Uncertain Times Call for Expert Guidance: 5 Reasons to Revisit your IT Plan

2020 has turned into a year of great uncertainty for businesses. Big questions are being raised in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: How do you deal with dynamic, uncertain situations? How do you prepare for the future? 

Getting expert guidance in IT is an important first step. In the short term, everyone’s IT requirements are going to increase considerably as we build and maintain remote working environments. But the pandemic also gives us an opportunity to pause and evaluate just how important IT has become to businesses of all sizes and shapes. IT is the backbone of business in 2020. How you’re “doing IT” is more important than ever. But chances are, you’re not doing it right. Managed service providers like itSynergy can help you assess risks, build processes and assets and prepare for the future. Now should be the time to revisit your IT plan. We’ll explain why by addressing 5 questions you should be asking your executive team.

How to Secure the staff and expertise you need

The IT labor market currently has a negative unemployment rate: If you’re trying to build a strong in-house IT team, this creates a number of challenges. The qualified, highly skilled IT staff you need are not going to come cheap. You might be able to find people willing to work within a constrained budget, but they might not have the skills to effectively meet all your IT requirements. How can you get the high level of IT support you need without spending massive amounts on a single, highly skilled resource? itSynergy’s MSP service spreads costs across multiple clients. This means that you won’t have to compromise on cost or quality.

When does it make sense to outsource IT?

The smaller your business, the less complex your IT needs are in general. Smaller firms often have a single “IT guy” who handles all IT roles. But are they enough? Do they have the expertise to address critical concerns like cybersecurity? And are they being fully utilized? Over half of your typical IT roles-configuring a mail server, or even just doing a password reset-can be handled by entry-level resources. Why pay for a highly skilled resource when their special skills are only going to be utilized 10 percent of the time? Outsourcing IT to an MSP can substantially bring down IT costs: access skilled IT resources only when they’re needed.

How can you tell if need an MSP?

As your business grows, your IT requirements will grow with it. Your IT needs increase, your designated “IT guy” will be less able to service your requirements. It’s important to step back and take a critical look to see if you need an MSP: as your IT complexity increases, has your existing IT process been up to the task? What’s the security scenario like? Have you experienced a data breach or cybersecurity incident? As your business expands, you’ll gradually outgrow your current IT solution. This is when you’re most in need of an MSP.

Are you thinking about MSPs the right way?

A lot of businesses think that MSPs are a drop-in replacement for their in-house IT team. But working with an MSP doesn’t mean you have to eliminate your existing team. Far from it: itSynergy’s there to address a situation where your IT solution doesn’t have the capacity to fully address your needs.  We’re there to ease your IT team’s pain and empower them.

What are the top business case points for going the MSP route in 2020?

Cost-effectiveness and access to skilled resources aren’t the only reasons why you want to MSP your IT this year. Let’s take a look at some of the other key business case points:

MSPs help you focus on your core business functions

By comprehensively addressing your IT requirements, MSPs like itSynergy free up time and space for you to focus on the things that matter to your business, not IT.

A more powerful, integrated security solution

The fewer IT resources you have on hand, the more vulnerable you are to digital threats. itSynergy’s MSP service gives you access to a complete, enterprise-class team of cybersecurity experts. Whether it’s ransomware or emerging social engineering threats, we’ll keep an eye out and ensure your security.

Effectively manage your IT risk

With businesses across the country scrambling to get work-from-home infrastructure working, the message is clear: you need to have solid planning to manage your IT risk. As an MSP, itSynergy offers objective risk assessment and advisory, something that’s difficult to get from an internal team. We’ll help you mitigate IT risks so that you’re prepared whenever disaster strikes. 

Reduce downtime and outages

itSynergy is committed to industry-best practices. This means that you’ll get a consistent, stable IT experience with minimal downtime. We’ll also help you identify and address kinks in your existing IT processes-never underestimate the power of a fresh pair of eyes. 

The way forward

As an MSP, itSynergy is committed to helping you meet your IT needs. In today’s world, with fear and uncertainty push IT solutions to the forefront, itSynergy’s MSP service gives you the people, tools, and resources to ensure that your IT solution is the best it can be. Call us. We’d love to discuss how we could empower IT processes at your organization.