The global managed services market reached $267.3 billion in 2022 as more businesses began outsourcing their IT needs. In fact, the industry could grow by a CAGR of 13.6% between 2023 and 2030. Requesting managed services can minimize downtime and boost productivity.
Even so, many business owners don’t know how to choose between an IT support company and managed IT services company.
What’s the difference?
Read on to find out before choosing the best option for your business today.
Traditional IT Support Companies
Before discussing the difference between IT support and managed IT services, let’s look at each specific to serving businesses in Southern California.
What is traditional Los Angeles IT support?
Traditional IT support is also called “break-fix” support. The process is reactive in nature. When there’s a problem with your IT infrastructure, you normally call your IT support team to fix the problem.
Waiting for a problem to arise can cause unnecessary downtime, though. You’ll have to wait for your IT team to respond, diagnose the problem, and find a solution. In most cases, an IT support desk only offers services during standard business hours.
You can choose to outsource your IT support needs or have an IT team in-house.
Most small businesses don’t invest in an outsourced model. Instead, they keep a small in-house IT team for day-to-day support. In-house support teams are common in medium to larger businesses.
These businesses usually aren’t technical in nature and therefore don’t rely on an IT support team 24/7.
A traditional IT support team can help fix an array of problems. If your business is growing in complexity, however, you might notice limitations. As your company grows, you might need a larger IT support team in-house.
Traditional IT support is ideal for your business if you:
- Have applications that don’t need frequent upgrades
- Don’t require specialized IT skill sets
- Don’t need IT specialists to maintain training
Before choosing between traditional IT support and managed IT services, consider your company’s current needs. Outlining your needs and long-term goals will help you determine the level of support you need.
Los Angeles Managed IT Services
What are managed services, then?
While the term “IT support” is a narrow, focused term, “managed services” is broader.
Managed IT services are services provided by a third party. You can outsource your IT needs to ensure specialists are maintaining your infrastructure around the clock.
Remember, with traditional IT support, you’ll follow the break-fix model. With managed services, however, you’ll have access to help 24/7. You can choose coverage options based on your business needs to ensure help is only a phone call away.
Managed IT services offer a scalable model. You can determine which solutions and services suit your needs and budget.
With the break-fix model, you’ll need to wait for a specialist to arrive and fix the problem. With managed services, your support team will remain available in the background at all times. They can predict possible disruptions to take proactive actions before problems occur.
With managed services, you can streamline your company’s current operations. Avoiding problems before they occur can minimize downtime. You won’t have to worry about customers or employees getting frustrated due to IT issues.
Avoiding possible disruptions can boost employee morale, customer satisfaction, and productivity. Your ROI will rise, helping your business grow.
With managed services, you can leverage a pool of experts in different areas of IT. You can choose skill sets based on your company’s needs and goals. Meanwhile, you’ll never have to pay for unnecessary resources or services.
Choosing the Right Outsourced Tech Support for Your Business
Before choosing between IT support services and managed services, outline your needs and concerns. For example, about 60% of small businesses believe they won’t be targeted by a cyberattack. Unfortunately, about 34% of organizations reported malware in a single year.
Another 28% experienced ransomware attacks.
If you’re concerned about your business IT services and security, consider managed IT services. Remember, with managed IT services, you can take a proactive approach. You can protect your business before there’s an attack, saving you money in the process.
If your business requires around-the-clock IT services, consider managed services. An in-house team won’t remain available for 24/7 support. Your managed IT team, on the other hand, will.
They can proactively work to solve problems before they hurt your business, minimizing excess downtime and stress.
Your managed IT team can also make patches and upgrades as needed. Failing to make the necessary software or patch upgrades could leave your business vulnerable. The risk of potential breaches could hurt your data security and organization.
Managed services are more cost-effective, too. Remember, you’ll only pay for the services you need, when you need it.
You can work with a managed service provider in Los Angeles to determine which services suit your company’s needs. They’ll help by developing a customized plan based on your needs, goals, and budget.
You can even make adjustments to the plan as needed to ensure you’re not paying for unnecessary services.
To choose the best business model for your organization, consider consulting an IT specialist. They can help you review the pros and cons of each option. With help, you can protect your business, streamline operations, and ensure lasting growth.
Request Managed IT Services Today
Choosing between IT support and managed services shouldn’t feel stressful. Instead, consider consulting an IT company to determine which option suits your needs. With managed IT support services, you can streamline operations to minimize downtime.
Your company’s productivity and ROI will rise, allowing you to experience long-term growth and success.
Want to discuss your options with a member of our team? The Be Structured Technology Group has decades of experience helping local Southern Californian businesses stay on top of their tech support.
Contact us today to learn more.
