IT networks are more crucial now than they ever were in the past. If your business experiences even a small breakdown in your IT infrastructure, you could run into serious profit and reputation losses. For these reasons and more, many business owners are increasing investments into skilled outsourced IT management.
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of outsourced IT management so you can make an educated decision about your own IT strategies.
businesses are moving away from the model of an in-house IT team in the direction of Outsourced IT services such as this outsourced IT company in St Louis.
Outsourced IT vs. Managed Service Providers vs. IT Companies
Outsourced IT services describe the services and processes outlined above, but it isn’t always called Outsourced IT. These services often go by names such as managed Service provider, IT Company, and IT Services.
It’s important to remember as a C-suite manager that they all refer to the same type of company and provide the same services. It is all outsourced IT; however, the common term for them today is Managed Service provider (MSP).
Only one name refers to something different: IT support.
Outsourced IT Vs. IT Support: A Quick Look
It’s common to confuse outsourced IT with IT support, perhaps because they both sound so similar. In reality, they’re actually on opposite sides of the IT spectrum.
An IT support team solves technical issues for your company. You can call an IT support specialist about broken computers, faulty software, and other break-fix questions.
An outsourced IT company, on the other hand, specializes in IT management. It helps you create a long-term IT strategy, strengthen cybersecurity, and more. Instead of fixing software and hardware, an outsourced IT team will help you choose the right IT infrastructure, then dedicate itself to updating, monitoring, and protecting that infrastructure.
Most IT service providers offer total IT management for a monthly fee. As this outsourced IT company in St Louis explains, you’ll actually end up saving money with a provider like them because you won’t have to invest your own time and money into upgrading your infrastructure—the provider will do it for you.
What Do Outsourced IT Companies Do?
While it’s true that outsourced IT teams usually only charge one monthly fee, it’s still a significant investment for any business owner. Before you decide to partner with an IT provider, take a look at the most common IT services below to see if it will match your company’s needs.
IT Migration
An IT company will recommend and implement any changes or upgrades your infrastructure needs. You can decide how much you control you have. They can inform you about their upgrades, ask for permission to upgrade and update your systems, or conduct them automatically—it’s your choice.
Network Monitoring
As you’re probably aware, in-house IT teams keep to business hours and tend to monitor the system only when they’re on duty. This leads to delays in responding to network changes. An outsourced IT company has 24/7 network testing and monitoring to ensure your systems are always working properly.
Maximum Security
There is no room for IT security mistakes in today’s world of cybersecurity threats. An outsourced IT company leaves nothing to chance. They evaluate your IT infrastructure from the start and identify weaknesses; then, they implement the strongest criteria to protect your business from scams and breaches.
24/7 Remote Support
Many businesses still run an in-house IT team, but there is a clear trend away from this model. IT is now such an integral part of the business that failure of your systems isn’t an option even though it’s pretty much guaranteed. For these reasons, you need 24/7 remote support that you can only get with outsourced IT.
Reports and Analytics
If you thought that outsourced IT only provided defensive and reactive services, then you were mistaken; they are also proactive and can add value to your business, but how? An outsourced IT service knows your systems well, not least because they carry out regular analytics testing. These reports help you optimize your business performance.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
A digital disaster could be a hack; it could equally be an offline event like a natural disaster or a fire. An IT company has all your important data backed up and stored securely. In the event of a digital disaster, your company and client data are safe, and you can get back online quickly.
Cloud Services
Cloud services are one of the great innovations of the last ten years, and they are central to the workings of an outsourced IT company. Your outsourced IT company will backup and store your important company files in the cloud, but they will also provide cross-platform cloud services and workstations using cloud technology.
Mobile Integration
The last decade has seen the unprecedented rise of mobile devices and mobile technology, it is now integrating into the company business models more and more, and efficient tech is needed to facilitate this. Not every in-house IT team will be able to manage cross-platform IT communications technology.
Packages
Although outsourced IT companies offer a full range of packages, it is unlikely that every company will need or want all the services. For this reason, outsourced IT companies offer packages with tailored services for your business at better prices. If you’re looking for IT efficiency, you will find it with an MSP.
Corporate responsibility
These days a lot is made of corporate responsibility, especially in terms of environmental impact, which is being scrutinized by governments with environmental targets. An outsourced IT company helps you reduce your carbon footprint and makes your company more green by transferring a lot of carbon-producing processes onto the cloud.
