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The average office worker wastes 21 days per year due to outdated technology. And almost half of all businesses have critical company data trapped in legacy systems that can't be accessed via cloud services. This adds up to a lot of untapped productivity and potential. But what's holding these businesses back? For many, it's a lack of operational resources and infrastructure expertise. That's where an outsourced IT partner can drive innovation. IT service providers deliver the technical expertise small businesses need at a much lower cost than hiring IT staff.
Outsourced IT partners can recommend, install, and manage technology according to a business's core competencies and ensure that critical data is safe. Here's how:
Strategic Projects Drive Productivity
According to IT industry trade association CompTIA, the top reason SMBs adopt managed services today is to “improve efficiency/reliability of IT operations” (51%). But, context is important. For a very small business, “improve efficiency/ reliability of IT operations” might mean implementing and managing the IT infrastructure. At the other end of the spectrum, it might mean outsourcing some routine tasks so in-house staff can focus on higher-level technical challenges. And, 31% of respondents said that they opted to work with a service provider to “free IT staff to work on strategic projects.” MSPs can provide different levels of support to meet the technology requirements of different businesses.
MSPs can also initiate new projects and implement new technologies quickly. They have the resources and flexibility to get projects off the ground which might take weeks or months in-house. Implementing new technology with your existing environment can be complicated and time-consuming. Because MSPs work with a wide variety of clients with different IT needs, they are uniquely equipped to take on complex IT projects. They also have vast experience troubleshooting the products they use—allowing them to resolve problems quickly. Not only does this momentum get projects off the ground, IT modernization can increase employee motivation by up to 40%.
Streamline Everyday Workflows
Also, working with an IT provider allows businesses to offload tasks that are difficult and/or time-consuming. That’s one of the reasons that managed data protection services are so popular today. Protecting company data through backup and restore has long been a pain point for companies of all sizes; MSPs can ensure the SMB company data is fully protected from malicious or inadvertent actions, reducing business risk by putting complex tasks in the hands of experts. Moving all or some IT tasks to a managed service allows businesses to focus on their core competencies instead of day-to-day IT management. 56% of business leaders say their digital improvements have already enhanced profit.
The ongoing infrastructure monitoring that managed service providers deliver can help SMBs avoid IT issues, data loss, and downtime. Small business IT teams face budget and time constraints that make it difficult to deliver the level of monitoring an MSP can. This may be the most important benefit of working with an MSP, because IT downtime can completely derail a small business. If you're interested in learning more about the benefits of outsourced IT support, reach out to us for a free consultation.
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