Making the decision to shift IT services to external management is often difficult for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). If you are a SME business owner or manager, you aren’t alone if you’re wondering if outsourced IT services are the right choice for your business. Will it cost you less, or more? Will it make work life easier for you and your staff, or more difficult? Will it improve your business, or not make waves at all?
In addition to making the decision to outsource IT services to an external service provider, the process of navigating the change can also prove challenging, especially for business owners used to having a feeling of control over all aspects of their business, including IT Services.
Here at Technetics Consulting, we understand that for owners and managers of SMEs, letting this control go is hard, however given that most SME leaders are time-poor, we’d posit that having an IT Consulting firm handle your IT services requirements can save you, and your business as a whole, a lot of grief.
This blog will help you understand if the current issues you face with your IT services provide reason to shift to external IT management. We also talk about the benefits Technetics Consulting provides, so you can determine if we’re right for you.
What types of businesses benefit from managed IT services?
Although not every business will benefit from managed IT services, those that sit within the category of being small to medium, with an online presence or online customer interface, gain huge benefits. The types of SMEs that find outsourced IT Services beneficial are as follows.
Those who need extra security
In the modern world, cybercrime poses an ongoing risk to SMEs. Businesses holding sensitive information of theirs or their clients’ should take IT security extremely seriously, as the damage to your business and reputation can be enormous if cyberattacks succeed.
Outsourcing your IT Services to a provider specialising in cybersecurity gives you an extra layer of security that in-house cybersecurity monitoring may not. There are various reasons for this, but a major one is that an IT Service Provider will have a team of people on the job of cybersecurity at all times. They work across a variety of businesses, see what new types of attacks are in the landscape, share this information, and apply their inside knowledge across the board.
Of course, monitoring for cyber security threats is only one component of the IT security picture. External cybersecurity providers are able to assess your business’s cybersecurity risk, conduct penetration testing and cybersecurity training with your staff, monitor the dark web, provide incident response, and more. (Expecting your onsite IT Services staff to achieve all this on top of their BAU responsibilities is a big ask.)
Those who are time-poor
Delivering IT Services is time-consuming. Business owners tend to be jack of all trades and do a little bit of everything, but adding IT Services to the task list is not wise, as dropping the ball on effective IT service is bad for any business.
That’s why SMEs will often first look to hire an in-house team member, so they can cover IT needs, and hopefully keep costs down. This seems the economical approach at the outset, but it doesn’t always make business sense. Employee internal IT staff comes with all the associated costs related to recruitment, remuneration costs (leave entitlements, bonuses etc.), and providing office space and equipment. In addition, IT staff require ongoing training to stay up-to-date with programs like Microsoft Azure and in current cybersecurity concerns etc.. This kind of training can be costly and time-consuming, and what happens to IT operations when staff are on a training day?
In addition, IT problems inevitably occur at inconvenient times, and relying on in-house members to be there to fix issues at all hours can strain their work-life balance.
This is why outsourcing to an external IT service provider takes away the potential headache for SMEs.
Those who need more data storage
SMEs with an app or with data storage of any kind will benefit from having their IT services managed. Storage requirements can go up exponentially when expanding a business or bringing on new team members, so data storage needs to be handled correctly to ensure a fast response time for apps and websites, along with ensuring sufficient or expanding storage space.
Those who rely on WiFi to do business
Nowadays, most businesses use WiFi on premises, or need WiFi to get their product or service to their customer, hence WiFi needs to be functioning, and functioning well. When your WiFi drops out in the middle of your work day, it can throw your whole week out, and what’s even worse is not knowing why or how to fix it. This issue is especially prevalent for those who work and manage team members located overseas or interstate. And if you rely on Wi-Fi alone, it’s a good enough reason to look at outsourcing your IT services.
How can SMEs benefit from outsourcing managed IT services?
If what we’ve included so far hasn’t sold you on opting for the kind of external IT services provided by a managed IT Service provider like Technetics Consulting, then here are a few more reasons you should consider outsourcing for your business.
Managing your own IT services comes with ongoing costs
Managing your own IT services can come with hefty and inconsistent costs, making cash flow an issue. You can also end up paying for services you don’t need or use.
When you work with Technetics Consulting, we assess your business’s requirements, and only provide you with the service(s) you need. We’re also transparent about costs throughout the process, so you always know what’s coming your way.
IT 24/7 Helpdesk
If you run or you’ve been a part of an SME, you know that IT disruptions have the worst possible timing. Technetics Consulting offers 24/7 IT support, 365 days a year, so if you have a security breach on Christmas morning, you don’t need to sit for hours trying to figure out the problem yourself, or waiting till your staff are back in the office to help.
Increased level of security
One of the reasons businesses shift to an externally managed IT service provider is because they want that extra layer of security for their data. All businesses will benefit from having an increased level of network security, however, the main benefits for SMEs are-
- Expanded periods of time when security is working at capacity
- Added security measures to ensure restriction of unauthorised access
- Extra protection against the risk of data loss
- Improved control for overall network security.
In conclusion…
Making the decision to choose external provided managed IT services can be difficult, but once you take the leap, you can focus purely on your business as a whole. If you’re struggling with your current IT management, get in touch with one of our friendly team members. If You’re looking for IT services in Melbourne, we can organise an in-person consulting session to determine how best to improve your IT management. Outside Melbourne, we can still meet online to discuss your IT needs.
So much is at stake when your company’s IT is concerned. If something goes wrong, your business operations may be interrupted, and in serious cases, such as cyber security incidents, your business reputation may be jeopardised.
Technetics Consulting has been providing IT Support in Melbourne since 2003 and has grown a vast portfolio of loyal customers. A 100% Australian owned and operated company, we’ve served numerous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as large corporations. We offer IT solutions that are truly valuable for SMEs that might otherwise not be able to provide the range of solutions they need in-house.
Let’s have a look at why it’s a good idea to hire Technetics to provide your IT support and management services.
Technetics take the pressure off your staff
For many SMEs, outsourcing IT services is the logical option. Whilst it’s a nice notion to have your own onsite IT infrastructure and IT Support team, these days it’s rarely necessary. With cloud services available, fewer businesses need to own and maintain costly IT servers. This means they also don’t need as many (if any) IT staff onsite. This can greatly reduce recruitment and labour costs for a business.
If your business does retain some IT staff onsite, outsourcing some of your IT support to an external provider means your existing staff can focus on other concerns, like project work for example.
Technetics offer 24/7 service
Having onsite IT staff is nice for relationship building (that friendly face at the IT service desk is very comforting to onsite staff), but it’s not necessary. An external provider can offer equally friendly and helpful service to your employees, with the added bonus of being available at all hours.
Technetics’ IT professionals are available 24/7 via our IT service desk. Your staff can get in touch via email, phone, online chat or dedicated client portal, which means if one method of contact fails due to an outage, there are still other options available for support.
Technetics specialists have the relevant know-how
In respect to keeping a finger on the pulse, internal staff can let their skills drop, or get out of step with what’s going on in the industry. This is not necessarily through any failure on their part, but rather, there’s an endless number of tasks they need to complete in order to meet SLAs, and they lack time to upskill.
At Technetics, our team of IT professionals are endlessly developing skills, via working for numerous businesses across a range of industries, gaining certifications, and skill sharing.
Over time our professionals have encountered many different systems and gained knowledge of how these systems best operate. When our specialists step into your workplace (either literally or virtually), they already have experience with the systems your business uses, and because they are a pool of specialists focussed on IT solutions only, they are endlessly upskilling and knowledge-sharing.
In addition, as a company with many IT professionals at hand, we can send the most appropriate specialists to the job.
The benefits to your enterprise of having this up-to-date industry knowledge are:
- Technetics specialists will be able to spot issues your onsite IT staff may fail to notice, or have insufficient time to address.
- Technetics specialists have up-to-the-minute knowledge of the latest cyber security threats, and can quickly identify how your business could be impacted.
- Technetics specialists have a variety of IT solutions up their sleeves that will fix issues, and make your lives easier.
Technetics have procurement down pat
When it comes to procuring IT products and services, it can be difficult to know where to turn. If your business takes on the task of IT procurement, it may take a long time to meet with the numerous vendors out there and negotiate best pricing. It can be hard to know you’re purchasing the right products, that the products you’re purchasing are of the best quality, and that you will receive them in a timely manner.
Technetics has connections with many of the best IT product and service providers in Melbourne. We know who is reliable and we’re able to access competitive pricing, which we pass on to you. This means you wait as little time as possible for receipt of new hardware and software, and you can get moving with deployment sooner.
Technetics can assist with project support
You may have your own onsite IT specialists who handle your IT support needs, but when it comes to delivering a large project, you may find your existing staff may be stretched to manage BAU tasks and project work at the same time.
In such circumstances, Technetics can send in a team to assist you on your project. Whether it be just one extra IT professional, or a whole team of specialists, we can help. (We can also offer IT Project Management Services for those businesses who would prefer to outsource their PMO.)
Technetics are IT security experts
With cyber criminals perpetually finding new ways to inflict damage, steal data or extract ransoms, it’s essential your business, no matter its size, has comprehensive cybersecurity measures in place.
However it’s a tall order for most businesses in Australia. According to a 2020-2021 Australian Cyber Security Centre report, 97% of Australian businesses have fewer than 20 staff members, leaving few resources available to provide constant vigilance on cyber security matters.
It can be a challenge for an onsite IT team to have a full picture of the risks their business faces. They may have many tasks and projects to complete internally, and only a small amount of time to focus on IT security. They also may not be able to identify new threats as they arise.
This is explained in the same report, which concluded that small and medium sized businesses in Australia ‘face significant barriers when attempting to implement good cyber security practices. These barriers include a lack of dedicated staff with an IT security focus, the complex field of cyber security, challenges in understanding and implementing security measures, underestimating the risk and consequences of a cyber incident, and a gap in planning for, and responding to, cyber incidents.’1
Outsourcing your IT security to an external provider, like Technetics, is a simple way to get a handle on cyber security quickly. Technetics IT professionals are up to speed on the latest in cyber security, and know how to protect businesses, large and small, from cyber attack.
Technetics will conduct a security assessment of your business, identify gaps that leave you exposed to cybersecurity attacks, and based on our expertise in the latest developments in network and information security, will create an effective cybersecurity strategy to defend your business from cyber attacks.
We also conduct penetration testing, dark web monitoring, and security awareness training, amongst other measures, as part of our overall IT security services package. (IT security services come as part of our broader package of IT management services.)
Technetics are Microsoft cloud services specialists
Microsoft cloud services are a popular and reliable IT solution for many businesses across the globe, however there can still be reluctance within some organisations to make the transition to the cloud.
Technetics are experts in Microsoft cloud services, and can make your lives easier by assisting with all aspects of implementation and management of Microsoft 365 cloud applications and the Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. We can also support your staff, via our IT Support, with any questions they may have about using these services.
IT Support Melbourne
For a comprehensive IT Support and Management package, look no further than Technetics. Whether you need IT Support in Melbourne or beyond, we have the expertise and experience your business needs to obtain reliable and high quality IT Support.
Contact us today.
1 https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-07/ACSC%20Small%20Business%20Survey%20Report.pdf