All businesses, regardless of their size, require high-quality, fast IT support to ensure they can work effectively and minimise downtime. In recent years, businesses have significantly increased their investment in technology which has resulted in added complexity and the growing importance of effective IT support.

Businesses with an in-house IT department often spend the majority of their time dealing with support requests, which can delay larger IT projects. These delays can cause businesses to lose revenue, as well as create a worse employee or customer experience. For businesses that do not have an in-house IT department, a lack of high-quality IT support can be devastating, as IT issues can result in significant downtime and loss of custom.

However, this is just scratching the surface of the growing importance of IT support in 2022. In this article, we will cover some of the top benefits of outsourcing IT support and what makes a good IT support provider.

Keeping IT Systems Working 24/7

Businesses with an in-house IT department can ensure their IT systems are up and running during the work hours of the team. However, this likely only covers 8 hours of the day, 5 days a week.

In today’s world of 24/7 connectivity and reliance on cloud services, a system failure or issue outside of work hours can have a massive impact on your business. This could be anything from your website going down, or an employee accidentally deleting an important file just as the IT department logs off for the day.

Many IT support providers offer 24/7 support, with a system in place for employees to submit support tickets for the provider to fix remotely. Most providers also use comprehensive monitoring software that checks over all your business’s IT infrastructure to find and fix issues before employees even notice something is wrong.

This 24/7 support not only reduces the workload for an internal IT department but also ensures your business is up and running at all times of the day, with no loss of productivity or revenue.

Strengthen Security Posture

Over the past 12 months, 39% of UK businesses have identified some form of cyberattack against their business. If these attacks are successful, they can be devastating for an SMB. To make matters worse, the cyberthreat landscape is becoming more complex with more attack surfaces than ever before. Especially as the greatest threat to businesses in 2022 is ransomware, which can lead to long periods of downtime and a costly bill to either restore the data or pay the ransom.

In order to safeguard against security threats, businesses need to implement a wide variety of security controls. This includes setting up IT systems and accounts with security in mind, as well as making use of additional cybersecurity solutions to provide comprehensive protection.

Working with an IT support provider gives you access to their expertise in cybersecurity. Typically, they will be able to implement a comprehensive security solution that protects data, endpoints, email, networks and more. Additionally, they will be able to monitor for any suspicious activities and respond to cyber threats.

Strengthening your security posture will not only decrease the chance of your business falling victim to a cyberattack that may result in loss of time and money, but it also ensures your customer’s data is in safe hands.

Enable Digital Transformation

An exciting element of technology is that it is always evolving, as every year there are new IT solutions that can transform the way your business functions. However, without additional support from a trusted advisor, SMBs can easily go down a rabbit hole of looking to implement novel IT solutions that aren’t suited to their requirements.

Working with a Managed Service Provider helps businesses with analysing their business challenges, selecting the right IT solution to solve them, and then finally implementing the solution and providing ongoing support. A digital transformation project like this can massively increase your business’s productivity, and revenue whilst improving the employee experience.

Also, for businesses that already have an in-house IT department, outsourcing IT support can free up their time, allowing them to focus on these larger high-value projects.

Reduce IT Spend

Whilst it may seem counterintuitive that spending money on IT support will reduce overall IT spending, this is especially true for businesses that have in-house IT expertise. IT management and support can make up as much as 70% of a business’s IT budget. This means that there is little IT budget left for larger projects that can have a tangible benefit within a business. Outsourcing these requirements free’s up the internal department’s time, which in turn creates more value and a stronger ROI on your IT budget.

For SMBs that do not have an in-house IT department, it is typically significantly cheaper to outsource these requirements, rather than hiring an employee to manage IT systems and support. If a business does hire an employee to manage their IT, it is unlikely they will have expertise covering all areas necessary.

Access to a Variety of Expertise

To expand on the previous point, as IT has become more complex, it is no longer possible to have a single employee that can manage all IT systems and support. Working with an IT support provider gives you access to a wide variety of knowledge, experience and expertise.

This includes specialisms in areas such as system administration, cybersecurity, cloud computing, database administration and more. As IT only grows more complex, relying on third-party support ensures that your business has access to all the expertise they need, all for a simple monthly cost.

What Makes a Good IT Support Provider?

IT support is more important now than ever before, and choosing the right IT support provider is essential for the ongoing growth of your business. When looking for an IT support provider it is important to find a provider that understands your business needs, objectives and challenges.

We can offer high-quality IT support tailored to your organisation, and deliver value that helps you achieve your goals, without compromising on security. To find out more about how we can help you with IT support, contact us today.