Importance of Managed IT Services in a Business

In today’s highly modern and tech-savvy world, a business organization has to use different IT products and services (such as computer, laptop, firewall, antivirus software, AI-based CRM software, business management software, website, blog, E-commerce website, plugins/Extensions, on-demand apps, VPN, etc,) to advertise the business, attract customers, sell products and services, and sustain in the business. It doesn’t matter whether you run a startup/small company, you can’t dream of ultimate success in the business without using the latest tech innovations.

Different IT products and services are extremely costly. Startup firms and small companies don’t have sufficient budget to purchase those expensive IT commodities. High cost of hardware and software equipment, increasingly specialized technologies, expensive IT professionals and high maintenance cost- all push companies to go for Managed IT services.

In simple words, Managed IT services combine all necessary IT services and products required to run a modern business organization comfortably. In exchange for Managed IT services, companies have to pay a fixed sum to the service provider every month. It helps modern business organizations in many ways. Let’s have a look at some major benefits of Managed IT services for companies.

1. Asset Management

Always remember that the management of an ever-growing and improving IT infrastructure of an enterprise is a complex process that requires special knowledge, technology, and the involvement of certified specialists. Neglecting this side of the business can bring unpleasant consequences such as slow communications with business partners and customers, reduced efficiency of business processes due to insufficient IT support, unreasonably high IT costs, loss and leakage of important information of the company, problems with law enforcement agencies due to the use of unlicensed software, etc. Companies that provide Managed IT Services offer asset management facility also.

In simple terms, asset management is a set of business practices to help companies make strategic decisions. Regardless of the size of the company, Asset management services allow you to control your entire asset portfolio successfully and run the business smoothly. Assets can include anything such as computers, networks, servers, printers, peripherals, phones, software licenses, different software versions, applications installed on the user’s computer, and other mobile devices.

You can hire Managed IT Services to calculate depreciation, monitor use, control their distribution and access right. A few years ago, companies that were engaged in asset management, did it manually on paper or in tables on a computer.

Despite the fact that spreadsheets support formulas and macros, their use is associated with errors, does not provide high accuracy, requires a lot of time for reference. Now, companies provide automated asset management services to their clients.

It allows companies to track changes in assets quickly and accurately and manage them accordingly. Automated asset management services automatically detect all the assets used, verify them with the available licenses, detect active or inactive users and suggest the best possible optimization options after analyzing the data. It increases the efficiency of business marketing activities and boosts the ROI.

2. Security Assurance

There are many cases of data theft, unauthorized access to the stored data, theft of advertising materials, and technology. Still, there are many companies that underestimate the potential danger. In July 2017, Equifax faced the data breach problem. Attackers got personal information of more than 143 million consumers, 209,000 credit card numbers and made it public. As a result, the bureau shares fell by 13% as of September 8, 2017.

All modern business organizations need protection from external and internal threats, such as penetration of a computer with harmful virus, equipment failure, accidental or deliberate deletion of valuable information, loss of important data, etc. These unpleasant can stop the work of a company for an indefinite period, which entails the loss of customers, profits and business. The restoration of services often requires significant funds and experienced IT professionals.

Companies that provide managed IT services take care of the security aspects of a company through different means. They are-

Information Security Techniques	Brief Explanation
Manual Process	It includes restriction or a complete ban on access to data storage for unauthorized persons. Only authorized individuals can access the information.
Protecting electronic information	It is an indispensable component of the company’s information security. Numerous antivirus programs and email filtering systems protect users from unwanted or suspicious correspondence. Generally, corporate mailboxes are equipped with such systems. Differentiated access to information and a systematic change of passwords also work wonders.
Anti-DDoS	Competent protection against DDoS-attacks is impossible to manage solitarily. Many IT companies offer anti-DDoS service that can protect against such attacks. As soon as the system detects usual traffic to the website, the security system is activated and blocks harmful traffic. At the same time, business traffic flows smoothly. Anti-DDoS systems operate an unlimited number of times until the threat is eliminated completely.
Data encryption	Various types of encryption are used by companies to ensure the confidentiality of information during its transmission in electronic format. Encryption allows them to confirm the authenticity of the transmitted information from unauthorized copying and use.
Backup data	Companies that offer managed IT services and IT support offer data storage facility on cloud servers. It works as an integrated database for the company, helps it in daily business operations, and recover from cyber-attacks and hacking attempts.

3. Maintenance and Disaster Recovery

In today’s world, the smooth operation of any business organization depends on the use of different tools and Technologies. Faults in the software, malfunction of an IT system, sudden disturbance in business management software happens regularly. Because of the cost of downtime and strict recovery time requirements force companies to plan disaster recovery to ensure business continuity in all situations. For this, managed IT services are the best option.

Always keep in mind that natural disasters and security breaches impact global business networks and their support systems negatively. In 2011, an earthquake and the subsequent tsunami in Japan caused massive interruptions in the operation of power sources and network connections. Approximately 990 stock exchanges were left without electricity, 16 trunk lines were broken, and 1.5 million cable lines were destroyed, which resulted in significant damage to many enterprises amounting more than ￡153 billion.

So, it’s clear that a catastrophe can disrupt the normal functioning of a business. This can entail huge loss to companies and may cause its permanent shutdown. Companies that offer managed IT services monitor the performance of different IT tools and Technologies and do the repair work immediately. It helps to restore your business immediately and continue routine business activities without any problem.

4. Financially Viable

It is not possible for all companies to spend a lot of money on the purchase of IT infrastructure, its operation, and maintenance. It can eat up their valuable resources and decrease the profit margins greatly. So, companies resort to managed IT services to save their resources on IT infrastructure. They just have to pay a fixed price to the service provider every month to avail the managed IT services under one roof. It allows companies to have peace of mind while operating the business and focus on core business activities.

Final Words

Managed IT services are the foundation of a good number of modern business organizations. With its help, they can access a complete IT infrastructure in exchange for a fixed price tag, keep themselves aloof from the ifs and buts of IT services, and concentrate on important business activities. It allows them to run an Internet-based business smoothly and make handsome profits regularly.