Small business owners operating on thin budgets may find themselves tempted to reduce their IT expenditures by spending less on technology. However, this approach can be damaging in the end because network and data security must always remain a top priority f for companies of any size.
Instead of reducing costs by neglecting essential investments in cybersecurity and disaster recovery to protect your business, consider pursuing expert solutions from outside the organization. The best strategy for cuttings costs without sacrificing critical IT functions is to outsource prohibitively expensive services to a proven managed service provider (MSP).
Now, let’s take a detailed look at just a few common ways managed services help companies reduce their overall IT expenditures:
Low monthly fees
Managed IT providers and managed security service providers (MSSPs) are widely popular solutions for growing companies that need to lower their IT overhead quickly. Maintaining in-house IT personnel can become prohibitively expensive as your IT requirements expand. Companies find that partnering with MSP or MSSP services is the fastest route to reducing overall IT costs.
Managed IT platforms provide your organization with a team of skilled experts and advanced IT infrastructure at a far lower cost than what it takes to administer these same services in-house. MSPs offer state-of-the-art technology solutions at wholesale prices because they deliver the same or similar services to multiple clients and not just a single company.
These inherent cost savings are passed on to you. At the same time, you’re upgrading to an IT platform that offers round-the-clock support with a fully staffed team equipped with a myriad of specialized talent to manage every aspect of your IT. MSPs and MSSPs have a low bar for entry with a fixed, small monthly cost determined by the service package that best meets your IT needs.
The principal upside to a managed service arrangement is that your expenditures are predictable. MSPs replace risky and outmoded break-it/fix-it models that result in unexpected downtime, potentially putting your operations out of commission for an indeterminable duration. The subscription-based model ensures that you won’t have to worry about high ad hoc costs each time you experience a hardware failure or some other IT disaster.
From a pricing standpoint, most managed services cost you less than the annual salary of one salaried employee. Given the current IT labor shortage and specialized talent becoming increasingly difficult to access, managed platforms are even more attractive solutions for small businesses. For the same price of maintaining one in-house “expert” (perhaps significantly less), you have access to a range of specialized talent and the latest infrastructure to handle any IT obstacle that comes your way.
Proactive monitoring and reduced downtime
Regardless of the size of your business, downtime is expensive. Just a few minutes of lost productivity can cost you, and this has a direct impact on your bottom line. Recent studies have shown that a single hour of unplanned downtime costs small to mid-sized businesses roughly $300,000. This figure might be lower for your business, but the lost profits from unanticipated interruptions of any length can still be significant in proportion to what you would’ve otherwise gained. For some companies, a single day of downtime can spell doom. It’s a scenario most business owners wouldn’t wish on their greatest adversary.
MSPs, however, safeguard your company against unexpected downtime incidents by proactively monitoring your networks and databases for abnormalities. This method for maintenance and protection is far more conservative and beneficial than following a break-it/fix-it strategy in which you only address IT issues as they arise. Under the latter approach, you don’t know what could go wrong. Just one event could lead to a full-on catastrophe.
MSPs monitor your systems 24/7 to hunt for threats and system vulnerabilities that could cause downtime. The service keeps you up-to-date with network maintenance and software patching to thwart ongoing cybersecurity threats. MSP and MSSP partnerships boost your company’s security while enhancing productivity for tens of thousands of dollars of cost savings, if not more.
Cybersecurity services and data theft prevention
Top 10 managed security service providers like PCH Technologies understand how to defend against all manners of cybercrime. This is a serious concern for most businesses as cyber threats grow increasingly advanced. Companies that choose to cut their IT security budgets could face exorbitant costs in the end.
Our team of skilled technicians can take your cybersecurity defense to next level with round-the-clock monitoring, system maintenance and upgrades, and other critical services like backups and disaster recovery planning. We only succeed if you do.
If you’re looking for more cost-effective IT solutions without sacrificing efficiency and security, call (856) 754-7500 now to schedule your next consultation.