6 Ways managed IT services can help save your business money

Organizations across all industries are spending an average of 3.28% of their annual revenue on IT, with sectors like banking professional services spending around twice that. The cost of running an in-house IT department isn’t getting any cheaper either. Yet despite these figures, most digital strategies are failing to meet their goals. If that sounds like a familiar problem, it’s probably time to enroll the help of a managed IT services provider (MSP).

#1. Proactive cybersecurity defenses

Data breaches are expensive, with one recent study placing the average figure at $3.92 million per breach. At the same time, most data breaches are easily avoidable if you’re taking advantage of the latest tools and services to protect your digital assets. One of the most basic services MSPs offer is round-the-clock network monitoring. Others go so far as to provide a fully outsourced security operations center (SOC). This gives small businesses the same level of security that previously only large enterprises could afford.

#2. Technology services on demand

Computing power and storage space are costly, especially when you need to keep upgrading to accommodate the needs of a growing business. Companies also tend to overspend in anticipation of future requirements. In other words, companies either do not have enough IT resources to meet the demands of sudden periods of growth, or they have too many resources and underutilize them.

To get just the right amount of tech, turn to an MSP that provides cloud-based computing power, software licensing, online storage, and other services that you can scale back and forth on demand.

#3. Backup and disaster recovery

Most of us have experienced data loss. For businesses, such things can be catastrophic. If you’re solely reliant on on-site backups, a natural disaster could render your entire digital ecosystem unworkable. A cloud-based backup and disaster recovery strategy keeps up-to-date copies of your data in an off-site location that is accessible from an authorized user account and internet-connected device. This keeps disruption and downtime to a minimum, even if your primary data stores are unusable.

#4. Expert strategic guidance

The lack of alignment between business goals and technology is the number one reason for digital transformation strategies failing. It doesn’t help that there’s a global shortage of IT skills too. Thankfully, an MSP is more than just a vendor. They’re a valuable business partner with a vested interest in helping you make the right technology decisions. Rather than being there just to sell you something, they can offer technology guidance that’s in line with your industry and the unique goals of your company.

#5. Reduced dependence on hardware

Many MSPs can accommodate both in-house IT and cloud-based services, but the emphasis these days is usually on the latter. Instead of constantly worrying about upgrading, replacing, and maintaining your servers and workstations, MSPs typically offer a wide range of cloud services that can accommodate most, if not all, of your computing workloads for a monthly fee. No longer will you have to worry about costly downtime due to hardware failures, and IT obsolescence will no longer be a factor.

#6. Support remote workers

By migrating your operations to the cloud and reducing your dependence on hardware, you can let employees use their own devices for work and access the apps they need to do their jobs. It’s even possible to deliver full desktop experiences over the cloud, and it won't matter what operating system or other software is running on the end user’s device. That way, employees can work wherever they want, which means you’ll need less office space as well.

Fidelis Inc. has your best interests at heart with dependable IT support, expert guidance, and a robust assortment of technology solutions. Talk to us today to find out how we can help.