It’s important for business owners to consider how their tech is being handled. In this day and age, businesses are incredibly dependent on audio visual solutions, particularly as they move forward through the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s virtually impossible in some states for businesses to function safely without audio visual technology, through which they can not only communicate properly with employees, but also receive documentation, track working hours, and much more. It’s no wonder that in a recent survey, 9% of respondents relied on cloud phone services to keep their systems operational. Obviously, cloud phones are just a small part of the communications technology systems that are needed to keep businesses running today. As businesses seek to become more independent and more technologically advanced, many will reach a crossroads: should they handle their technology in-house or use a managed services provider in order to outsource their technological solutions? Let’s find out what some of the advantages of outsourcing may be.
1. Cost Efficiency
A major benefit of outsourcing your technological solutions is that you can save a good bit of money over time. Managed services essentially replace in-house services, which would equal hiring employees for the long term or even permanently. Paying for permanent employees to handle your tech-related issues would likely require offering them insurance and other benefits that would typically be offered to full-time employees. You would essentially be expanding your staff over time. Many companies simply don’t have the resources necessary to add permanent staff members to their roster, which makes third party managed services much more manageable for many. Furthermore, working with managed services usually requires signing a contract ahead of time. This means that you won’t spend money on extra services. The less your business spends on additional services and installing new full-time employees, the more you can spend on growing your business in a meaningful way.
2. Flexibility
When having employees dedicated to handling technology in your business, you can’t scale your technological needs up or down as needed. Those employees will either be working on technology or other needs within the company; you can’t simply increase or cut their hours as needed. When working with managed services providers, you can get help as you must. If your need for technological services lowers over time, you can work with your providers to have those services scaled back. Furthermore, you can have them expanded as needed.
3. Avoid Downtime
There are a number of issues that can occur with technology over time, which of course can lead to a significant amount of system downtime. The great thing about managed services providers is that they can help you avoid that downtime, or cut it down significantly when system outages do occur. These providers rely upon remote monitoring in order to catch system errors as they happen, and from that remote location, they can identify, troubleshoot, and diagnose them. Ultimately, this results in a significant amount of money being saved for small businesses, and for that matter can help them preserve their reputations and maintain an aura of consistency.
4. Expertise
A major benefit of working with providers of managed services is that they can actually give true expertise. If you attempt to have already-existing employees handle tech issues in order to save money, you may find that they aren’t the right people for the task. A lot of tech problems can grow out of hand simply because they’re not being managed by the right people. Managed services providers offer experts in the technological fields that you’re concerned with. Remember that technological issues are wide-ranging, and it’s virtually impossible for one person to know what needs to be done on every level. Managed services providers ensure that you don’t need to worry about piling too many responsibilities onto one person. You’ll have a host of experts available as needed.
There are so many reasons why small business owners need to move towards working with managed tech providers. Managed services providers offer streamlined technology, expertise, and a much more convenient process for all involved.