Has your business outgrown its internal IT department? If so, managed or co-managed IT services might be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Your business has three options when it comes to IT management:
- Hiring an internal team to manage your IT
- Outsourcing your entire team
- Splitting IT responsibilities between an internal and external team
How do you know which option is best for your company? We’ll break down your options, so you can find the solution that best suits your IT needs.
What Are Managed IT Services?
Fully managed IT services are entirely managed by an outsourced IT service provider. This model takes the responsibilities of IT off your internal staff and is ideal for:
- Small and medium-sized businesses with little to no IT staff
- Large companies that have outgrown their current IT staff
- Organizations with little IT expertise that need more support
When a managed service provider (MSP) handles your IT management, you can focus more on daily operations because you have a more organized, knowledgeable IT staff.
Your MSP understands your IT department’s needs and goals, and their expertise helps you streamline:
Benefits of fully managed IT services include:
Cost Savings
Managed IT providers typically work off-site, saving you money on office space, hardware, desks, and equipment. They use all of their own equipment to complete your IT work, so you don’t have to purchase new computers and servers.
Plus, having a dedicated IT team minimizes potential cyber threats, as your provider works 24/7 to protect your network. Data breaches are less likely to occur with professionals on your team, as your experts recognize unauthorized users and remove them from your network.
According to IBM, avoiding data breaches dramatically increases your cost savings, as the average cost of a data breach is $4.24 million.
Increased Productivity
With fully managed IT services, your staff stays on task. Professional IT experts solve IT issues and get your network up and running in record time. Plus, you can focus on the success of your business instead of managing your own IT department.
Higher Quality IT Services
Outsourced MSPs are highly trained individuals that provide you with high-quality services. They have experience managing IT for businesses of all sizes and use industry best practices.
MSPs stay on top of IT and cybersecurity trends and receive regular training to keep up with technology’s ever-changing nature.
What Is Hybrid IT?
Co-managed IT services combine your internal IT staff with an external team. The internal staff handles daily operations, while your outsourced staff manages big picture solutions or vice versa. Your hybrid IT team can:
- Implement a disaster recovery plan
- Procure hardware
- Enhance cybersecurity measures
- Install and maintain intrusion detection and prevention
Co-managed IT services are ideal for companies that want to expand their IT department or need help in specific IT areas.
The great thing about hybrid IT management is the customization. You can outsource as much or as little help as you need. If your cybersecurity efforts need improvement or you need help with daily operations, your MSP can fill in the gaps in your department to help you reach your IT goals.
Benefits of co-managed IT services include:
- Scalability: You can customize your hybrid IT model to fit the scale and needs of your business. If you need help with one or twenty aspects of IT, hybrid IT management can help.
- Increased efficiency: When MSPs fill in the gaps in your IT staff, the department is more efficient.
- Robust data protection: Your data is protected 24/7 with co-managed IT services, decreasing a data breach’s likelihood.
Faster system upgrades: Technology is constantly evolving, sometimes faster than your internal IT staff can handle. With a hybrid IT model, your outsourced staff can implement changes while your in-house staff continues working on daily operations.
Which IT Management Model Is Best for My Business?
If you need a team that manages your entire IT infrastructure, fully managed IT services are for you. If you’re looking for some extra hands on deck for a couple of months or long-term projects, you need co-managed IT services.
Virtual-Q, an IT industry leader, offers both managed and co-managed IT services. Our experts have over 13 years of experience providing IT management for businesses of all sizes. Contact us today to improve your IT department’s productivity.
