Benefits of a Managed IT Service Provider

IT Support Los Angeles

Have you ever had a printer that you’d swear could sense when you had a major presentation coming up? How much time have you spent arguing with a computer that just wouldn’t do what you needed it to? Have you ever gotten an error message and had no idea what it meant or how to deal with it? All of these problems arise in the modern workplace every day, and your company needs a good IT department to solve them. But why should you pay to maintain an in-house IT team when you could outsource that to the pros? Read on to learn more about the IT support Los Angeles has to offer and what benefits it can bring your company.

Single Point of Contact

One of the biggest benefits of working with managed IT services in Los Angeles is that you gain a single point of contact. When you’re working with an in-house IT team, you may have to talk to different people for every different issue. You may have different technicians who specialize in different areas, or you may simply have to deal with whoever’s available that day.

Managed IT service providers designate a single account manager who’s in charge of handling all communications with your business. Any time an issue or question arises, you can go to them for answers. This simplifies your issue resolution process and helps to build an ongoing working relationship.

Dedicated Security Team

Cybersecurity is an incredibly important issue for modern business owners. Nearly everything you do goes through a computer system, whether that be detailed company financial transactions or communications about product development. A breach in security could be devastating for your company.

While an in-house IT team might have one or two team members who focus on security, a managed IT service provider will have a dedicated security team. They’ll be trained in dealing with the latest threats, as well as cutting-edge security protocols. They can prevent breaches from happening and work with your team to create a disaster response plan in case those safety measures fail.

Improved Vendor Management

In order to maintain the functionality and security you need from your computer systems, you may have to work with a variety of different vendors. They may provide software, hosting services, security assistance, and so on. But handling all these different vendors yourself can get difficult and confusing, not to mention expensive.

When you work with IT consulting in Los Angeles, all that headache goes out the window. For one thing, your IT service provider can let you know about vendors who may provide more than one of the services you need. But they can also help to work with those vendors and even get discounts, saving you time, money, and hassle.

Lower Infrastructure Costs

When you run your own IT department, you have to supply them with all the equipment, software, and training they need. Although this is just one small part of your business, you may have to pay for everything from updated computers to cybersecurity training seminars. As your company grows, the expenses of your IT department will grow, too.

But managed IT services already have all the infrastructure that they need to keep your computer systems up and running in place. You won’t have to carry those costs by yourself because they’ll use that same infrastructure to support all their clients. Although you’ll pay more for the service itself, you’ll still save money on infrastructure costs.

Small Initial Investment

One of the problems with those huge infrastructure costs we discussed is that it drives up your initial investment in your business. Whether you’re trying to use your own savings to launch your company or you’re seeking a loan, those extra expenses can hurt you. Keeping your initial costs down can improve your chances of finding success with your business launch.

When you sign up with IT support in LA, you don’t have to pay all those up-front costs. In fact, your initial investment will be only the monthly fee you’ll pay to maintain that service. While this is an added monthly expense, it gives you more room to spend your initial investment budget on other areas.

Predictable Monthly Costs

On the subject of monthly costs, maintaining a steady flow of incoming and outgoing cash is one of the secrets to a good business. Even if you have a solid, steady month, all that profit won’t do you any good if your expenses fluctuate wildly. If you have an IT crisis with your in-house team, there’s no telling how much money you might have to spend to resolve it.

When you work with a managed IT service, your expenses will stay the same month to month. You’ll have your normal fee and any additional costs for extra vendor services. You won’t have to pay for hardware upgrades, disaster recovery expenses, or any other such abnormal expenses.

Scalability

As your business grows, you need an IT support team that can keep up with your needs. Trying to scale up an in-house team can get expensive – you’ll have additional payroll, office space requirements, infrastructure, and so on. You’ll be able to take advantage of the economy of scale to a degree, but not as much as you would with a managed IT provider.

Because a managed IT provider already has all their infrastructure in place, scaling up your IT support is a matter of a simple phone call. They can dedicate as many team members as you need, and your monthly costs will go up relatively little as you grow your support. And, if you ever have to scale your support back for whatever reason, you have the freedom to do that with little to no hassle, too.

Expert-Level Support

If you hire an in-house IT team, of course you would aim to hire the top experts you could find. But your hiring options may be limited by salary, location, industry, and other such factors. You may wind up with a team that’s adequate, but you’re not likely to get the best IT team working in the field today.

Managed IT providers specialize in recruiting the most talented people working in the IT industry today. They provide them all the training those employees need to stay up-to-date on IT practices. You get all the benefits of a world-class IT department without having to recruit and pay them yourself.

Cutting-Edge Technology

In addition to top-notch IT employees, you also want to make sure you have all the latest technology. The technological world is evolving at the speed of light, and having out-of-date systems could leave you trailing your competitors. Hackers are also always coming up with new ways to break into your system, so being behind the curve could leave your company vulnerable.

While you don’t have time or money to keep up with all the latest technology trends, your managed IT service provider does. They can invest the time and money to stay on the cutting edge of the industry, and you get to reap the benefits. Your team could move faster and be safer without it costing you an extra dime.

Rapid Issue Resolution

When problems do arise with your computer systems, every second they’re down costs you money. You may be delayed meeting customer needs, and your team can’t be productive when your systems aren’t working. You need solutions, and you need them fast, but does your in-house team have the resources to address these problems quickly?

A managed IT service team spends all day every day doing just that – providing solutions to their clients as fast as possible. They may already know the solution to your problem, and if they don’t, they have all the resources they need to find it. You can expect to get your team back up and running in a matter of hours, not days, in all but the most extreme cases.

Solid Compliance

Depending on what sort of business you run, there may be several technological regulations you have to comply with. You may be required to maintain certain documentation of your activities, or you might have to keep up with certain security protocols. Your files might have to be structured a certain way, and you might have to have specific data under password protection.

Trying to maintain compliance with all these regulations yourself can be a headache, and things might fall by the wayside. But when you work with a managed IT service provider, they can help you maintain solid compliance with any applicable regulations. They may be able to set up automated systems that meet regulatory requirements, and they can even dedicate a team member to keeping you in line with the rules you have to follow.

Business Productivity

On the subject of keeping your team productive, you may be surprised to learn that having a managed IT service can improve your overall productivity. When you try to handle IT issues yourself, it takes time away from your primary business focus. Your team members have to work with your IT department to figure out what’s going wrong, and in the meantime, they can’t focus on their jobs.

But because managed IT services have the extra expertise and resources they need, they can get your team members back to work faster. They may be able to resolve long-standing headaches that leave your employees frustrated and unable to work as efficiently. And because they have more knowledge of the programs that are available on the market, they may be able to guide you to more efficient systems that increase your company output.

IT Productivity

While having a managed IT service can be a huge help, it may not eliminate your need for an in-house IT department entirely. You might need a team on the ground to help you build custom solutions or set up new employee workstations. But if you do still maintain an in-house IT team, working with a managed IT provider can make them much more productive.

Your IT department will be able to focus only on their core relevant tasks when they’re not trying to handle the entirety of your IT needs anymore. This will allow them to come up with more innovative solutions and designs for your needs. Meanwhile, the managed IT service can handle the day-to-day problems that arise in your company.

Greater Focus on Core Business

One of the biggest benefits you gain when you work with a managed IT service is peace of mind. You don’t have to spend your time managing an IT department, putting out fires, or staying up to date on the latest technological advances. You can relax knowing your company’s IT needs are in good hands.

This frees up your time and energy to turn your attention back to your most important task: running your business. You can focus on interfacing with customers, planning marketing campaigns, and reviewing product developments. With more time to focus on your core business, you can take your company to all new heights of success.

Find the Best IT Support Los Angeles Has to Offer

While IT departments play a critical role in keeping your business up and running, they can also be expensive and difficult to maintain in-house. Working with a managed IT Support in Los Angeles can help you get the support you need for much less money. Your team will be more productive, your system will be more up-to-date, and you’ll be able to focus on running the business you’ve always wanted to.

If you’d like to find the best IT support Los Angeles has to offer, check out the rest of our site at Be Structured Technology Group. We can show you how great IT support in Los Angeles can be with responsive IT service, consulting, and managed IT services. Schedule a consultation with us today and discover the joy of working with an award-winning Los Angeles IT support firm.

About Chad Lauterbach

CEO at Be Structured Technology Group, Inc. a Los Angeles based provider of Managed IT Services for small business. I desire to help small businesses better utilize technology by assisting in high level planning to make sure that new systems will benefit them both operationally and financially. I am careful to implement and support systems using industry best practices.