Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, IT Strategy (30-slide PowerPoint presentation). The key drivers of Information Technology (IT) or Management Information Systems (MIS) value are an organization's IT mindset and its ability to execute. Today’s best practices show that IT value can be maximized when enterprise IT investments are aligned with business goals and IT execution is [read more]
6 Pros and Cons of Hiring Managed IT Services
* * * *
If you want to achieve your business goals, add more value to your company, and boost productivity, you can never go wrong with hiring managed information technology (IT) services. More often than not, such services include installing hardware systems, cybersecurity, and maintaining and upgrading software.
Depending on your needs, you could choose Dallas IT services like https://www.buchanan.com/managed-service-providers/ that allow you to make your business grow and keep your customers happy and satisfied. However, before you decide to hire any company that offers managed IT services, make sure to weigh in the following pros and cons:
Pros of Hiring Managed IT Services
1. Sound IT Compliance
Companies offering managed IT services specialize in ensuring that your business IT systems comply with the mandated regulations. You can also be confident that your system will abide by the ever-changing intricacies and ordinances involved in IT. This can also dramatically reduce the legal risks to your brand while keeping your network secure.
2. Proactive Management
Most managed IT service providers monitor your business operations 24/7 for them to recognize issues immediately and to keep downtimes to a minimum. With proactive management, you can lessen the chance of operation delays that may ruin your reputation and cost you more over time. This will also help you ensure the quality of service and constant uptime.
3. Reduced Costs
Unlike hiring employees for your in-house IT team, managed IT services allow you to enjoy savings on payrolls. Also, you don’t need to rent an office with bigger space to accommodate your IT team. So, with managed IT services, it’s possible to reduce your overall business expenses while maximizing your IT infrastructure.4
4. Specialized and Dedicated Personnel
With managed IT services, you’ll get control of a team of professionals who are trained and dedicated in IT fields and continuously study or practice the latest industry trends. In addition, you can be sure that your company’s IT infrastructure is managed well using the most effective methods in the industry.
5. No Need to Worry about Personnel Failure
If your business has a limited budget, you might not have enough resources to invest in a dedicated IT team. For this reason, you might not be able to meet your IT needs effectively. By hiring managed IT services, you’ll have a team of IT specialists who are always available to work on your IT needs. It eliminates the possibilities of personnel failure, regardless of your budget.
6. Provide a Competitive Advantage
With today’s advanced technology, it’s critical for any business to incorporate up-to-date solutions and consider hiring managed IT services. This won’t only help you stay on top of the tech trends, but you’ll also be able to get more business opportunities in the long run. This way, you’ll have a competitive edge and be able to grow your business in no time.
Cons of Hiring Managed IT Services
1. Loss of a Dedicated IT Team
Your own IT team knows the priorities and nuances of your business. On the other hand, managed IT service providers will have to take time to know what your company and employees do so they can get on the same page. So, if you want to implement managed IT services, make sure to hire a company that’s interested in working with your current IT team. This way they’ll serve as an extension of your in-house team rather than a complete substitute for them.
2. Lack of On-Site Presence
When you decide to hire managed IT services, you’re opting to allow another company to handle your tech concerns remotely. It means that you’ll need to bear the brunt of fixing IT problems that happen on-site yourself.
3. Control and Security
Even if managed IT services can be a small business’ security savior, you have to remember that you’ll need to give access to your company’s sensitive information and data to your preferred provider. This can be a problem if the nature of your business puts a premium on control of information and data security.
4. Potential Limitations
Since managed IT services providers work on various accounts, it might not provide an extensive opinion of your IT infrastructure and certain business and industry requirements. To avoid this, choose managed IT services that include training in hosting businesses in your field. It guarantees your business and service providers get followed in knowing specific industry requirements, which can lead to a more reliable IT service.
5. Scope
Compared to an in-house IT team, you need to be careful when hiring managed IT services since not all companies provide the same solutions. It means if you’ve signed up for services that don’t provide solutions for some of your concerns, you might have to spend more and hire a different service provider.
6. Inability to Retain Knowledge
Since you let professionals deal with your IT issues, it may reduce your team’s ability to build its own process and retain knowledge. Developing inhouse solutions is a vital strategic resource when growing your business since it can be a critical aspect on company valuations. So, it’s important to work with providers that are transparent and will help your team to learn more about things related to IT.
Bottom Line
Now that you know the pros and cons of hiring managed IT services, it’s crucial to research and ask the right questions to your preferred service provider. If possible, stick with the one that offers a good working relationship, operate transparency and the maintain good communication with your company. If choose the right service provider for your needs and priorities, you can be sure that you’ll enjoy the benefits without worrying too much about the drawbacks of outsourcing your IT operations.
Do You Want to Implement Business Best Practices?
You can download in-depth presentations on MIS and 100s of management topics from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.
For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:
- Top 100 in Strategy & Transformation
- Top 100 in Digital Transformation
- Top 100 in Operational Excellence
- Top 100 in Organization & Change
- Top 100 Management Consulting Frameworks
These best practices are of the same as those leveraged by top-tier management consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Accenture. Improve the growth and efficiency of your organization by utilizing these best practice frameworks, templates, and tools. Most were developed by seasoned executives and consultants with over 20+ years of experience.
Readers of This Article Are Interested in These Resources
|
129-slide PowerPoint presentation
|
|
243-slide PowerPoint presentation
| |||
About Shane Avron
Shane Avron is a freelance writer, specializing in business, general management, enterprise software, and digital technologies. In addition to Flevy, Shane's articles have appeared in Huffington Post, Forbes Magazine, among other business journals.Top 10 Recommended Documents on MIS
» View more resources MIS here.
» View the Top 100 Best Practices on Flevy.