The present reality is that all businesses need an IT department. But which one will be most suitable for your business: hiring managed IT services or employing in-house IT staff?
Smart business owners now hire managed IT services when they don’t want to hire in-house staff. While some businesses will perform well with a remote professional IT helpdesk, others will be better off with an on-premise IT department due to their type of business and the need for an instant response.
Let’s take a brief look at what to consider when choosing between hiring your staff and working with a managed service provider.
Annual Cost of IT
Hiring in-house technical staff is too expensive for startups and many mid-sized businesses. The average base salary for an IT technician in the U.S. is over $74,000. When you compare the price of hiring and keeping technical staff, you must factor in the cost of providing an hourly wage along with employment benefits and various taxes. Due to the rapidly changing nature of technology, you also have to factor in regular training costs.
Hiring an in-house IT staff also requires you to increase the overhead costs. You will need to rent or buy a bigger office, which will increase your maintenance costs.
On the other hand, working with a managed service provider is more cost-effective. You pay a fixed subscription or service fee to the provider. You can choose the services you need, and you don’t need to pay for periodic training. The costs of using information technology will be drastically reduced without the need to maintain a separate IT department.
Data and Network Security
As most businesses depend on IT for daily operations, the number of security threats has increased astronomically. Data obtained Norton shows that in the first half of 2019, more than 4 billion records were exposed to hackers through 3,800 reported data breaches.
Security breaches occur when business owners and employees are not aware of the preventive measures to take. They also occur due to negligence and inadequate information about the current activities of hackers and cyber thieves.
When in-house IT personnel are already bogged down with basic troubleshooting and other problems that occur with IT use, how can they be fully aware of the latest types of security threats? That’s why mitigating risks, preventing data breaches, ensuring that all systems are upgraded regularly, and quickly restoring operations will be difficult for most in-house IT teams.
Working with an MSP gives you 24/7 access to support and proactive maintenance. This prevents data breaches, cyber-attacks, and ransomware that exploit system vulnerabilities. Service providers will also make it easy to achieve regulatory compliance that pertains to your industry. Working with an MSP can save a company millions of dollars that could otherwise be lost to litigation arising from a data breach.
Process Automation
Many manual tasks need to be automated to meet today’s demands for efficiency and productivity. Cisco projects an increase of 42% in automation in 2020. This includes using technologies and methods that predict problems using machine learning and artificial intelligence.
However, because most businesses can’t afford to keep a complete IT team, they employ just one or two employees to handle technical issues. This is counterproductive. In most cases, they end up spending their time trying to put out fires instead of using technology to prevent the occurrence of problems.
Managed service providers can use automated systems for
· Keeping your systems updated
· Performing backups
· Detecting malware and ransomware
· Applying security patches
· Preventing common problems that can lead to system downtime
These are usually done in a way that will not disrupt your normal day-to-day operations. Even when a problem occurs, it is identified promptly to prevent escalations and downtime.
IT Expertise
Recruiting competent IT professionals can be challenging if you are not conversant with the latest developments in the field. For instance, IT professionals may have networking and server management skills, but they may not be able to handle issues related to databases and cloud-based software.
Managed service providers, however, have teams consisting of various aspects of IT. They can provide services such as:
· Network management
· System Emergencies
· Server Setup
· System Monitoring
· Database Management
· Backup and Storage
· System Security
Their professionals are qualified and certified to handle virtually all aspects of IT. That’s why you can rely on them as a one-stop-shop for all business IT services.
Let Us Give You the IT Support You Need to Succeed
At Garden State Computing, we provide 24/7/365 IT support and managed IT services that will transform your business.
Let’s take care of the tech details while you focus on serving your customers and boosting your sales and profits.
Call 973-636-7350 or contact us by email for a free consultation on managed IT services.