June 24, 2022
IT services include all of the work and technical expertise needed to keep your technology up and running, your information safe, and your tools and systems up to date. As more and more of what we do on a daily basis is entirely dependent on technology, IT services have evolved accordingly.
The industry continues to grow at an astonishing pace. That said, if you’re struggling to recruit and retain IT staff, you’re not alone: the demand for skilled IT talent far exceeds the supply. The problem is likely to get worse before it gets better, and unfortunately, many companies are putting off critical technology upgrades because they’re having trouble maintaining a fully-staffed IT department.
More companies of any size are turning to Managed IT Services providers to take on all or a portion of their IT tasks, or simply provide expert help with a specific project. If you haven’t explored what a Managed IT Services (MITS) provider can do for your organization, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Top IT Services You Can Outsource
Help Desk
It’s not uncommon for IT professionals to form a dislike for help desk work, especially when they’re hearing from the same people over and over. Before you blame them, understand that constantly absorbing new tools, systems, and procedures can be difficult for end-users, and overworked IT departments with a backlog of support issues will often encounter anger and frustration every day.
Imagine how much happier your IT staff would be if this task were outsourced to a third party…one that specialized in solving issues quickly. Then imagine how much happier your staff might be if their help desk provider had a vested interest in boosting client satisfaction.
As hybrid and remote workplaces become the norm for many businesses, providing in-person support is growing more and more uncommon, even for those companies with internal IT departments. Outsourcing all or part of this service can be surprisingly seamless. For example, at Marco, a unique platform can route all support tickets through your internal IT department, and they can choose which to service in-house and which ones to forward.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is one of the most stressful components of IT, and it’s rapidly becoming a more and more specialized skill. As hackers grow more sophisticated, organizations are adopting more elaborate, multi-layered defenses. Maintaining these complex defenses is a scary business, but failing to do so is obviously worse. The cost of the average data breach has skyrocketed to over $4.25 million, and the sheer number of data breaches keeps climbing.
An ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure. A recent study found that financial services spend between .2% to .9% of their revenue on cybersecurity. While most organizations would rather spend that money on other things, considering the cost of a breach, the loss of consumer trust, and the potential for a lawsuit, less than 1% of revenue doesn’t seem like an especially high price to pay.
However, even a solid cybersecurity budget won’t prevent an attack if your IT department doesn’t have sufficient expertise in the area or the time to monitor threats that change constantly. For that reason and many more, 92% of organizations find their cybersecurity is dramatically improved when they outsource it. Third-party cybersecurity providers have the personnel and the tools to take on this challenge, and they can also devote more attention to monitoring the cybersecurity landscape.
Disaster Recovery
If you were the victim of a ransomware attack or other cybersecurity incident, could you recover quickly without paying the ransom? If you’re not sure of your answer, it’s time to consider getting expert help. MITS providers can design a thorough disaster recovery plan so that should the worst happen, the consequences will still be relatively minor.
Backing up your data frequently (at least once a week) and storing it off-site is a good start. But a robust disaster plan also ensures that you will be able to recover all of your tools and data reliably and quickly, and your staff will have the information they need to get back up and running.
Network Monitoring
Have you ever been caught off guard by a network issue? Downtime is more than just frustrating when time is money. According to Gartner, the average cost of network downtime is roughly $5,600 per minute. As more of our work requires a strong internet connection, outages can be incredibly disruptive. With 24/7 network monitoring, you can identify and resolve issues quickly.
Application Management
Migrating to the cloud has been critical for many short-staffed IT departments, as cloud software is updated and patched automatically. However, some apps will still require some management, like creating new accounts, offboarding, permissions and license management, and more. And while many cloud-based software developers have invested billions of dollars into their cybersecurity tools, those tools should be used properly by someone who knows how.
Furthermore, while adding new users is easy to remember, remembering to delete old users or decommission licenses for tools your organization is no longer using is easy to forget. Those hidden costs can add up; hiring an expert to manage your applications and keep your applications secure can save you quite a bit of money.
Cloud Migrations
Once you’ve migrated to the cloud, many IT tasks become more manageable. But a cloud migration can be complex. Many fully-staffed IT departments have outsourced migrations to MITS providers that have more expertise in this area. That way, your IT department can remain responsive and focused while a larger project is taking place. An excellent provider can help you find the right cloud solutions for your business, plan out a strategic migration strategy, and provide ongoing support.
Automation
Some IT tasks can be automated, which could help you free up a tremendous amount of your department’s time. However, setting up such automation is yet another project your department may struggle to prioritize. A third-party provider can help your team automate monitoring, software patches and updates, backups, and much more.
Reporting
Are you making the best use of your IT department’s time? These highly-skilled personnel could help you plan for the future and prevent more disruptions if they weren’t constantly reacting to problems that have already occurred. To get a sense of where your department is spending its time, Marco created an online assessment to provide more insight. However, a MITS provider can give you a more detailed assessment and make recommendations on how you can get much more value from the staff you already have.
Benefits of Outsourcing IT
If your IT department isn’t as responsive as you’d like them to be, you experience frequent disruptions, or you struggle to retain IT staff, you’d likely benefit from working with a skilled third-party IT provider. Their services are scalable, customizable, and if your cybersecurity isn’t up to par, necessary. If you’re wondering if managed IT might be right for your business, this free checklist can point you in the right direction.
Marco’s managed IT services include fully-managed, co-managed, and project-based IT. Our experts provide world-class solutions to clients large and small, and we’re happy to answer any questions you might have about how we can help your business grow.
