Nowadays, you can stay connected round-the-clock, be it with your friends, family, as well as your coworkers. If you are running a business, you would expect to have seamless communication and even the slightest disruption can throw your off and impair your productivity. When you are in a competitive market, time is a valuable resource and you can’t waste it on restoring your systems or fixing issues. Therefore, you should consider the best alternative solution – managed IT services.
What are Managed IT Services?
Managed IT services refer to outsourcing or offloading your IT operations to a service provider that specializes in them. This entity is also called a Managed Service Provider (MSP), and they are responsible for managing, monitoring, troubleshooting, and problem resolution for your IT resources 24/7, so that your business doesn’t suffer in any way.
Since businesses have evolved in the past decade, you can’t depend on your in-house IT department to continually monitor your systems, because not only will it require more manpower, but will also take up more space and cost a lot of money. Therefore, managed IT services provide with a cost-effective and productive solution to the problem.
Simply put, a managed service provider will keep monitoring your systems around the clock and will fix any issues that arise quickly, so that you don’t experience any downtime. This is why numerous companies have already outsourced their operations to MSPs and many others are also following suit.
History of Managed IT Services
Before managed IT services were a thing, companies had to rely on the ‘break-fix’ method, which means that when something is broken, it will be fixed. This also made it difficult for them to maintain their systems properly, which consisted of small networks that were usually set up by self-taught and less experienced technicians. This method wasn’t only time consuming but also tedious and costly.
After this, a more efficient solution was developed in the form of periodic on-site inspections and maintenance, which involved support teams visiting offices every 3 or 6 months and monitoring IT systems for any errors. However, this meant that they could only fix something if it happened while they were there.
This caused a lot of problems for businesses, particularly regarding data backups. Plus, human error was also a major factor that caused disruptions. When larger companies and corporations started developing massive networks and infrastructure, it prompted IT vendors to develop new methods for problem detection and resolution in them.
Since these methods and systems were quite complex and costly, smaller businesses couldn’t afford them. By 2005, cost-effective and scalable systems began being developed for these companies, and this spawned the managed services industry, which has grown exponentially ever since. In fact, the global managed services market is valued at $152.02 billion in 2020, and will continue to grow steadily with each passing year.
Benefits of Managed IT Services
Whether you have a small or large company, you can benefit from managed IT services keeping watch over your systems at all times. Since technology keeps evolving and its role in running a successful business also keeps growing, it is imperative for you to seek support that keeps your IT infrastructure running always.
Let’s have a look at the key benefits of choosing a managed services providerfor your business.
Enhanced Productivity and Efficiency
Usually, companies are used to dealing with issues when they arise but by then, it is already too late and resolving the issue means that you will have to spend time and resources on it. On the other hand, by outsourcing IT operations, you can increase your efficiency.
Prioritized Management
As a business owner, you may consider putting IT support on the back burner because your focus is towards other things. This can cause your infrastructure to suffer from poor management, whereas a managed service provider would give your IT operations their complete attention.
Cost-Effective Solutions
When you opt for managed IT services, you are virtually gaining access to an entire IT department that is at your disposal. This allows you to get your IT services managed at a much lower cost.
Freed Resources and Manpower
If you have an entire team of employees dedicated to IT support who aren’t able to ensure proactive maintenance and problem solving, then it is better to outsource these operations and direct your employees to tasks that fall in their core competencies.
Let VAST Handle Your IT Services
As you can see, managed IT services guarantee minimal downtime, round-the-clock monitoring, proactive maintenance, and many other excellent benefits at a low cost. If you are looking for a managed service provider, try out VAST’s Managed IT Services. We provide you with complete monitoring and management solutions that take the burden off your shoulders, so you can focus on other aspects of your business.