There's a ton of content out there explaining why your business needs Managed IT Services. But, you'll have a harder time finding resources for why it might not be a good fit.
If you're not sure what Managed IT Services are, you hire an IT company for a flat monthly fee. In exchange, they take care of all the day-to-day maintenance, help you plan and strategize, and handle support issues as they arise with your company's technology. Sure, we can go on at length about how a Managed IT plan is an awesome choice. Where you and your tech provider engage in a value driven relationship where both your interests are totally aligned. With Managed IT, you get a full IT Department at your disposal, and in most cases, at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house.
At STG, fully Managed IT support is our focus. Although, there are certainly cases where it just may not be the best fit for your business. Here are 5 reasons why:
1. You don't have an IT budget or strategy.
If you haven't formalized an IT Budget, nor have a plan for what that budget is meant to provide your company, a Managed Service Provider (MSP) won't magically fix that.
Companies spend roughly 3-7% of revenue on IT. If that's not feasible, maybe an outsourced IT solution might not work for you.
2. Your company isn't growing, and has no plans to.
Hey not everyone wants to be Amazon, and that's ok. You've grown your business to the point where you make a comfortable living and don't want to get any bigger. You feel like you've got the basics covered and that's good enough for you. Spending recurring money on IT just doesn't feel like it's a necessary expense as these matters can be dealt with only when it's absolutely necessary.
Look, I don't feel like this is ever the case for any sort of thriving business. But, if that's the way you choose to run your business, I probably won't be able to convince you otherwise. More likely than not, some major IT catastrophe will.
3. You require an immediate response to your tech needs that only an on-site technician can provide.
Maybe you work in a high stakes industry like Finance. Or you're a real VIP and your time is far too valuable to deal with any downtime. Even a minute of downtime can be quite costly, so, you need an IT expert on hand, in-house, and ready to do whatever's necessary, whenever necessary, to keep your technology up and running.
If you're reading this and nodding your head, you should consider co-managed IT with an MSP as your partner. In a high-stress situation requiring nearly 100% uptime, that primary resource will need a bit of backup and someone to handle a lot of the day-to-day maintenance. Not to mention, pick up the slack when the primary resource actually wants to sleep, takes a vacation, or ultimately, burns out and moves on.
4. Extended downtime or data loss wouldn't be that costly to you.
Not every business is based on technology. Think of tailors, bakers, landscapers, and so on that have been running their businesses mostly tech-free for the majority of our existence. They may use a computer here or there for certain functions, but if they needed to take it in to a repair shop for a couple of days, it wouldn't be a major impediment to running their businesses.
As for data loss, many industries like the ones above have backup paper records. Although at minimum, they should establish a working relationship with a nearby tech repair shop for when they really need some IT assistance.
5. You're tech savvy and can handle IT on your own.
You're a go-getter type of entrepreneur and you've got this covered. You know your business inside and out. Getting computers and all the related IT tasks around them for your staff is no big thing for you. You've got this!
As long as you know what you're doing, have at it. But as a tech-savvy entrepreneur myself, I know my time is better spent doing the things that are specifically set out to grow my business. Creating email accounts for my staff doesn't fall into that category, which takes us into a bonus reason #6...
*Bonus* 6. You're not quite ready to pull the trigger on hiring an MSP (yet).
I get it, letting go is hard. You like having all these little things under your thumb. After all, if you want a job done right, you've gotta do it yourself. Growing a business is hard and good help is even harder to find, but you know you've got to do it eventually if you want to scale up and get to the next level.
While you wait to make the move, I encourage you to explore our website and read up on the types of things an MSP can do for your business.
We've got plenty of informative content, blog posts, case studies, and ebooks that can help guide you through the process. When the time is right, click the link below to book a quick call with me. I'll be happy to show you how working with an MSP can be the right move to make your company more efficient and profitable.
Click here to schedule a free 15-minute meeting with Stan Kats, Founder and Chief Technologist.
STG IT Consulting Group proudly serves Greater Los Angeles and surrounding areas for all of your IT needs.
We look forward to meeting with you!
On that note, check out these articles to learn how Managed IT can benefit your business: