North Alabama has a history rich in industrial innovation and growth. Once primarily focused on agriculture, automotive, and aerospace, today the area reflects a true entrepreneurial spirit with industries ranging from healthcare to information technology and everything in between.

Yet, despite this impressive expansion of commerce and embrace of new digital technologies, there is one challenge all these businesses share: how to cover both basic and critical network functions within a secure environment.

Managed IT Services for North Alabama Businesses

What do managed IT services really mean for your business? And why should you care about them?

Managed IT services let you outsource basic tech management responsibility and functions so you can focus on running your business without IT disruptions, enjoy enterprise level IT support, and stay competitive, all while staying on budget. The goal is to improve operations by outsourcing specific functions or competencies to experts. Outsourcing IT services typically has cost-cutting advantages as well.

Managed IT services are an efficient and cost-effective way for your business to stay current on technology while accessing the skills and knowledge necessary to manage and forecast issues around tech costs, quality, efficiency, and risks. Offloading IT operations to an outside firm that monitors and maintains your tech systems also helps eliminate the stress that often comes from trying to keep up with ever-evolving digital innovations.

How Do Managed IT Services Benefit Your Business?

The freedom to focus on running and growing your business is invaluable. Imagine not having to worry about your business’ network because a trusted partner is doing it for you. Not only do you gain peace of mind from knowing your network is properly operating and protected, you also get expert guidance on networking strategy, including which emerging technologies make the most sense for your business.

Here are 7 specific reasons why managed IT services is worth considering.

1. Better cost control. Managed technology services convert fixed IT costs into variable ones, allowing you to budget accordingly. Put another way, you only pay for what you use when you need it. You also save on labor costs. Hiring, training, and retaining top level IT staff can be incredibly expensive. Outsourcing lets you focus your human resources where they’re needed most.
2. Increased efficiency and competitiveness. Trying to manage IT services in-house can result in much higher research, development, and implementation time, all of which increases costs that you must ultimately pass on to customers.
3. A partnership that spells success. While many companies increasingly rely on outside providers for IT services, the best managed technology services are those that complement rather than replace your internal IT. One of the greatest benefits to managed services is having a third party handle the technical aspects while your internal staff focuses on highly strategic growth initiatives and new products and services.
4. Scalability. As your company expands, it must anticipate unexpected stumbling blocks, one of the greatest being when technology requirements surpass available resources. A managed service provider supplies the support and services you need to handle everything from a surge in growth to emerging IT problems.
5. Focus on core business. As your business grows, employees will need to take on an ever-expanding range of IT responsibilities, many of which fall outside their original roles. As their responsibilities increase, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to focus on their main job. Managed services let employees better manage their time and improve work efficiency, allowing them to stay focused on innovations and revenue generating activities.
6. New technology implementation. While handling a new initiative in-house can involve weeks or months of preparation, an experienced managed IT services provider has the resources to quickly get new projects up and running.
7. Risk reduction. All business investments carry a certain level of risk. Financial conditions, competition, regulations, and technologies all change very quickly. With its specific industry knowledge, especially in security and compliance issues, a third-party provider mitigates much of this risk for you. For example, a managed services provider can ensure your firewall is up to date, your servers are regularly audited, security standards are maintained, and more.

Manage Technology Services Level the Playing Field

Many small and medium sized businesses lack the financial resources to match the in-house support services larger companies maintain. Outsourcing IT services help you compete by giving you access to the technology and expertise larger companies enjoy.

If you’re interested in learning more about how professionally managed IT services for your North Alabama business can promote sustainable and scalable growth, contact us today. Our experts can fill you in on the tools and services that can help you explore more efficient methods to run your business and ultimately increase profitability