There can be a variety of benefits to sourcing managed IT services. In fact, in the United States, the managed IT services industry is expected to exhibit strong growth in 2020 following a stellar year in 2019 when services from the fast-growing industry of managed IT services companies added $193 billion to their billings. This growth was largely due to smaller and medium-sized businesses turning to outsourced IT services for a number of reasons.
The most important reason is that companies of this size find that they can get a wide range of services from outsourcing – and maximize their return on investment without having to employ dedicated staff to maintain the effectiveness of their IT infrastructure. IT staff who are employed by the company are also free to provide input on a strategic level, rather than being caught up in the mundane IT tasks that can characterize the operations of an IT department. The business also has access to the latest technology (and software) without the enormous impact on the bottom line that insourcing can have. The net effect is that capital expenditure can be utilized to fund operating expenses and grow the business aggressively.
Managed IT services Chicago can also have a positive impact on the efficiency of the business. Medium-sized businesses (or around 100 employees) often lack the human resources to efficiently run an IT department – an increasingly critical function in a highly competitive environment where handling ‘Big data,’ Cloud Computing, and online functionality is a strategic necessity. The staff which is employed in the IT department may lack the knowledge and skills to contribute effectively to the competitiveness of the business.
Managed IT services in Chicago also allow the company to cope with the unforeseen, including data recovery and disaster management. The ability of a managed IT services company to effectively engage in remote management and monitoring tasks also frees up the existing IT staff to engage in other projects. It is worth noting that the majority of the companies that utilize the services of a managed IT services company do not intend to replace their current IT staff. They almost inevitably find that having outsourced resources provides the company with access to human assets that complement and improve the efficiency of the existing IT department.
There is also security to consider. Secure data storage and transmission have become mission-critical. Unfortunately, malicious attacks on companies can cause irreparable harm to the data that they store – security breaches have now become commonplace. Hackers and other malicious players can also badly damage the corporate reputation in the event of a data breach. A professional managed IT services provider in Chicago can help to prevent these sorts of attacks and control the fallout if such an attack should occur.
Damage control in the event of data breach is critical – and a managed IT services company can be of invaluable assistance in the event of a data breach. There is also the increasingly complex world of compliance to take into account. Even the most diligent of small and medium companies can struggle to keep track of the latest compliance requirements. A managed IT services company makes it their business to track the latest developments in this area. Companies that do not have the manpower to do so are at serious risk of financial and legal damage in the case of non-compliance. These companies can also offer strategic advice that will allow the organization to put in place procedures that can safeguard against both malicious attacks – and help with compliance issues.
Maintenance of an IT infrastructure can also be a challenge, especially in the case of smaller companies. They simply may not have the human resources to ensure that the IT infrastructure is operating at peak efficiency. Network dependability is only one of the issues that can affect the competitiveness of a company. Access to a managed IT services company ensures that a proactive approach to avoiding potential infrastructure problems is assured.
When the company comes down to the bottom line, the services of a managed IT services can make all the difference between the company thriving in a highly competitive environment or falling prey to market forces. Controlling costs is of the utmost importance – and this is one of the reasons behind companies choosing to use managed IT services. They simply provide an exceptional return on investment. Whether the managed services company structures finance options for the leasing of hardware and software updates or reducing the costs of human capital, a managed IT services company can reduce costs and provide the organization with greater access to working capital. The costs involved are predictable, and the unforeseen is manageable. No wonder that more and more companies in Chicago are turning to organizations that offer these sorts of services.
