Technology evolves at a rapid pace, and businesses of all sizes need to stay on top of the latest trends.
From streamlining your operations with cloud-based systems to beefing up your cyber defences, technology plays a key role.
So, one of the most important decisions you will make as a business owner is choosing the right IT support, whether that’s in-house, outsourced or a mixture of the two.
This decision should not be taken lightly. If you’re outsourcing, the managed IT support provider you choose can have a significant impact on your business. It can affect how much downtime you experience, and how proactive you are about staying ahead of emerging threats.
Your business will only be successful in the long term if it has good IT support to manage your systems efficiently and securely. It’s not only about ensuring that your company has a reliable network and computer systems but also about providing a seamless customer experience.
The right IT support can help you grow your business, make your organisation more efficient, productive and reliable, and ensure you can provide the best service possible.
Here we look at some of the tell-tale signs indicating why you might need better IT support.
Why good IT support is essential
IT support is an essential part of your business. Here are some reasons why it’s vital to have good IT support:
- Your company will be more efficient and productive because you’ll spend less time fixing things
- Your network, users and data will be more secure because IT support will keep you updated on the latest security measures and tools
- Your reputation will improve because customers and clients won’t have to deal with the inconvenience of broken technology
- You’ll save money because you won’t need to hire in-house IT staff
It’s essential to work with the right managed IT support provider to avoid any potential issues. However, choosing who to work with is difficult because so many factors are involved. When it comes to selecting the right provider, there are a few key things to consider.
First and foremost, their experience and expertise are essential. You want someone with a lot of knowledge and experience in all fields of IT, so they can offer you a range of solutions tailored to your business needs.
Collaboration and service excellence should be considered. Your managed IT support provider should understand your business and its objectives, keep an eye out for any emerging trends and technologies, and recommend solutions that meet your current and future needs, to put your business ahead of the competition.
The size of your IT support company is also important. While there are many excellent smaller IT consultancies out there, if you’re an ambitious, growing business, you’ll want to be sure that your provider has the scale and resources to meet your needs without getting overwhelmed by your demands.
And the cost is always a key consideration. While the decision shouldn’t be about price alone, you’ll need to consider whether you’re getting value for money and maximising the return on your investment.
Five signs that might mean you need to upgrade your IT support
Outsourcing your IT to a specialist provider is a cost-effective way to manage your technology needs. It can help you focus on what you do best and outsource the rest to an expert.
The right managed IT support provider will ensure your technology is serving our business in the best way and proactively manage any IT issues you may be facing to keep your networks and infrastructure running smoothly.
Sometimes, it can be easy to take your eye off the ball when it comes to your IT and rely on what you’ve always done. Or, your business may have grown so fast that your IT hasn’t kept pace. This can make it difficult to spot some of the signs that your IT might not be as efficient and effective as it can be. Here are some of the things to look out for, which might indicate that it’s time to take a closer look at your IT support to ensure it’s still right for your business.
You’re experiencing regular cyber security breaches
One of the first signs that your IT support might not be as good as it can be is if you start experiencing cybersecurity incidents more regularly than usual.
Cybercriminals are continuously evolving their tools and methods to breach vulnerable business systems, to infect them with malware or steal data.
If you’re experiencing cyber attacks regularly, you should look at whether your existing IT support is protecting your business as effectively as it could or should.
Your systems are slow or outdated
As we said above, technology moves fast. New systems and software are constantly being introduced to the market, while older networks, devices and hardware struggles to keep up.
So, if your systems or devices are running slower than usual, impacting how you and your employees work, it could be a sign that you need to upgrade.
The right managed service provider will proactively work to keep your systems and software up to date with the latest versions, let you know when your hardware is reaching the end of its service life, and recommend solutions to futureproof your operations.
This not only helps to keep your teams working efficiently and productively, but it can also help reduce cyber threats and unnecessary system downtime.
You’re experiencing regular downtime
Speaking of downtime, another giveaway sign that your IT support might not be as effective as it can be is if your systems are experiencing more downtime than usual.
There could be several reasons for this, from outdated technology to software which hasn’t been patched or updated. All these things can slow your business down, leading to frustration among your staff and customers or service users.
Your technology partner should be able to proactively identify where the issues are and recommend the right solutions, so your staff spend less time waiting for your systems to reboot or work properly, and more time focusing on their essential day-to-day tasks.
Staff dissatisfaction
If you’re IT systems aren’t working as effectively as they could be, it can lead to dissatisfaction and frustration among your staff. This might not be an issue in the short term, but if it goes on for too long, you may struggle to retain your team if they don’t have the tools and support to do their jobs properly.
So, if you’ve noticed a sudden increase in the number of staff complaining about IT-related problems, listen and don’t bury your head in the sand. It might be time to reconsider your existing IT support arrangements.
You’re not getting value for money
There’s no getting away from the fact that investing in IT can be an expensive business. Whether you’re maintaining an extensive on-premise IT infrastructure on a CapEx basis or have adopted a cloud-based OpEx model, you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the best value for money.
And if growth is on your agenda, you’ll also need to be confident that your IT can scale with your business, rather than constantly needing to reinvest in brand new systems every few years because your existing infrastructure doesn’t give you the capacity to grow.
The right managed IT support provider should be able to tailor their solutions and services into a package that suits your requirements, both now and in the future, to support your long-term business ambitions.
How can MTS IT help?
As the technology landscape continues to evolve, so must your IT support.
It’s crucial to stay ahead of the latest trends to ensure your IT services meet your current and future needs most efficiently.
The key challenge is identifying and investing in the right technologies to facilitate more agile ways of working, getting the most out of these new platforms and using them to their full capabilities. However, many businesses don’t have the in-house resources or expertise to achieve the best results.
That’s why working with a technology partner like MTS IT can pay dividends. Our role is to ensure your IT serves your business best to help you reach your full potential. Please get in touch to learn more about how we can help improve your IT support.
