There’s no denying that today information is more accessible and easier to obtain than ever before.  From the internet, tablets, smartphones, and even your laptop information is everywhere and can be accessed from anywhere.  But do we know all the ins and outs of making this “connect from anywhere” information stream work?

As a business owner, big or small, why would you put the pressure and stress of maintaining your own IT services as well as trying to run your company and turn a profit when you can let someone else take on that worry.  Allow someone whose sole job is IT services handle things like data storage and server maintenance, allowing you to worry about other things like payroll or sales.

An IT services provider is equipped to handle issues that can lead to devastating downtime or loss of function.  The service provider will have the knowledge and the current technologies to handle the problem and get you back up and running with minimal downtime or effect on your business.  Plus, you do not have to use one of your salesmen to fix someone’s laptop or install a new server.

If you’re still on the fence as to why you should hire an outside source to maintain your IT services, take these points into consideration:

• Efficient cost management

This is probably the number one reason any business would want to switch over to outsource your IT services.  It lowers cost and frees up funds for other aspects of the business.  Who doesn’t want to save money?

• Reap the benefits of freed up resources

As a business owner, you have limited resources already, so why use up even more of those resources maintaining something that you know little about?  So why not let someone else take over the management of your IT services, freeing up your resources for other aspects of your business. You can finally free up Bob from accounting to do his job and let an IT professional fix the busted laptops.

• Share the risk burden

Another big positive of having a third-party company handling your IT services is that you share the infrastructure risk.  This will allow you as a business to become more flexible and agile, allowing you to deliver better products over the long run.  Again, this goes towards lowering costs and the stress of having to maintain a network when you may not understand all the ins and outs of a network.

• Re-focus your priorities

Letting someone else handle the IT services allows you to focus more on your business.  If you’re worried about your network or data storage issues you’re not focused on your business.  It is not productive to split your time between six different computer issues and trying to make a sale to stay in the black.

• Access to data management expertise

If you were an IT pro, you would be in the managed service provider business.  So why try maintaining your own network?  Allowing an MSP to maintain your network and handle your IT services gives you access to experts in the field who know the most efficient way to run data storage or supply you with the most up-to-date equipment for your computer network.

Using an outsourced IT company frees up your staff to do the job that they were hired to do, and to do what they do best and shine.  With how rapidly tech changes, how is Bob from accounting supposed to keep up?  Plus, the professionals that work for the outsourced IT company are experts in their field and are paid to keep up with the most up-to-date tech out there.

Now that you’ve seen the benefits of switching over to outsourced IT services, the next step is determining what you need to turn over to the IT professional. The easy answer is everything that has to do with techs, such as computer maintenance and networking.  But there is much more to a smooth-running office than just computer failures.

An outsourced IT provider can handle many things for your business:

• Data center operations,
• Disaster recovery,
• E-Commerce web design functions
• Basic support services (help desks, etc.)
• Security management,
• E-Mail marketing management,
• Virus protection,
• Data backup and recovery,
• Wireless support,
• Purchase consulting,
• And network architecture.

It is up to you to ensure that your business is running at its peak performance. Your employees need to be able to send and receive emails, order supplies and communicate with clients.  If your staff couldn’t communicate with clients and vendors, how long would your business last?  With the proper IT provider, you will have access to first-class technology, allowing you to streamline processes that make them more efficient and productive.  This will help your company to be able to take advantage of opportunities much more quickly.