The most successful business owners have learned how to delegate those tasks they either no longer have time for or those they don’t have the expertise to do well – and that includes internet technology. This is where managed IT services comes into play because they offer many benefits to businesses. If you have been considering turning over your IT tasks to a pro, here are some benefits to consider and information to help you get started.

What Managed IT Services Can Do for Your Business 

IT problems and tasks can take up a lot of your time, so imagine if you didn’t have to worry about them any longer. One of the biggest benefits of managed IT services is gaining peace of mind by knowing your IT team has your back. For most businesses, managed IT services do not replace their existing IT team, but instead, they can partner with, and free your internal staff to focus on more strategic projects, such as working on a cloud initiative or developing a custom application.

Here are some more key benefits to consider:

  • Less Downtime – The biggest headache for businesses is improving their uptime. Businesses can lose money due to downtime, so having a managed IT service can be your best solution. They are prepared for unexpected emergencies and disasters, such as security breaches, power outages and the loss of data that could affect your credibility and even cause you to lose accounts. Managed IT service providers keep IT systems running efficiently and maximize your uptime, leaving you to focus on growing your business.
  • Security and Compliance Guidance – Business owners and their workers use a variety of devices, from desktops and laptops to smartphones and tablets, but there’s also the data storage and transmission of operating systems, servers, browsers and even wearable technology to contend with. This can open the door to data breaches, but a managed IT service can shut that door and lock it, too.
    Another issue to consider is compliance, especially for businesses that work in or with the healthcare industry, but it can affect everyone, because of the need to comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) guidelines. A managed IT service provider can make sure you stay in compliance with the latest industry standards.
  • 24/7/365 Coverage – A managed IT service can remove the constant concern business owners deal with regarding their daily IT operations and data management. No one wants to wonder about the speed and reliability of their network or wake up in the middle of the night with worries about their IT status. An IT team can monitor your network while you sleep, watching out for potential vulnerabilities that could turn into a major emergency.According to http://atb-tech.com/it-consulting/managed-it/, this 24/7/365 approach means your IT managed services provider has a constant baseline of your network’s performance, so when something doesn’t look right, they can identify when and where the problem started, allowing them to pinpoint the root of the problem faster and take proactive steps to keep similar issues from happening in the future. Your managed IT service can do the worrying for you by managing your data proactively with routine encrypted backups, IT virtualization and cloud computing capabilities.
  • Leverage the Latest Technologies – Working with an outside IT team can lessen the burden of your internal IT team by filling in knowledge gaps, so they don’t always have play catch up with the latest tech tools. Some workers don’t possess the training or skills to do certain IT jobs, while others struggle with managing the entire network of a company by themselves.A managed IT service is like having a second team of IT professionals. Not only can they prevent, troubleshoot and fix problems, they can also preserve your uptime and protect your network using the latest IT tools for backup and disaster recovery (BDR) and remote monitoring and management (RMM).
  • Money Savings – Most business IT budgets cover the costs of your network infrastructure and network maintenance, as well as software and hardware expenses, just for starters. Consider the cost of your IT staff, which is a major expense for most businesses. A managed IT service can help cut the size of your IT team, saving you money. Perhaps you don’t have an IT team and are relying on your regular employee to handle tech tasks they are not capable of doing. An IT service provider can increase productivity by freeing them to do what they were trained to do in the first place.You will also be able to determine your monthly IT costs by using an outside IT service provider, because they will be able to explain and predict the month-by-month costs for you, allowing for better money management overall.

If you have been trying to decide if you should use a managed IT services provider, these benefits should be enough to help you make an informed decision. Leaving the tech headaches to the pros could even transform your business, bringing it to a higher level of productivity and profits.

Ava Howarth is an IT consultant who enjoys protecting small businesses. You can find her articles on a variety of business tech and IT websites.