For years, businesses have viewed Information Technology merely as a support function, but this perspective no longer holds true. The urgency for change is underscored by staggering statistics: 74% of organizations now prioritize digital transformation, surpassing even cybersecurity and cloud implementation as key business objectives.
Yet, an HBR report suggests that about 87.5% of digital transformation attempts fail. This high failure rate emphasizes organizations’ significant challenges in navigating the digital revolution. It underscores the urgent need for effective strategies and execution, shifting the focus from merely selecting technologies to understanding how to truly embrace (and scale) digital transformation.
As IT evolves from a mere department to a central driver of business strategy, organizations must recognize that managed IT services are essential to navigate these complexities and enable successful transformation.
Why Are Managed IT Services Important?
In this digital age, the impact of technology on businesses is huge and requires efficient, timely, and continuous management for effective communication, productivity, time-to-market, and business decision-making. For this reason, companies need to embrace Managed IT services and get on-demand access to the technical skills and expertise required to manage day-to-day operations.
Why In-house IT Teams are No Longer Adequate When Compared to Managed Services Providers
As IT transitions from a break/fix model to a foundation on which successful businesses are built, most internal IT teams aren’t equipped to keep up with the pace of innovation. Many organizations find themselves being reactive rather than proactive, with their systems struggling to keep up with the demands of their growing business in today’s constantly evolving digital world.
With technology advancing with the blink of an eye, relying on your in-house IT team to maintain your systems might not be sufficient. In-house IT teams might:
- Be difficult and time-consuming to recruit, retain, and scale
- Require massive investment to build and u-skill
- Not always be aware of upcoming technology trends and innovations
- Not have the skills and capabilities across different technology systems and areas
- Not have the time or inclination to drive sustained value on a day-to-day basis
- Not always be available to solve issues as quickly as today’s digital users expect and demand
Benefits of Managed IT Services
Managed services enable organizations to access comprehensive IT management and consultancy services that can help strengthen their IT foundation, manage risk and compliance, and enhance their competitive position. With capabilities across business application management, custom software development, workforce productivity, cloud migration, cybersecurity, and data protection, they can help make technology a competitive advantage while empowering businesses to achieve extraordinary business results.
Analysts expect the global managed services market to grow to $329.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 8.1%. Here are the top 10 benefits of partnering with a managed services company:
1. Focus on Your Core Business Objectives
Growing businesses often witness their technology needs growing; having an in-house IT team to manage this increased workload can often be overwhelming – compelling you to assign additional responsibilities that can distract them from their core objectives. Managed services allow you to free up your technical staff from day-to-day IT management and enable them to focus on things that matter more. Additionally, it helps fill in gaps as needed while offering a flexible service model that allows you to determine what level of service you need to keep the lights on or drive real IT transformation.
2. Get the Skills and Expertise You Need
With new technology comes new problems and your existing IT team might not have the experience and expertise to resolve unique challenges daily. Opting for managed services is a great way to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge without spending time and money hiring skilled in-house resources.
A managed services partner will be able to provide the skills and resources you need to support your business solutions; specialists with technical, functional, and operational skills who can keep your systems up and running, guide you on security best practices as well as unlock the full potential of your IT infrastructure.
3. Optimize Operating Expenses
Recruiting, training, upskilling, and retaining IT resources in-house add to the IT management bill significantly. Opting for managed services brings down IT costs by a large margin; providing a team of skilled resources eliminates the cost of hiring and training IT teams while delivering anytime, anywhere access to all the skills needed to enable effective IT management. Since skills are available on a scalable basis, you can tailor the services to meet your needs and optimize your operating expenses.
4. Scale Seamlessly
As your technology needs evolve over time, you need to be able to scale your systems to keep up with the pace of technological change. Managed services can deliver the assistance you need to respond to the demand in real time and scale systems up and down – based on your business requirements. By providing a gamut of services across proactive monitoring, reporting, and more, a Managed services partner can help you prepare your systems to drive the highest levels of scalability and value.
5. Avoid Costly Downtime
Software systems that undergo years of customization and upgrade often get increasingly difficult to maintain as well. A single millisecond of downtime for a critical enterprise system can bring the entire business down – not to mention the impact it will have on employee morale, business reputation, and customer loyalty. Managed services help you proactively approach IT monitoring and management and act before a problem occurs. By using real-time monitoring, they help identify, diagnose, and troubleshoot problems and help avoid costly downtime.
6. Access New Technology
Small, medium, and even large-sized companies may struggle to keep up with technological advancements. As a result, these companies often work with outdated software that can lead to vulnerabilities and poor efficiency. Managed service providers offer constant access to updated technology, ensuring that your software is secure and optimized for performance.
7. Strengthen Security
Even if you’re a larger organization with a capable IT department, you shouldn’t underestimate cyber security threats. Some organizations may be spread out too thin and not have the resources to protect their IT systems from cyberattacks themselves, but a managed cybersecurity service can provide preventative measures and the infrastructure that can prevent attacks and aid your IT department.
8. Enjoy 24/7 Service
Managed IT services provide continuous support, ensuring your IT systems run smoothly around the clock. Whether it’s a minor issue or a significant problem, you can rely on them for a solution. Oftentimes, you won’t even know that there was a problem because glitches and bugs are addressed immediately and continuously monitored.
9. Have A Single Point of Contact
For many businesses, keeping track of vendors for IT equipment can be a challenging task. Managed IT service providers take care of hardware and software vendors, sparing you from the technical complexities and ensuring that you get the best equipment rates on the market.
10. Leverage Cloud-Based Solutions
Cloud computing offers benefits like scalability, cost savings, and improved performance. Cloud managed services provide complete systems with enhanced accessibility and security, allowing for real-time access to company data across various networks and devices.
Maximize Return on Investment with Managed IT Services for Business
Organizations on the road to digital transformation need to have a strong foundation of IT to empower employees, enhance customer satisfaction, and outdo the competition. Managed Services, provided by an experienced managed services provider, can help organizations focus on their core objectives, get access to the skills and expertise they need, optimize operating expenses, enable seamless scalability, and avoid costly downtime – all while delivering reliable IT services, ensuring 24/7 compliance and security, and enabling maximum return on IT investment.
If you are looking for a managed services company in Orange County, you can connect with our managed services experts here.
