Looking beyond the “break/fix.”

Your business can handle day-to-day IT issues, right?

When you experience a problem with your computer, you try a new mouse, swap out your keyboard, maybe even perform a hard restart. If it’s really bad, you even get the “office IT person” involved—the poor staffer pulling double duty.

That usually solves the problem, and you’re back working in no time.

But what happens if it doesn’t?

What do you do?

If this situation sounds even remotely familiar, now is the time to create a custom IT plan offered by a new managed service provider (MSP).

Spend your day working on what makes your business profitable, not worrying about your managed network infrastructure. Here are 5 indications that you need a (new) IT MSP:

1. Your IT infrastructure needs have advanced

Break/fix services used to work for your business—not anymore.

This type of IT support service is inherently reactive and puts you and your company at a disadvantage. Why? Well, as opposed to having an MSP continually monitoring and backing up your site, the onus falls on you to contact the IT provider for repairs, upgrades, direction, and more.

Sound backward?

If so, that’s a perfect indication that your IT infrastructure needs have advanced.

As 2020 and 2021 saw an unprecedented increase in technology demands, many small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have started breaking away from that type of IT “support.”

2. You experience excessive downtime

Downtime—the dreaded phrase that conjures up images of the blue screen of death, extreme weather, machine jams, coffee on keyboards, and so much more.

Although unplanned downtime can never be 100% eliminated, there are things that your business can and should be doing to mitigate both planned and unplanned downtime, as both cost you money.

According to the IDC, 80% of small businesses have experienced downtime historically, with costs ranging from $82,200 to $256,000 per single event. In these circumstances, every minute counts—the costs for SMBs? A staggering $137 to $427 per minute.

Managing your response to unplanned downtime is not only an IT issue but also one critical to your business’s success or failure.

Think about it—your customers are trying to reach your business or service but can’t. How hard are they going to try before moving on to one of your competitors? Ensure this happens as little as possible by contacting a new managed service provider.

A high-quality MSP will work with you to ensure that your business and staff have contingency plans in place to mitigate (and hopefully negate) disasters.

In fact, there is a lot of education and prevention involved with downtime mitigation, more than you might think. A whopping 65% of actual data loss incidents are caused by man-made disasters (think back to coffee on the keyboard). So you and your MSP should sit down and investigate the trends of your own organization’s downtime data. Every unplanned downtime incident is a learning opportunity.

So, even though 100% uptime isn’t entirely realistic, your MSP should be implementing proactive solutions to reduce downtime and streamline your organization’s IT infrastructure.

3. Your business has evolved to a remote and/or hybrid model

According to Gartner, a survey revealed 74% of CFOs intend to shift some employees to permanently remote work. That sentiment has been trickling down to SMBs. Growmotely surveyed working professionals and entrepreneurs in 2020, and their feelings on working from home were clear—97% of them don’t want to return to the office full-time.

If you and your staff are embracing a flexible or remote work setup, working with a reputable and highly-qualified MSP is critical to the success of your business. Remote workers are seen as a weak link for many networks, but yours don’t have to be.

MSP services should put employee protection and education at the forefront. An easy way to mitigate most major cybersecurity disasters is through employee education. Ensure that your remote or branch office (ROBO) workforce is protected from and adequately trained on:

  • Phishing scams
  • Password compromisation
  • Ransomware attacks
  • Credential theft
  • And much more

In conjunction with education, anti-virus and anti-malware software is utilized. That way, your employees are not only protected from immediate danger but also from attacks lurking in malicious emails and pop-ups.

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) should be established to maintain the integrity of your secure network. UEM allows your business to remotely manage all company devices, fix IT issues, and enforce security policies without disrupting your employees.

In addition, your MSP should constantly be performing routine maintenance and monitoring your networks for threats. Finally, data backups should be done regularly to ensure that your data can be recovered as quickly as possible in the event of a crash.

4. You lack scalability

Scalability is essential for the meaningful growth of a business, but what is it exactly? UserGuiding puts it succinctly, “Scalability describes the ability of a business to cope with challenges efficiently and maintain or increase profits as it grows.” It all boils down to one thing, as you grow, are your profits increasing while your expenses decrease?

2020 put SMBs on the fast track for evolving their relationship with technology. As technology continues advancing at a dizzying pace, it is imperative that businesses are able to scale their resources up or down to suit demand.

How are you supposed to keep up with technology when you have a company to run? Enter your new managed service provider. A high-quality MSP will equip you with IT solutions and support your business needs to handle growth effectively. Scalable solutions are essential for not only accommodating rapid growth but also:

  • Enabling you to maintain productivity
  • Maintaining profitability
  • Improving system availability
  • Wiping out negative downtime

Don’t be surprised when your technology needs outgrow your current available resources. Stay ahead of the curve by implementing scalable IT solutions from your business.

5. You lack a technology roadmap

Do you have IT leadership but lack overall direction?

If so, your business needs a technology roadmap provided by a (new) managed service provider. One of the most critical parts of a successful business plan or MSP is to provide your business with direction to address growth and effective systems integration.

A great MSP will future-proof your infrastructure and make your technology truly work for your business by staying ahead of the latest trends and advancements. A technology roadmap, or plan, will be created to account for the evolution of your current IT systems. Ensure that your business continues to operate without a hitch, even as you upgrade your systems.

Your MSP should be constantly seeking out the best network and software updates to ensure that your IT infrastructure evolves as your business does.

Are You Ready For A New IT Managed Service Provider?

If you read through the 5 signs and you find yourself agreeing with even one, you and your business will benefit from an MSP.

If you feel like your business has:

  • Outgrown its IT infrastructure
  • Experienced excessive downtime
  • Evolved to remote/hybrid workforce
  • No scalability
  • No technology roadmap

Then you are ready for a new IT managed service provider.

Your managed network infrastructure is too important to leave to chance. Ensure that you have a true partner in technology by trusting your MSP needs to CTComp.

Since 1983, we have provided tailored IT solutions that help businesses thrive. Make your life – and your job – easier and call CTComp today.