Money—saving it and making it—drives almost every business decision regardless of the size of your organization. Cutting back on IT makes room in your budget, but ultimately results in more IT issues and subpar performance. It’s the old cliché — you get what you pay for, and if you pay for mediocre service, you’re going to get mediocre results.
The challenge is finding the right balance of internal and external support. Full-scale in-house IT support can be expensive, but fully outsourced support isn’t always a viable solution either. If you already have a dedicated IT professional or team, you may be better suited for a co-managed model that closes your technology gaps without busting your budget or breaching your security needs.
The advantages of co-managed IT include:
1: Takes a Load Off — We know what you’re thinking, but no, you don’t have to fire your internal IT team if you decide to co-manage your IT services. In fact, bringing on an MSP will enhance your team’s value to your business. If you have an internal IT professional or team, their workload becomes increasingly complicated as your business grows and becomes more dynamic. Fixing daily hiccups, updating software, mitigating security threats and optimizing performance consumes time that’s better spent on strategic planning. Co-managing IT solutions enables you to make better use of your internal resources and free up your team’s time so they can focus their energy on researching and implementing new hardware and software that aligns with your business goals and growth.
2: Fills in the Gaps — When your business grows faster than your IT team, it may lead to a slew of technology issues when there’s a new hire or your company rolls out a new service. As you grow, routine tasks tend to shift to the back burner—but someone has to manage the everyday aspects of your infrastructure to minimize risk to your mission-critical systems. Perhaps growth isn’t the issue—maybe your IT staff doesn’t have the bandwidth or expertise to roll with the changes. Partnering with an MSP can help you with managing your IT environment or simply act as an advisor.
3: Keeps Your Business Moving — Whether it’s sick days or approved vacations, your IT expert or team is sure to miss some days during the year. Even when you have a full house, you may have everyone working on a major project and need backup support for routine maintenance and issue tracking. Partnering with the right MSP means your systems will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, giving your business the coverage it needs whenever you’re short-staffed or faced with an emergency.
If you want or need more control, already have in-house IT, or simply don’t need all the services of a full-blown MSP agreement, co-management is an alternative that can give you just the right amount of support you need without blowing your budget.