When You Hire the Right Managed Service Provider, Change Doesn’t Have to be Hard

“… a lot of businesses out there don’t see the return on investment, they look at it as a liability, and until they can understand that proactive security actually returns, gives them a return on investment, it’s still a hard sell for people”

Kevin Mitnick, (Kevin spent the 5-years leading up to his current career as an IT Security Specialist in prison for hacking and computer crime.)

Even though smb owners often see hiring budget IT consultants as a way to save money, they’re wrong.

Managed IT service providers give smb’s the freedom and scalable technology services they need to build their businesses. By not hiring a managed service provider, business managers and owners could contribute to the potential failure of their businesses when faced with cyber security issues, operational concerns and financial problems.

“Did We Just Say Failure?”

Unfortunately, yes, we did.

Experts often state that most small businesses fail because of common reasons. According to SmallBizTrends, (and various other sources quoted in the article like Forbes Magazine and the SBA Office of Advocacy), some reasons are:

• Insufficient capital,
• Lack of planning,
• Poor management and leadership,
• Expanding too quickly,
• Failure to advertise and market, and
• Unprofitable business models

In a timely and helpful article, Pivotdesk discussed the main ways that technology issues will affect your bottom line, including:

• Lack of scalability, (Your technology must grow with your business),
• Lost time and productivity on slow loading computers, systems shutting down when you’re trying to load applications, etc.
• The inability of your equipment to run powerful programs that will improve your business and customer relations, and
• Lost time and productivity during while you to troubleshoot and repair what’s wrong.

There’s no question that starting and managing a small or medium-sized business is hard. However, there’s also no question that dealing with inefficient, hacked, compromised or non-performing technology takes away from the time you need to identify and deal with your organization’s financial, management, growth and operational concerns that desperately require your attention.

“What are my risks?”

There are numerous forms of hacking and a myriad of security threats that businesses must prepare for. According to Quickbooks and Business News Daily, here are just a few:

• APT, (advanced persistent threats),
• DDos, (distributed denial of service), attacks
• Inside attacks,
• Malware, (trojans, viruses and worms)
• Password attacks,
• Phishing attcks,
• MITM, (man in the middle), attacks,
• Drive-by downloads,
• Malvertising, and
• Rogue software

It’s truly impossible to fully prepare for most of these types of attacks without expert help.

“How should I move forward?”

Just 20 years ago, the average small business owner only had to worry about hiring admin staff, maybe some sales staff, some executive level management staff and some specialized talent; depending on your business model. Hired contractors might have included HVAC, plumbers, electricians, cleaners, utility providers etc.

Overwhelmed yet? We didn’t think so.

Hiring a good managed services team is just as simple as choosing a plumbing company or electrician’s service. Though it might seem overwhelming at first, hiring your IT team isn’t something you have to stress over. However, having professionals managing your technology is essential for running a modern business. It’s a change the times demand.

“Is there a shortcut?”

No.

Some business owners opt to hire budget IT consultants like family members, neighborhood handy-people, electronic department store help desks and one-person computer repair shops to, “fix things.” However, when it comes to technology, we think your business needs:

• 24/7 network monitoring,
• Someone to call immediately, 24/7, when there’s a problem,
• The guarantee that a trained professional will always respond to your concerns,
• The assurance that the person who is updating your system regularly is doing it right,
• A professional paper trail for your taxes, loans, funding and other business documents,
• Data backup and restore capability, and
• To know if or when your system has been compromised, know the problem has been contained immediately and know you still have access to your most important information

Don’t you agree?

Contact us at Infiniwiz today. We give small and medium-sized businesses the freedom they need to enjoy the technology they use!