage device or simple cloud solution is not going to cut it; you need a comprehensive backup that can handle all of the potential disasters that could impact your business, like a flood, fire, massive winter storm, hurricane, power surge, or simple user error. Managing backups and testing them to ensure they are functional is something a solid MSP can handle for you, and it’s one of the biggest perks of working with one.
You’ll be confident that your backups are functional, secure, and ready to go at a moment’s notice.
First Column IT can be your go-to MSP for all of your technology needs. Learn more today by calling us at (571) 470-5594.
