On average, businesses lose around $100,000 per hour due to technology-induced downtime. While using tech tools is important for a growing business, having excessive amounts of downtime can lead to lower productivity levels. Instead of trying to handle both managing and optimizing a business network, you need to think about hiring managed IT services.
An experienced and reputable IT service will be able to provide you with services like network monitoring and security upgrades. The longer you wait to hire an IT professional to help you out, the harder it will be to avoid things like cyber-attacks or data hacks.
Before hiring an IT service, be sure to do your homework. Finding out things like how long an IT provider has been around and how well they have performed for others in the past is crucial. Once you have this information, narrowing down the available IT support options you have will be easy.
Here are some of the signs you may notice when it is time to hire managed IT services.
1. Network Performance and Stability Issues
Does it seem like it takes forever for websites to load? Are your employees sitting around being unproductive due to yet another network outage? If you answered yes to either of these questions, now is the time to think about hiring managed IT services.
If a business owner attempts to keep their own network functional, it will result in a number of mistakes being made. When a business network is not properly maintained it will start to slow down and become extremely unreliable. Failing to get professional help to deal with these issues will only lead to them getting worse.
The first thing managed IT services will do when hired by a company is to audit their network. The information from this audit will help them professionals optimize the network. If you want to find out more about the advantages of hiring a managed IT service, you can click here.
2. All Of Your Time is Being Spent Putting Out IT Fires
Free time is not something most business owners have a lot of. Making the most out of every hour of the day is vital when trying to run a successful company. Without the help of IT professionals, most of your time will be spent fixing tech issues in your workspace.
Not only will the repair solutions you come up with for these problems not be effective, but you will also be unable to devote time to growing your business. The best way to free up more time is by hiring a managed IT service.
Any time you are faced with network problems, you can call in these professionals. With their help, you can get your network back on track in no time at all.
3. Adjusting Your Network To Meet Rising Demands
Taking a business from the startup stage to success story is a lot of hard work. As a business grows, so will the need for more technology and network power. Scaling a network to meet rising demands is a lot harder than you may think.
Instead of making changes that will affect your network’s functionality, you should consult with an IT professional. These professionals will have no problem making a plan of attack when it comes to scaling your network.
While improving the size and scope of your network will be costly, it is definitely worth the investment. With the help and guidance of an IT professional, making these changes will be a breeze.
4. Unpredictable IT Costs Are Never a Good Thing
Operating on a strict budget is something most business owners are quite accustomed to. Dealing with unexpected monthly expenses can throw a budget completely out of balance. If your monthly IT costs are all over the place, then you need to do something to make these expenses more predictable.
Often times, IT spending will increase on months where lots of repairs have to be performed. The best way to stay out in front of these problems is by investing in professional network monitoring. A managed IT service can closely monitor your network and identify any potential problems that may exist.
Finding out about these issues early on will reduce the amount of damage they do. Network monitoring can also help you identify security issues before hackers use them to gain entrance to your network.
5. Software Updates and Data Backups Aren’t Being Performed
Most businesses use various pieces of software to make the jobs of their employees easier. As time goes by, the software a business uses will need to be updated. If these updates are ignored, it can lead to security holes being created.
Knowledgeable hackers can use these holes to infiltrate your network and steal highly-sensitive information. The best way to make sure that data backups and software updates happen is by working with an IT service.
Usually, IT professionals will recommend using the power of cloud computing to address these issues. With cloud-based programs, updates and data backups will be done automatically.
6. Your Network Is Constantly Being Hacked
Over 40 percent of the cyber-attacks reported each year target small businesses. If your network is constantly being breached by hackers, you need to fix this problem immediately.
Finding out about the most effective and modern cyber-security techniques is easy when working with a knowledgeable IT provider. Not only can these professionals help you find the right security software, but they can also install and maintain it as well.
DIY IT Support Never Works Out
Trying to handle running a business, managing employees and keeping a network functional can be very overwhelming. The best way to keep your network safe and functional is by working with managed IT services.
Are you looking for more information about using business technology? If so, be sure to check out our article on how to keep employees productive during a move.
