In the 21st century, outsourcing has become second nature for IT departments regardless of the business’ size and type. The growing number of needs and niches in the IT realm coupled with the small size of in-house IT teams calls for managed support.
What type of outsourced support should your company choose? Do you need a managed IT or can you limit yourself to technical services?
Each business owner is looking for ways to cut costs while getting the most out of the product. In order to understand which outsourced services your company needs, you need to look at the big picture.
When Do You Need Managed IT Support?
Managed IT support takes care of your entire IT environment, from hardware and software to security and cloud services. In many companies, the IT team has expertise in a certain area but needs more specialists to deal with other problems. By hiring managed IT services, the company gets access to the necessary experts at a fraction of the price it would have paid for hiring them full-time.
Other companies may have a sufficient number of IT specialists but lack people, who could monitor their systems round-the-clock. Such surveillance puts serious pressure on the team, keeping it from doing its job. Managed IT companies allow the team to go about its business by offering 24/7 monitoring.
Another situation is the need for proactive support. While the in-house team is busy working on a certain project, the company may need a fresh view of technological advances. Someone needs to be responsible for monitoring the market and singling out IT innovations that could help the business grow.
Small companies with small IT teams need to have a managed IT support the most because they can’t afford a sufficient number of specialists. According to IT specialists at Firewall Technical, just because the company is small, it doesn’t mean it requires fewer IT experts than a large enterprise. In fact, it may need more expertise to ensure a proper environment for development.
Managed IT support gives your business access to 24/7 monitoring, numerous experts, proactive approach, heightened security, software development options, and much more. It’s an excellent choice for small and medium-sized businesses with small IT teams and large goals in mind.
When Do You Need Tech Support?
Tech support is part of managed IT support. In 2019, businesses all over the world have spent almost $170 billion on IT tech support. For companies that have a big enough IT department, which can deal with the majority of the problems as mentioned above, managed IT support isn’t necessary. However, they may sometimes find themselves in a situation when technical support matters distract them from an important project.
When such a situation occurs, they need to outsource technical support. Technical support allows the company to keep IT specialists working on their projects while an outsourced tech expert provides the services the company needs at the time. Many businesses face the need for tech support on a regular basis.
Overall, tech support is a good choice for your business when your IT department is fully self-sufficient and only requires occasional technical assistance from the outside in order not to get distracted.
Reactive vs Proactive
The main difference between managed IT support and technical support is proactivity. You call tech support only when something breaks down, and you need to fix it. This is a common work scheme used by companies for many decades.
On the other hand, managed IT support offers proactive support. These specialists don’t just employ preventive measures for you not to experience the need for tech support. They give you advice on how to structure your IT affairs for your business to be more productive.
Proactive support has been taking over-reactive assistance in many niches. The ability to offer preventive maintenance rather than reactive services is highly valued. Meanwhile, such an approach doesn’t just cut costs, it helps improve business efficiency.
Which One Is the Best Choice for You?
If you have a self-sufficient IT team, paying for which doesn’t strain your budget, you may settle for tech support only. However, the majority of business owners are concluding that paying salaries to an in-house team is unnecessary when you can take advantage of a much more reasonably priced managed IT support.
If you have a small company and an understaffed IT department, managed IT support is an excellent choice. It can help you cut costs, improve productivity, boost security, and enjoy peace of mind.
It’s important to keep in mind that the majority of small and medium-sized businesses are opting for managed IT support. Numerous advantages are making it an obvious choice for many business owners. As the IT-related needs of your company grow due to the never-ending technological innovations, it’s always better to have the best experts a call away.
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just wow. I am an IT manager and it was my night mare. Thanks.
As we know IT has been entered in every business via web development and mobile app development. Without such tech support there is not everything is easy. I would like to say thank you provide us such an awesome blog.
Thank you for this article. Since I’m in the tech development business myself, I know what a hard decision it may be for companies to decide whether they need their IT needs completely managed or not. Your blog outlines the differences both options can offer to businesses. I especially appreciate your comment about how good managed IT support companies encourage productivity and enhance proactive measures overall. I work at a software development company that provides services to many clients. We have an excellent team of professionals that are well experienced in the field. You might want to check us out!
Tech Support plays a very important role. It is like a ‘helping hand’ to any organization. One should always consider the same. As I work for a company handling international clients, the post relates highly to what I have been dealing with. Good content!