Buying Managed Services From A Chicago IT Company

Maybe you’re ready to pull the trigger on a managed services contract with an IT company in Chicago – do you know what to expect? When it comes to a decision like this, it’s best not to go in blind.

So you’re thinking about investing in managed IT services – want to know how it works?

In short, nearly every managed services offering will be based on a monthly subscription plan. What’s included in that plan will determine the cost -it all comes down to what you need. Since each organization is unique, you have to make sure you’re paying for managed services that actually deliver what you need.

What Should You Know Before You Paying A Chicago IT Company?

Not everyone signs up for a fully managed IT service plan. Some companies already have an in-house IT department, and only need support help with big projects.

On the other hand, it can be beneficial to your organization to have a fully managed IT service contract. Under this model, your Chicago IT company will take care of everything IT-related. Some owners and managers appreciate not having to worry about any of their technology needs.

Can You Customize Your Service Contract?

Yes, managed services fall under contracted IT services. The Master Services Agreement (MSA) and a Service Level Agreement (SLA), spells out in great detail, the definitive contract durations and managed services terms. These two documents define the relationship between the business requirements of the customer and the services that get delivered by the provider.

The Master Services Agreement provides the complete scope of services the stated business is contracting from the service provider. The document spells out the service methods and processes, data privacy requirements, and financial penalties for failing to meet the terms of the service contract.

What the Service Level Agreement describes the performance guarantees the service provider is making related to the contracted services. These performance guarantees may include infrastructure uptime and availability, service incident response time, and data recovery time objectives. Typically, companies will set allowable thresholds for the performance guarantees and require the service provider to pay financial penalties if limits get breached.

The contracted subscription terms can vary. The provider may bill using either a flat-monthly or pay-per-use billing model – depending on the nature of the service. The subscription price typically is determined by one or more of the following variables:

Number of users and devices
Number and Type of managed services
Types of functions and features that get delivered

One of the major benefits of outsourcing your IT services is that you can get exactly what you need at a price that fits your budget. Some Chicago IT companies are specialists in their field – that allows them to offer customized solutions to their clients.

For some, this is an easy process and for others, it is more complex due to HIPAA compliance and other government regulations. If you don’t work in IT, you probably aren’t experienced enough to determine how to best handle these complex issues – and that’s OK, you don’t have to. An experienced Chicago IT company can handle it for you.

Depending on the IT company in Chicago that you decide to work with, you may have the option of choosing from different wireless options. The advantage of this is that you can choose specific services depending on their prices. You can also select scalable options that will grow with you.

You can get a suite of information security services like scanning for viruses, blocking spam, integrating and managing hardware and software firewalls, and overseeing your overall IT security management.

The contracted subscription terms can vary. The Chicago IT company may bill using either a flat-monthly or pay-per-use billing model – depending on the nature of the service. The subscription price typically is determined by one or more of the following variables:

Number of users and devices
Number and type of managed services
Types of functions and features delivered

Why Are Managed IT Services Cost Effective?

With managed services, businesses can shift their spending strategy, freeing up resources and potentially cutting costs. Your ROI will be based on the following:

Eliminate Internal IT Costs
Those with an in-house computer technician may think they’re saving money but with today’s hefty salaries in this industry, it’s often not a bargain. Even when businesses have talented IT people or staff there are always areas that need attention and support.
Reduce Downtime And Delays
Often, day-to-day computer issues do not get immediately noticed. Managed IT providers run monitoring and reporting tools that identify the unknown items. They will report their findings when a potential problem gets discovered. That way, the problem gets fixed before it causes frustration and downtime for your employees.
Fix Problems Remotely (And Quickly)
Often workstation issues can get solved remotely, eliminating the expense of a technician doing an on-site visit and assessment. This is a fast, easy way to resolve common computing issues so your employees can get back to work.
Eliminate Hourly Fees
Undetected IT issues become expensive hourly service calls.That happens when a system isn’t monitored correctly. When the server and network outages keep happening, this is a sign there may be deeper problems that could be expensive to repair.
Confirmed, Predictable Costs
When mission-critical technology fails, this can cost your company in several ways. First of all, your workflow is disrupted. Your employees can’t work.During any downtime, employees still get paid (often overtime), which includes paying the in-house technical support personnel, possibly paying outside consultants and a potential loss of business.

Like this article? Check out the following blogs to learn more:

Do Managed IT Services Cost More Than The Break/Fix Model?

Outsourcing IT Makes Sense for Small Businesses: 7 Reasons

Are You Prepared? Your 9 Step Local Business Disaster Recovery Plan