The 2019 Buyer’s Guide To Managed IT Services In Wyoming

Managed IT Services In Wyoming

Over the next three years, the managed IT services industry is expected to have a value of more than $250 million. Why? Because managed IT services are worth the investment. For both small and large businesses, managed IT services boast an array of benefits, including enhanced cost-efficiency, greater productivity, and better allocation of resources. Gone are the days of having to scramble during a network outage and staying on hold with the tech department while they scurry to pinpoint the cause of your network disaster.

By outsourcing your IT services to a managed services provider, you get to offload your IT operations to a team of professionals who have a diverse range of knowledge stemming from different IT education specialties. The provider assumes the responsibility of all IT tasks around the clock and manages your IT problems by deploying effective tactics that both prevent and resolve these problems in a timely manner.

Knowing you need managed IT services is only the start of transferring the burden of your IT tasks. Doing a simple search on the internet for a local managed IT services provider in Wyoming can get you into a lot of trouble if you don’t perform due diligence in choosing the right provider. To help you in your search for managed IT services, we’ve created a 2019 Buyer’s Guide to Managed IT Services in Wyoming. Use our guide to ensure you partner with a managed IT services provider that can fully meet your IT needs, including those related to cybersecurity, cloud-based tasks, telephony services, and more.

Why Outsource Your IT Tasks?

To ensure you pick the right provider, it’s pertinent to understand the purpose and benefits of outsourcing your IT tasks. The primary benefit gained from outsourcing your IT is the ability to leave your IT tasks in the hands of a team that specializes in information technology. This team has expansive knowledge relating to any issue your network might endure, including those related to back-up problems, IT outages, system performance, network monitoring, and more.

It’s important to choose a services provider that has a large breadth of clients. Many of the issues and items of concerns that apply to your business will be issues that the services provider has already handled for other clients. What may seem like an incredibly complex IT issue for you is likely a simple fix for the managed IT services provider.

Additionally, with a managed services provider, you don’t have to worry about your IT team going on vacation. Your IT tasks are managed around the clock by professionals who constantly monitor your IT infrastructure. The services provider also boasts better documentation than what you’re accustomed to; this is imperative not only for audits, but also for identifying areas of over usage.

The Huffington Post published an article in 2017 that revealed out of all security incidents, 95 percent of them involved human error. Experts agree human failure is the biggest weakness when it comes to cybersecurity. With managed IT services, these human errors are reduced. The provider will provide valuable training to your employees on ways to keep your network secure.

You’ll also enjoy enhanced levels of support by outsourcing the IT department. The end-user experience is greatly improved because all of your employees will know how to seamlessly navigate the IT network. This ensures customer inquiries are handled in a timely manner, which improves the overall customer experience, as well.

How Does Outsourcing the IT Department Work?

Always choose a managed IT services provider that performs an onsite evaluation. This ensures your specific IT needs are pinpointed, which allows the services provider to determine whether you’re a good fit for its services. If a managed IT services provider doesn’t offer to perform an onsite evaluation, it’s best to keep searching for one that does. Not performing an evaluation shows you a lack of IT knowledge on the provider’s part, and it leaves you wondering whether the provider can even meet all of your needs.

How Much Does Outsourcing the IT Department Cost?

Generally, outsourcing the IT department will cost less than half of what it costs to employ a full staff of IT engineers, but the cost advantage doesn’t stop there. With a team of IT professionals in your corner, you will boost productivity due to nearly zero downtime. Plus, your IT workers will enjoy increased productivity thanks to their ability to focus on core IT objectives; this can translate into cost-savings as well.

Furthermore, with constant monitoring of your IT network, you are less likely to endure a network disaster. You’ll also enjoy top-notch IT security intervention on all company-issued network equipment and devices, like cell phones, laptops, and more. Because of this, your network becomes more secure and less exposed to dangerous human errors that put the network at risk. A more secure network always results in cost-savings.

How Does Outsourcing Compare to In-House IT Hiring?

Hiring and training IT workers can be a financial burden to your company. Much of the time, these workers don’t even stay on board very long, which results in almost a total loss of the money spent on their training. By outsourcing the IT department, you don’t have to focus any of your resources on hiring and training an IT team. Instead, you can better allocate your resources to areas of the company where they are needed the most.

It’s also with an in-house IT team that companies often endure expensive research and development costs. These expenses are greatly minimized when you outsource the IT department to a team of professionals who specialize in keeping research and development-related IT costs to a minimum.

Furthermore, by outsourcing the IT department, you’ll gain the ability to quickly implement new technology. Your managed IT services provider will have the necessary resources that it takes to start new projects right away; this is crucial to maintaining a competitive edge in your industry. A project that would take an in-house IT team weeks or months to deploy can often be started in a matter of days with a managed IT services provider.

What About Data Privacy and Compliance When Outsourcing an IT Partner?

Every business investment that you make comes with a certain amount of risk. In today’s highly-advanced technological era, markets are constantly evolving. Government regulations and financial conditions are also changing very quickly along with technologies. It is very difficult to not only keep up with the latest changes, but also with how those changes impact investment risks. When you outsource the IT department, the managed IT services provider assumes much of the risk for you. The outsourced team of IT professionals will have expert industry knowledge, particularly relating to security and compliance issues. With this knowledge comes the ability to make decisions that keep your company from being in the direct line of fire of detrimental risks.

Outsourcing the IT department allows you to minimize the risks associated with handling your customers’ personal data. Do you even know if your firewall is up to date? Have you deployed PCI security standards? What about a DMZ? Do you have one installed? When was the last time you audited your server? Your business has a number of ways to increase its revenue by accepting different forms of payment, but you can only accept them if you take measures to keep your customers’ data safe. By outsourcing the IT department, you can have peace of mind in knowing their credit card numbers and other types of sensitive information are being protected with today’s latest security and compliance methods.

What Are the Drawbacks of Outsourcing the IT Department?

Outsourcing the IT department may make some of your in-house IT staff feel insecure. You need to address this insecurity by explaining how outsourcing some of the IT tasks is meant to lessen their workload, thus providing them with more time to focus on core IT objectives. You can also explain how outsourcing gives them a chance to expand their IT knowledge by leaning on a managed IT services provider. They will learn various ways to tackle IT tasks that they may have not known of before.

How Do I Choose an Outsourced IT Partner?

As mentioned before, it’s pertinent to choose an IT partner that is willing to perform an assessment on your IT infrastructure. The managed services provider should listen carefully to your ideas and concerns and have a long-established history as a successful service provider. Look for a partner that is a leader among the managed IT services industry, and never base your choice on price alone. Ultimately, it’s best to outsource your IT department to the oldest, most experienced IT provider in NE Wyoming, K² Technologies.

What Else can I Outsource in My Business?

In addition to your IT department, there are other areas of your business that you can outsource, including your accounting functions, payroll, and other HR tasks. By outsourcing your HR department along with IT security and IT help desk, you can build a strong internal infrastructure across your entire business.