Technology has upended every industry from Airbnb’s disruption of hotels to Bitcoin’s impact on currency. This rapid escalation combined with technology’s increasing availability means everyone has access to powerful tools that didn’t even exist five years ago.

While access to high-impact technology can help any business grow, managing that technology requires both a level of skill and a budget beyond the reach of an enterprise-level business. That’s why more and more companies are turning to end-user managed services.

What other factors are driving the end user managed services decision?

• Efficiency and reliability. In an age of global competition and international sales, consumers expect round-the-clock service. A small company may not be able to dedicate staff time and financial resources to manning a 24/7/365 IT desk. A managed service provider, however, can. And they can often do so at a lower cost than a full-time IT operation would need.
• Security. Since most employees have one or more computers on their desks, they are transmitting volumes of information, much of it confidential, through semi-security conduits. With skilled cybersecurity professionals on call at all hours, a managed security service may be able to fortify network security and prevent a sensitive data breach.
• Maintenance. An IT managed service provider isn’t a break/fix solution. It’s an ongoing resource that keeps business technology up and running. An outsourced IT agency anticipates problems and solves them before they happen.
• ROI and cost savings. When determining the value of a managed service provider, consider efficiency, redirection of internal resources, labor costs, and data security. According to some estimates, outsourcing can cut IT costs by 30%.
• IT staff workload. By hiring a managed service for IT, businesses can reduce the workload on internal technology staff, freeing them up for more strategic projects. If the humdrum activities of IT maintenance are burdening staff members, they lack the time to work on the initiatives that can drive your business forward.
• New technologies. For most companies, IT is a support service not a core business. Therefore, these enterprises may lack knowledge of or access to the most up-to-date technology. An outsourced IT service, though, does have that access and knowledge, and it’s their job to make it available to their clients.
• Expertise. A single IT service center developed and maintained in-house does not have expertise in every relevant field. An outsourced agency, however, possesses that expertise or can acquire it with speed and efficiency.
• Switch from cap-ex to op-ex. By paying a simple monthly fee to an outsourced IT provider instead of buying software or equipment, businesses can save capital expenses.
• Budgeting. An in-house IT department may seem inexpensive at first, but once you factor in software licenses, salaries, new hardware, and cloud service subscriptions, costs start to add up. An outsourced agency charges a flat monthly fee. It’s easy to budget, and easy to manage. Sign a contract, write a check, and leave your technology in capable hands.

Unless your core business is technology-related, an IT managed services provider can supplement your IT department in ways that increase your up-time and decrease your costs.