How do you know if your IT system is efficient enough?

Let’s start with a simple question. Have you ever waited for IT support?

If your answer is in the affirmative, then you need to change how your IT service is managed in your organization.

No, we are not exaggerating. It is not normal anymore to wait for support guys to catch up and fix an issue as and when it happens. That time you lost in transit cost your business time and money. Productivity took a dip. Even if you are blessed with the most talented and dedicated workforce on the planet, it’s going to take them some time to pick up the same pace where they left off when their work got interrupted. That’s just human nature and how our attention works.

But, what’s the alternative? What could you do instead?

Supercharge your IT with a switch from reactive to proactive by just picking the right managed services vendor

Now, I know many business leaders who may hesitate to read further right here. Why? Because they have an inherent policy/ business mindset in place that makes them naturally disinclined to getting third-party providers involved when it comes to managing something as integral as IT services.

Simply put, this attitude needs to change if your business needs to remain competitive and grow in the current market, not just this year, but in a 5-year span. According to Business Wire, for the period of 2020-2024, the Global Managed Security Services market is forecasted to accrue spends of nearly $19 billion USD, that will grow at a 11.24% CAGR.

Needless to say, there is simply no time or place for a break/fix approach to IT anymore. Your business needs the peace of mind to run at or near-max productivity and zero down-times while the management focuses on creating accelerated growth and innovation.

If that sounds impossible with your current IT setup, it is time to consult an experienced managed IT services provider in your area like Vancouver IT support.

Managed IT Services – Understand the scope of services to know how to harness MSP’s power

A basic definition of managed IT support can be broadly understood as outsourcing the administration and management responsibilities of your business to a third party service provider. However, there is some confusion surrounding the scope of services of managed IT as some providers tend to focus on niche services.

At ActiveCo, we offer a mix of the following services that you can pick and choose from to suit your business needs.

• Managed networks and infrastructure
• Managed security
• Managed communication services
• Managed wireless/mobile computing
• Managed print services
• Managed support services
• Data analytics
• Managed cloud infrastructure
• Managed Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

With the right mix of services from our selection, you can nearly delegate the entirety of the operational aspect of your business, leaving you free to focus on growth and innovation.

Why should you hire Managed Service Providers (MSPs)?

Why you need managed it services: Let’s think about the most common challenges for emerging and growing businesses for a second. It’s only too common for very viable business ideas (products/ services) to tank simply because the operational aspect of the business becomes too daunting or inefficient for them to manage in the long run. Blame it on general problems like prohibitive hardware/ software implementation and maintenance costs, space limitations, lack of skilled workforce or evolving problems like the overstretched bandwidth of in-house workers with maintenance to the extent that they simply don’t have the time/ energy for high value business enhancements such as updating your CRM or getting new leads and the cost/ difficulty of maintaining high-end skilled workforce who specialize in niche technology functions, such as, data centre, security, etc.

The list of challenges to a growing business is seemingly endless. But there is no reason for you to battle Goliath when there is no need to.

Managed IT service providers bring on-board a host of laser-focused, customizable plug-and-play solutions for your business problems. Since they specialize in IT services, the workforces they bring on-board are comprised of two distinct levels of expertise. One is comprised of domain experts who have wide-ranging experience in tackling high-level business and technology problems and can equip your business leaders with a 360 degree, bird’s eye view of your IT systems and capabilities and how these can be enhanced/ matched to meet your business goals as well as a second level of highly skilled and experienced support specialists who excel at cracking technological challenges that have been bottlenecks for your business efficiency for years. Of course, this is only a bonus to getting instant access to a host of cutting-edge specialized infrastructure and storage technology systems.

Factors to consider when choosing the right managed services provider for your business

Now that we have got the what and why of managed services out of the way, it’s time to consider the crucial how. Please remember that the rate of incremental efficiency you can expect with hiring an MSP comes from an in-depth understanding of your business needs and goals and selecting the right provider who can excel at meeting those needs over time.

Here are the key factors you should keep in mind:

Consider Proximity

Let’s face it. When it comes to an emergency situation, nothing guarantees peace of mind more than having bodies (technical experts) on the ground. Remote help is nice to have for 90% of technical issues, but it’s the critical 10% that can trip up your zero downtime record. This is why you should always go with a local managed services provider who can provide you both remote and on-premise support as needed. If you are situated in Vancouver, ActiveCo is the most reputed provider for Managed IT Services Vancouver.

Consider the service provider’s work history

Please check if the service provider has work experience in your particular domain. While all service providers work with similar technologies, many focus on particular niches. If the MSP’s niche specialities align with your domain, you are guaranteed of getting a technical team on board who know the in’s and out’s of your industry. It’s not necessary, but a track record of ranking and industry awards help in proving expertise as well.

Consider speed of service and ability to handle scope of work

Speed of service is crucial, especially when it comes to support and maintenance IT services. With a local managed IT services provider, on-site support is pretty much guaranteed, but you should still check for guaranteed problem resolution times and how fast they can have support at the ready (remote or on-premise) when the need arises. For best results, we recommend you check periodically to ensure consistent quality service. Also, important to consider is whether the service provider has handled organizations of your size and the depth of complex problems they have effectively handled in the past. While MSP’s can grow to meet client requirements, it’s best to bet on one that has a track record of doing so.

Check for Operating System, Software and Application support

This may seem basic, but a lot of companies interpret ‘technology’ to be a universal term and don’t check for technology alignment while looking for MSPs. Ensure that your MSP has proven experience in working with the particular OS, software and applications you have running on your systems. In case of customized applications, they should have the knack for getting grasp of complex systems quickly and be able to effectively understand and troubleshoot problems on short notice.

If you understand exactly how to choose a MSP to best match your business needs, consider visiting ActiveCo’s page here for the best Vancouver IT support.