Managed Services 101: What are Managed Services and Why Does My Business Need It?

At its core, managed IT services enables you to outsource your IT to a trusted third party at an affordable monthly rate. Rather than waiting for hardware to break, for a breach to occur, or for the demands on your IT staff to become too extensive, managed IT services enable businesses to anticipate, respond, and prevent issues and downtime, often before they even happen.

Key Signs That Your Business Needs Managed IT Services

1. How many total devices does your business use? Your total number of devices should include desktop computers, printers, laptops, tablets, cell phones, landlines and phone systems, webcams, routers, network and internet access points, conferencing equipment, and other IT and AV equipment, such as projectors, and more. It’s an exhaustive list! All of these devices need to be regularly maintained and continuously protected.  
2. Do you allow BYOD? When employees can bring their own devices, they can log in to your servers and (inadvertently) share or spread computer viruses throughout the system from their devices and machines. BYOD should require additional user authentication and password regulation, which your managed services provider can enable.
3. How many computer-related incidents have your employees experienced? Your employees need to be upfront and honest about the number of incidents they experience, even if the resolution was a simple restart or slowed down processing. These fixes may be indications of a bigger problem.
4. How much downtime have you experienced? What was the average length of downtime per month? Evaluate how much time is lost and consider how much time could be gained with seamless IT. 
5. How many IT or Help Desk calls do your staff make on a daily, weekly, monthly, annual basis? – Under the Break/Fix Model, each call adds up in significant time and money invested in emergency fixes, repairs, and solutions.  
6. How long does it take to receive a response, and how long does it take to resolve or fix an issue? These statistics enable you to take a closer look at the effect that downtime has had on your business.
7. Has your business experienced a security breach or incident with a virus or phishing scam? How many devices did this incident affect, and are you sure the matter has been completely resolved throughout your business? Was the incident so severe that you needed to inform clients or suppliers?
8. How have your employees responded to IT issues? – We all have experienced frustrations with computers and slow networks, but when employees are dealing with these frustrations every day, it can keep them from doing their best and most efficient work.
9. How up-to-date, or out-of-date, is your current infrastructure? Devices depreciate at a staggering rate. The older the device, the more problems it will have, and the chances for breakdowns become greater.
10. What percentage of staff are working from home and what percentage are working out of the office? Now that some staff members remain working from home while others choose to return to the office, IT needs are changing and require additional coordination, services, and security.

Your responses to these signs are clear indications that it is a wise decision to look into managed IT services. We can help. Contact our IT experts at MidnightBlue to guide you through the technological advancements, improvements, and opportunities your small and medium-sized business will need now and in the future.