XFER Blog

Technology management is a pain point for businesses, particularly smaller ones that might not have the vast amount of resources as larger organizations or enterprises. That being said, small businesses have a secret weapon that allows them to compete with larger businesses, and it comes in the form of managed IT services. What is a managed service provider, and how does working with one dramatically change the dynamic of your business’ operations?

Technology is great for improving certain parts of your business, but only if it is implemented correctly. The way you manage your technology will determine whether you are investing wisely or just throwing away money on solutions that simply don’t work. How can you make sure that your business isn’t held back by the way it manages its technology? It all starts by taking a look at what you currently do versus what successful companies are doing.

Managed service is a relatively new concept, but that doesn’t mean that the industry hasn’t grown rapidly. You can now get a managed service contract for your household appliances and one for your automobile. The truth is that not having access to a large cache of capital needed to make proactive investment used to be the bane of the small business. The service model has changed that completely. It has certainly revolutionized the IT deployment and support models. In fact, from hardware support to cloud computing, there are service options for most IT products. This month, we will take a long look at the Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), and the circumstances that need to happen to gain value from one.

It’s not uncommon to hear about small businesses having difficulty with managing and maintaining IT solutions. Even the most basic topics regarding business technology can be troublesome for businesses with limited budgets and resources. It makes sense that you would want to remove this responsibility from whoever is doing it, but how can you do so without destroying your bottom line?

If your business isn’t already taking advantage of the cloud in some way, you’re in the minority. Most businesses use it for something or another, depending on the industry and service rendered. Yet, there are all kinds of different cloud-based infrastructures that your organization can take advantage of, which might make the decision somewhat challenging to make. What’s the best type of cloud solution for your business?

Technology management is one of the major issues that challenge small businesses. Do you know the various strengths and weaknesses of having an in-house IT department versus an outsourced IT provider? As a managed service provider ourselves, we’re in a unique position to help your business make an educated decision about the future of its IT management.

Bring Your Own Device policies have helped many companies save money on technology by allowing employees to use their own devices, rather than taking on the cost of providing devices. However, as much as a BYOD approach can help a business financially, there are some potential drawbacks to adopting one that you should be prepared to deal with.

Many small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), find that they need to have the right technology before they can grow. In fact, studies have shown that businesses that cap out at 250 employees and primarily have plans to grow in 2018 are focusing their strategies on using IT solutions and applications to achieve growth.

Outsourced IT is still a relatively new concept, but outsourced services in general have been around for quite some time. Business owners and even individual users have been taking advantage of outsourced services for quite some time, and the fact that they can take advantage of managed IT services via outsourcing companies makes managing their technology much easier.

Do you fall into the broad term of “professional services?” If so, you might be interested in hearing how managed IT can help you improve operations and take advantage of other various benefits that they provide for organizations like yours. Let’s take a look at some of the many solutions that MSPs can offer for your business. You’ll be surprised by how much more work you can get done during the workday!

Time is one of the few resources in business that cannot be reclaimed. It should be the goal of every business executive to spend most of their time making money. Unfortunately, when you experience trouble with your technology or network, this becomes difficult at best to accomplish. Outsourced IT is a great method that any business can implement in order to create more free time to focus on business operations and money-making initiatives.

Technology is necessary for so many businesses, but some don’t know how best to approach managing it. This is particularly difficult for businesses that have limited budgets and workforces, which leads organizations to simply go without the support in favor of saving some cash. Of course, when something goes wrong, it’s more noticeable and could cause major troubles in the future. This break-fix IT is far from the best way to approach IT maintenance, but how can you make sure your budget doesn’t suffer from it?

There are right ways and wrong ways to do many things, and managing IT is no exception. Many businesses, especially small ones, are left susceptible to issues and vulnerabilities in their network. What’s worse, these are often networks that are supported by an IT “expert.”

What would you do if you got a surprise bill for tech support? Would you go around the office asking where it came from, or would you worry more about trying to figure out how you’re going to pay for it? Clearly someone in your office doesn’t know the proper way of asking for IT support if you are receiving mystery invoices. Regardless, it’s important that you understand that this is the norm for an organization working with a break-fix IT provider.

Your computer always starts acting up when you need it most; otherwise, you might not notice the minor technical hiccups that happen. To try and fix it, you tap the tower, but the problem only worsens. Now you’re seeing a blue screen, which is definitely not a good sign. If you’re unlucky, you may have lost data, and you might need to start the project over again.

Running a business is challenging, especially when it comes to juggling your assets and your IT budget. That’s not even mentioning managing your workforce, or delegating tasks out to those who are qualified to perform them. While you’re busy with all of these responsibilities, chances are that there will always be one task within your organization that’s better handled by a professional: your IT management.

If you’re like every other business in the world, you rely on a set of software solutions that you use to ensure that all work gets done properly in your office. In order to effectively use this software, though, users have to purchase a software license, an agreement with the developers pertaining to the use of the software. Without having the proper licensing, your business can no longer access mission-critical applications, which could result in downtime and other risks to your infrastructure.

Not too long ago, businesses would seek out technology professionals for help in resolving difficulties. Nowadays, the way companies go about IT maintenance has been turned on its head. Instead of reacting to major hardware failure, businesses are finding it more economical to proactively maintain their technology, preventing major issues from happening in the first place.