Managed IT Services | IT Support | IT Support for Small Business

We The It Team‘s Managed IT services are essential to any company looking to focus on their core business. It is a monthly flat-rate based contract between an IT provider and an organisation; wherein the IT provider proactively monitors and maintains the organisation’s workstations, servers and IT infrastructure. A managed IT service provider’s work revolves around minimising IT / business downtime by identifying and rectifying issues before they happen.

Managed IT service providers help businesses by:

maintaining their workstations and IT infrastructure,
updating and installing timely security patches,
resolving network and internet problems,
providing backup and disaster recovery solutions,
provision emails & set data accessibility restrictions, and
anticipate and mitigate cybersecurity risks.

Outsourcing your IT to a managed services provider — whether it functions as your company’s entire setup or simply supplements your current IT staff, is one of the few ways you can harness the power of technology.

Why Managed IT Services?

Improved operational efficiencies

A Managed IT services team ensure your business runs smoothly, focusing on removing all the IT problems and roadblocks that can disrupt day-to-day operations. This includes monitoring /maintaining backups and providing tried-and-tested recovery plans so that in the event of a disaster, operations resume with minimal hiccups.

Strategic IT planning advice

Managed IT service providers consist of a team of qualified and experience IT professionals who can help you chart out strategies to improve your IT infrastructure and software upgrades and assist you in implementing these plans.

Access to a complete IT team

When you sign up to a managed IT services plan, you have access to an IT manager, a CIO and a team of IT professionals with the single focus of improving the efficiency of your IT infrastructure. Managed IT service providers follow a proactive results-driven approach as their KPIs are directly aligned to the efficiency of the organisation’s IT systems.

Why choose Managed IT Services?

No In-house IT

No in-house IT staff?
Unable to keep up with changing trends?
Worried about Ransomware and other business threats?
Unsure if your data is secure?
Need basic IT support without a large budget?

Searching for Outsourced Managed IT Services

Need IT support but don’t want to hire internally?
Want access to cutting edge solutions, without dealing with vendors?
Want consultants to tell you what you need to know without the fluff?
Want to keep your business operational for the long haul?

Have in-house IT but require Managed IT Services

Have an IT department but cannot manage their workloads?
Staff unable to keep up with training and new and emerging tech?
The team only available during business hours?
Are wages getting high?

In-House IT vs. Managed IT Services

Why are Managed IT Services important?

It aligns with the outcomes of the organisation. An IT company is incentivised to do a very good job; they want to minimise problems for your organisation because they have KPIs directly linked to the efficiency of your IT.
IT experts give you peace of mind. You’re not an IT expert. Managed service providers take care of your IT so you can focus on running your business.
Proactive support. Managed services offer proactive support. So instead of your IT firm constantly fixing problems, they will actually try to identify problems before they happen, keeping your systems up and your problems down.
Strategic IT planning. What IT systems do you need in 12 or 24 months’ time? Managed services help you think ahead and give you advice on what you need to be planning from an IT department. This links to proactive support and ensures that your IT infrastructure and software is upgraded and updated to minimise risks such as downtime, viruses and crashes.
Complete outsourced IT. Managed services give you access to a complete IT department. You don’t just get day-to-day IT support; you also get an IT manager and a virtual CIO so you can think strategically about how IT fits into your organisation.

Challenges of a Managed IT Service

Here are some challenges that you need to be aware of when looking to move to a managed services arrangement.

- Holding providers accountable. The reason you go with managed services is because you want to improve your operational efficiency and remove the amount of IT problems or roadblocks that affect your team. You need to hold providers accountable and make sure they are delivering these improvements. Most providers will offer effective reporting so you can see exactly how much work they are doing for you and how much improvement in efficiency and productivity they are providing.
- Getting strategic IT planning. As part of a managed service contract, you should be given some strategic IT planning. You might struggle to see the benefits of a managed services contract if you don’t get this component. Make sure that your IT firm is proactively planning for the next 12 or 24 months and that it has strategies in place to improve IT infrastructure and upgrade software.
- Finding a provider with a good track record. You need to check the track record of your provider before engaging in a contract. They should be able to demonstrate a track record of delivering proactive service and measurable outcomes. Check references before you commit, and ask what clients they have, and if they have experience dealing with companies similar to yours.

Four keys to successfully implementing Managed Services

There are a number of decisions that your organisation needs to make when moving to a managed services IT contract. Here are a few things to consider:
- Complete a total cost of IT to determine the real cost of IT for your organisation.
- Identify potential providers; request an audit of your current systems.
- Choose a managed services provider and complete the onboarding process with the provider.

Complete a total cost of IT to determine the real cost of IT for your organisation.

The first step in moving to managed services is to perform a total cost of IT analysis.
This is a calculation of what you are currently paying for IT support, combined with accounting for the cost of lost productivity and downtime that you may be experiencing.

A simple way to quantify this is to look at the total cost of your staff salaries within the organisation; then factor in how much your inefficiency is costing the organisation every day. It might be as simple as 20 minutes every day due to inefficient systems, but those minutes add up quickly.

You should also calculate downtime. Are you down for three hours every month? How much is that worth to your organisation in respect to your team’s hourly wage?

Identify potential companies; request an audit of your current systems

Once you’ve completed the total cost of IT analysis, it’s time to shortlist some managed IT service providers. This process is generally about finding a company with which you feel comfortable working, and which has a track record of success and is familiar with your industry and the requirements that go along with it.

You should request an IT audit. This is generally pretty intrusive and will involve an IT professional giving your entire IT infrastructure, software and systems a full review. It can usually be done on-site or remotely.

Choose a managed services provider and complete the onboarding process.

When selecting a provider, make sure they meet your requirements. Often, if you are evaluating based purely on cost, you may not find the right partner. Remember that IT plays a significant role in your entire organisation now. It’s important to work with someone that has your best interests in mind and can provide a proactive service that delivers outcomes.

Will they be able to help you improve IT efficiency?

Will that increase productivity and minimise downtime?

These are the questions you need to be asking when evaluating providers.

The onboarding process is the final step. This is about making security changes to ensure that the incumbent IT company no longer has access to your systems. There may be some remediation work that’s required to bring your site up to the best practice level. Then ultimately, it’s about collecting and consolidating documentation, checklists, network diagrams and whatnot to be able to effectively manage your IT environment.

This general process should take about 30 days in most instances, meaning your managed service contract would not take effect for at least 30 to 45 days from the time you sign.