So what is all the buzz around managed services? Although not a new concept, Managed Services is enjoying a boom in popularity. The attraction is due to its ability to discover and fix problems before they negatively affect businesses.

Instead of your IT partner operating in a reactive mode, they are constantly monitoring items like disk usage, backup status, local and remote network utilization, and firewall logs. They normally apply virus updates, software updates, and patches as well. Basically, all the things you should be doing for your network but find yourself too busy running your business to devote the necessary resources.

Some providers offer, or include, Virtual CIO services as part of their Managed Services solution. Businesses utilize this service to better plan for upcoming shifts in technology, manage hardware and software replacement, and better apply technology to their specific business processes.

Key Things You Should Know About Managed Services

  1. Eases IT Budgeting – planning for technology expenses can change in a moment’s notice if a computer or server crashes. With a fixed monthly IT cost, managed services allow businesses to better budget for their IT service costs as well as prepare for upgrades.
  2. Increases Security for Your Business and Its Data – the risks of data breaches and security threats are a real concern and have brought about the need for heightened security measures leaving small and mid-size businesses with a major challenge. Managed services can help your business keep its critical information safe through regular updates, monitoring and management of key security technologies.
  3. Helps Control Costs – it’s important for businesses of all sizes to be as cost-effective as possible. Outdated, poorly managed systems can cost way more than they’re worth.   Managed services offerings can work with your budget and don’t compromise on quality.
  4. Protects Your Business From A Disaster – studies show that in-house disaster recovery is more likely to fail than outsourced because internal IT staff rarely have the time and resources to devote to regular testing. With managed services, you can have a back-up and disaster recovery plan tailored to the needs of your business and leave that worry to someone else.

Just like larger businesses, small and mid-sized companies are relying more and more on technology to operate and compete effectively. But with limited resources, they find themselves quickly overwhelmed with the day to day responsibilities of keeping the IT infrastructure up and running and are turning to managed services as the answer. It’s all about protecting your business and the peace of mind that comes along with it.

Register for our IT/Network newsletter today!