Small and medium-size businesses often find opportunities where a dedicated IT specialist would be helpful, but rarely have the requirements or the budget to make an in-house team a reasonable investment. Outsourcing IT tasks to managed services or professional services help you get the right support at the right time.
There are many situations where IT help could be beneficial to smaller businesses: strategizing about digital transformation initiatives, implementing technology to future-proof the business, or adding features that support scalability. Ultimately, many small and mid-size companies see an opportunity to implement cloud solutions that allow them to keep pace with much bigger competitors in terms of customer experience.
Creating that superior customer experience means providing 24-hour services and digital connections like social media, so they require some level of IT support. Those needing ongoing, round-the-clock support may opt for managed services, while professional services can provide guidance through a big shift to the cloud or an infrastructure upgrade.
Professional Services: This type of support is ideal for isolated projects that are too large or technically challenging to handle in-house. Installation or troubleshooting of new software investments or a big upgrade in networking solutions might be the types of transitions for which professional services would be ideal.
Professional services can ensure that your transition to new equipment goes smoothly and that your employees are well-trained to use it. They can also handle initial troubleshooting, as well as problems that pop up after the solution has been in use.
A shift to the cloud is an ideal time to utilize professional services, and often allows an otherwise-reluctant small business to realize some of the biggest benefits related to cloud investments. Advantages include improved cyber security, data recovery, other business continuity support, and better scalability. Costs are often reduced as a result of no longer requiring a data center.
The versatility and cost-effectiveness of professional services make it a budget-friendly way to obtain occasional IT assistance.
Managed Services: For more ongoing IT support, many small and mid-size businesses pay a subscription for managed services. The advantage is the 24/7 availability and wide range of services, but some businesses may not need all of the support offered. A small business may only require occasional IT services, so managed services may not be cost-effective. A few of the options offered with managed services include:
- Preventative Maintenance to monitor equipment for problems as well as manage replacement schedules. This helps businesses eliminate some of the surprise elements of equipment breakdowns or investments.
- Provisioning: When new hires or changes in the organization require provisioning, managed services providers can support role-based access control to eliminate security risks.
- Unified Communications: As more small and mid-size businesses invest in collaborative communications, these solutions require a bit more technical expertise to implement and maintain. A managed services provider can provide comprehensive support for communications tools as well as the underlying network that is so critical for effective deployment.
If your small or mid-size business requires IT support, contact us at eXemplify. We can help you determine if professional services or managed services are adequate for your business needs and help you choose a provider that delivers solutions matched well to your goals.