Technology is an integral part of any business, regardless of its size. However, managing technology can be increasingly tough. As a company owner or manager, you know that you are great at running your business, but there are some areas outside of your expertise.
Maybe you, like many other businesses, struggle with your tech and notice a few common problems that seem to arise over and over again?
What is a Managed Service Provider?
Managed Service Provider is a company that offers your business the ability to outsource the management of your day-to-day tech and IT needs. It partners with you to help increase the effectiveness of your business operations, and achieve your overall goals.
Here’s how you can tell if you need an MSP
You do not have dedicated IT Support Team
An entire in-house IT team costs A LOT of money. Small businesses often rely on the computer literacy of their existing employees in order to handle any tech problems across the organization.
Although this may be helpful when small issues occur, this employee may not have the technical skills needed to fix larger problems or implement more technical solutions. Additionally, as this is not part of their official job role, this may have an impact on their morale and job satisfaction within the company.
An MSP is essentially an outsourced IT department that offers the expertise of multiple technicians at a cost usually lower than the salary of one full-time IT employee*.
*that tends to be true for small and medium-sized businesses. Some huge enterprises may actually save money on having their in-house team, as MSPs usually charge for their services based on the number of users.
You have continuous IT problems
If you have not already used our downtime calculator, now may be the best time to do it.
You know best that your business cannot afford downtime. IT issues can keep your employees from doing their job and can be very problematic if the member of staff struggling with their computer has a large role in the day to day operations of the company.
You are unaware of best practices in IT
MSPs specialise in streamlining IT processes to get the most out of your business and stay up to date with the current technological developments. This means that, unless you follow the tech scene very closely, you may be missing out on new opportunities to improve the ways you work and increase productivity for your employees; you may be missing out on what would give you that competitive edge in your industry.
You have no clear documentation of your system
Documenting your entire IT system is a very important but time consuming process. By documenting your system, you will be able to see areas for improvement. When MSP creates documentation for you, they can identify and missing information and help you sourcing it, as it could be critical for your organization.
You have no IT roadmap
An IT roadmap is a governing document that helps align your IT with your business strategy and where you would like your business to be in the future. A roadmap makes sure that the technology you use will help you achieve your business goals. As the world is becoming more digital, there is an ever-increasing need for all businesses to have an IT roadmap and failing to do this could stunt your business growth.
As a result, you will:
- Have a clear picture of your IT systems and how they align with your business strategy
- Address any current IT issues
- Increase productivity by implementing the right technology that meets your need
Your IT budget is unpredictable
The cost of technology is ever-changing, whether it’s hardware replacements, urgent security threats, or troubleshooting of small day-to-day issues (it’s hard to predict how many times per month something will go wrong).
Most MSPs offer their services on a flat-fee, monthly basis (with certain exclusions, e.g. hardware). Some IT partners, like Dial A Geek, also offer standard pricing on equipment they provide, making it so much easier to budget for new starters, and your on-going, per employee IT support investment cost.
DON’T LET IT GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR BUSINESS
Technology is here to help SMEs, and your business no doubt relies on it to a large degree. So make sure you are getting the most out of it.
Too many businesses face tech issues that have a huge impact on their productivity and staff morale, that can easily be resolved with the right solutions.
Imagine, you didn’t have to think or worry at night about IT issues any more. How would that impact your thinking?
It would improve your staff retention and free up your employees’ time to:
- Deliver the best service you can to your clients
- Market your business
- Improve your profitability
- Improve your productivity
At Dial A Geek, we have the expertise you need to reduce tech problems, increase your security (and piece of mind) and maximise productivity.
Download this guide to find out what technology you could be using to help boost your productivity and spending more time delivering your core service.
Once you’ve had a read through let us know if you have any questions and if you’d like to schedule a no-obligation free audit of your IT systems.
Give us a call on 0117 369 4335.
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