Managed IT Services:
Technology represents a key component of small and medium-sized businesses’ (SMB) strategies to streamline processes, improve employee efficiency, and maintain competitiveness in an evolving business landscape. As the cost of technology continues to change, its use by small and medium businesses will only accelerate.
A certain amount of specialized knowledge and expertise are required to realize the full potential of technology to benefit small businesses. And in all but a select few, this specialized knowledge is not a given company’s core competency. More commonly, cost-conscious small businesses understaff their Information Technology (IT) resources and see its management as a “necessary evil”.
Many small firms take a reactive approach to IT support with high cost and low value. Only when e-mail is not being sent or received, access to the Internet slows, or workstations freeze, does the organization react – usually in many different ways:
- “Hey Margaret!” - One employee is designated the office computer guru...
- “I got a guy.” - There’s nobody in the office to deal with computer issues, so the company keeps “a guy” on speed dial – an independent contractor...
- The Yellow Pages. - If there’s a crisis and the “I got a guy” is busy...
- “Call IT and get them up here fast!” - The company retains an in-house IT resource, who is quickly overwhelmed with a backlog of user complaints. The list never gets shorter and the internal IT support staff is forever in “react” mode – responding to the most severe problem, seldom getting ahead.
Managed Services: A Breakthrough in IT Support:
CDSNet Soft Inc. (CSI) has developed several different managed services packages to address the most significant needs of SMBs.
• Proactive monitoring and maintenance
• Secure backups and disaster recovery
• Hosting: Reliable e-mail and Web site management• Monitoring Software
• Network Operations Center
• Help Desk
• On-Site Support
• Regular On-Site Business Meetings
The Benefits of Proactive IT:
The managed services philosophy holds that prevention is preferable to reaction; that a predictable monthly IT budget is preferable to occasional large IT expenses; and that the sign of a truly well-functioning IT system is when users don’t even notice it’s working.
The managed services model turns reactive IT on its head, offering specialized IT-related services and support that can be delivered according to a clearly described service level agreement (SLA) over a fixed period of time for a low and predictable cost.