Managed IT Services: Everything SMBs Need to Know
One of the most important things to understand about your business' IT infrastructure is that you're talking about so much more than just a means to an end.
Technology is what enables you to make better and more informed decisions regarding the future of your business on a daily basis. It's what helps you make better and longer lasting relationships with your clients. It lets your people communicate and collaborate more effectively than ever before. It does all of these things and more, all at the exact same time.
Or at least, that's the way it's supposed to work.
If you're still trying to keep the entirety of your IT infrastructure in-house, you'll quickly find that even maintaining the status quo becomes a full-time job - which is problematic, considering that you already have one of those monopolizing your time. Or, you could choose to invest in managed IT services in Baltimore - a decision that brings with it a wide range of different benefits, all of which are more than worth exploring.
The Power of Managed IT Services in Baltimore: Breaking Things Down
One of the most critical things to understand about managed IT services in Baltimore is that you're exchanging all the wild, unpredictable costs associated with maintaining your own IT resources for one simple, fixed monthly rate.
Managing your own IT infrastructure means that you're totally responsible for researching the best equipment to meet your long-term needs - something that in and of itself takes a tremendous amount of time. Then, you have to deal with an enormous up-front capital investment associated with buying all of those assets. Someone needs to not only configure that hardware and software but also maintain it - meaning that you're likely going to need to hire at least one full-time employee. If something breaks, the burden falls on you and your people to fix it. The list goes on and on.
But when you choose a managed IT services in Baltimore provider like the team at Tsquared, all of these are issues you don't have to deal with any longer. In exchange for a fixed monthly fee, you get access to all the resources you need to allow you to not only meet the challenges of today, but to better prepare yourself for the ones that tomorrow might hold, too. You get the opportunity to leverage the type of IT infrastructure that allows you to grow and scale safely - evolving from the organization you're currently running into the one you always hoped you'd become.
All of this means that you'll spend less time dealing with your technology so that you can devote more of your attention to focusing on your core business objectives, which is exactly the way it should be. Even if you still have your own IT team on staff, they'll spend less time spinning their wheels so that they can spend more time helping you scale according to your organization's needs.
If nothing else, having access to the IT expertise you need 24/7/365 means that your employees are free to focus on the jobs they were actually hired to do - which may in and of itself be the most important benefit that outsourced IT support has to offer.
Managed Services: The Right Move at the Right Time
Another one of the major benefits of Baltimore managed IT services has to do with how they allow you to take a much more proactive approach to your technological infrastructure than ever before.
Most small businesses in particular are commonly forced to take a "break/fix" approach to IT maintenance - meaning that they have no other choice but to wait for something to break so that they can fix it. The issue here is that unplanned instances of downtime cost your organization far more than you likely realize. In fact, one recent study estimated that network downtime alone can cost organizations like yours as much as $5,600 per minute.
But when you enlist the services of a Baltimore managed IT services provider like Tsquared, this is again a situation you don't have to worry about finding yourself in ever again. Managed services providers are able to use remote monitoring tools to not only identify and diagnose issues as they happen, but to also stop small problems today before they have a chance to become much bigger and more expensive ones down the road.
From that point of view, it's easy to see how managed IT services in Baltimore is an investment that pays for itself over time.
What to Look for in Your Baltimore Managed IT Services Provider
But at the same time, you also need to acknowledge that not all managed IT services in Baltimore providers are created equally. While a lot of companies can offer you managed services in a general sense, if you truly want to find a partner who can give you access to everything you need, there are a few core qualities that you'll want to be mindful of moving forward.
These include but are certainly not limited to things like:
Your Baltimore managed IT services provider should be able to offer you a flexible service model that is built with your business in mind. They shouldn't try to cram you into a "one size fits all" box that doesn't really exist.
Your managed services partner should also be able to offer you everything you need to build the most productive remote workforce possible. This is especially important these days, given everything going on in the world right now.
You should also gain access to a team of professionals who are ready to do anything and everything to secure the valuable information that your business is creating on a daily basis. This includes not only anti-virus and anti-malware protection, but also fully managed remote backups, 24/7/365 email and network monitoring, managed email system anti-spam and much, much more.
But really, your Baltimore managed IT services provider should be able to act as a true partner in every sense of the term - one that is every bit as devoted to your success as you are. They should be able to strategize with your business to develop the unique services to meet your needs, offering you unlimited access to IT expert advice and the types of resources that help you accomplish your goals. This includes a company-specific IT assessment and strategic roadmap, along with quarterly technology planning to help figure out what is working and, more importantly, what isn't.
Ultimately, that's really the most important advantage of hiring a Baltimore managed IT services provider like Tsquared - you get to leverage a full team of IT experts for literally a fraction of the cost of hiring your own internal staff. In return, you get:
A team who is dedicated to providing all the best practices you need to better secure your information.
Professionals who will do whatever it takes to defend your sensitive information from cyber threats.
Experts who can discover security threats before they strike, all to prevent the types of cyber attacks that could do an incredible amount of damage to your reputation.
Partners who can track, identify, remediate and prevent similar threats - all so that you can stop worrying about your technology and devote the maximum amount of attention to your business, where it belongs.
In the end, it doesn't matter what type of business you're running or even the industry that you're operating in - you need a way to take full advantage of advancements like the cloud without worrying about your confidential information falling into the wrong hands. You need a well-planned technology strategy that offers consistent results, reduce costs and dramatically improved business efficiency. You need someone to come in and worry about all of these minute details so that you can get back to running the business you've already worked so hard to build.
In other words, you need a Baltimore managed IT services provider like Tsquared. From the moment we opened our doors until now, we've dedicated ourselves to helping businesses like yours leverage modern technology to work smarter, not harder, on a daily basis. Once we have an opportunity to show you exactly what we can do, you'll soon begin to wonder how you were ever able to get by without us.
The Tsquared Approach
With over 15 years of professional experience in all areas of IT, the team at Tsquared are dedicated to helping your business empower growth, reduce costs and work more efficiently - all at the exact same time. So are Baltimore managed IT services the right move for your business to make at this particular time? Let's find out together.
Reach out to the team at Tsquared so that we can get your free consultation on the books. It'll give us an opportunity to learn as much about your business as possible and, more importantly, learn what we can do to help you succeed moving forward.