In a small- to medium-sized business (SMB), IT management is often accomplished by a single person or a small team at best. It can be a daunting task for a business focused on growth and covering overhead expenses. For one, a small business has limited resources to deal with eventual technology challenges.
Many SMBs have found the answer: entrust the burden of maintaining and managing their technology to a managed services provider (MSP). The proof is in how MSPs cost-effectively cure the following common SMB technology pain points.
Being bogged down by IT tasks
Most SMBs struggle to justify, attract, and retain top IT talent. And even when one IT person or a small team is acquired, operational tasks like server updates, patching, repair, and backups become their main focus instead of helping the business with core competencies.
MSPs can demonstrate their value to an SMB by accomplishing these operational tasks, freeing SMB IT personnel to operate more strategically and apply their expertise to growth initiatives.
Sick days, holidays, and turnovers
IT personnel are indispensable assets for modern businesses. When someone like an IT administrator resigns, becomes sick, or goes on vacation, an SMB with its limited resources is left without key technicians.
MSPs indefinitely fill up IT roles and provide a safety net of 24/7 IT support. Even with IT personnel sick or indisposed, your MSP will continue to monitor and manage essential applications and backend systems so that business can proceed uninterrupted.
Missing expertise
No one person can cover the entire spectrum of IT disciplines required by an enterprise. Larger companies spend hefty capital resources to fill out an entire IT department with diverse areas of expertise and complementary skills. But SMBs, with their smaller budgets and teams, are at a disadvantage, having to make do with what they have.
Partnering with an MSP can solve this expertise deficit. MSPs grant SMBs access to the former's technical team, experts the latter could otherwise not afford as consultants or employees. It’s like having your own IT department.
Graveyard shifts
For many businesses, networks and data systems have to run 24 hours a day. For SMBs, hiring IT personnel for a graveyard shift is an extra expense that’s difficult to justify. But not having staff monitor your network all the time leaves IT systems vulnerable to off-hours problems that can cost a business thousands of dollars.
Fortunately for SMBs, 24/7 remote monitoring and management of IT systems is an MSP specialty. If ever potential problems and intrusions are detected during off-hours, an MSP can address them immediately before they can cause disruptions to operations the next day.
Downtime
All businesses, including your SMB, are vulnerable to downtime-causing events such as ransomware attacks, data breaches, power outages, human error, and natural disasters. The resulting loss of revenue, however, can be more painful for an SMB than for larger enterprises.
By partnering with a qualified MSP, you can protect your business from downtime in a number of ways. For instance, you can move your business to the cloud, where downtime is almost eliminated with cloud-based automated backup and disaster recovery. If the cloud isn’t your cup of tea, MSPs such as Hudson Valley IT services are technology experts who can present you with the best business continuity planning options. You need only to consult with them.
Insufficient security
Most SMBs are unwilling to spend on the expertise they need to help mitigate threats, reduce risks, and address the latest vulnerabilities in cybersecurity, but. According to a 2019 report, almost one-third of SMBs spend less than $1,000 annually on security. More than half of 300 SMBs in the report are not spending enough or are uncertain of their security budget.
With an MSP, no extra investment is required for your organization to avail of multiple security services, including remote automated backup, security awareness training, firewalls, intrusion protection, security assessments, penetration testing, web scanning, and reporting.
Technology doesn’t have to be overwhelming and confusing. Hudson Valley IT can help your SMB with solutions to properly maintain and manage your technology infrastructure. Find out the best options for your business today.
