Managed service providers and small and medium-sized business’ have a synergistic relationship that offers business the ability to multiply their IT service capabilities at an affordable cost.

Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have at least one person dedicated to handling IT. The idea propelling the maintaining of at least one IT person is for him or her to work on innovative applications and projects that create more and new revenue. But, this position has morphed in many organizations into one where the IT person is more like an EMT responding to emergencies throughout the day. Also, a good part of the day is spent performing tasks that are routine just to keep the system up and in top condition.

Business managers faced with the threat of losing their IT person to overwork can easily identify with this issue. So, what can they do about it?

How to Expand Your Company’s IT Ability?

Adding a new staff member to IT support results in a hire that will go up in cost due to salary increases and the increasing costs of benefits and possibly higher employer paid payroll taxes. Following is a three-part solution that keeps costs down, improves your overall IT capability, and using cloud computing to the fullest extent possible. Let’s look at each part of the solution.

1. Hire a managed service provider (MSP): companies that take this route find that it frees the IT person for more important tasks than system maintenance. This is not to say that computer system maintenance is unimportant, but it can be automated. Once it is automated, it does require monitoring. This is one job that makes sense to outsource to an MSP. As an end user, management may be removed from the daily increase in complexity in the server room and IT bailiwick that includes advanced infrastructure, cloud computing, virtualization, and protecting the system from cyber attacks.
2. Have your IT person or department change the focus: the focus changes from emergency help to cost-cutting and revenue improvement projects. One suggestion is to list each possible process by an order of revenue increase and then prioritize by ranking each project by revenue enhancement. This makes tackling the highest contribution from a project first and then doing each task in descending order easier.

Also, the IT person should perform a self-audit to determine which of his or her daily tasks can be automated or given to a cloud service to manage.

3. Use the Cloud: Many in IT have the idea that the cloud could render them unemployed – many in IT have a false reality. The cloud is a tool that when used correctly by IT ends the daily common tasks from their daily workload so that they can devote more time to come up with good cost cutting and revenue-driving projects.

In most situations where SMBs outsource their IT services, they do so to reach a higher level of ability for IT support at an affordable price. Presently, “53% of organizations are currently outsourcing IT functions.”

To find out more about how an MSP can help your company contact Office 365 Advisors in Seattle. (855) 482-6678 or contact us by [email protected].

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