Technology advances are happening every single day, and those advances can make it hard to stay on top of what your business really needs. When do I need to upgrade my servers? Is my data protected? Where are my backups going? The questions are endless, and the time that it takes a business owner or another employee to stay on top of the ever-changing technical needs of an organization can be daunting.

Advances in Managed Services and IT Infrastructure

Small businesses often struggle with the best way to fulfill roles that are neither profit-generating nor related directly to business operations. Often these roles include finance/accounting, marketing and information technology (IT). In the earliest stages, the company owner or one of its first employees may undertake these tasks. With a mindset of “we all wear many hats” and do what it takes to help the fledgling business survive and grow, the impact of this cobbled-together approach is minimal: bills will get paid, invoices are sent out, computers are ordered and repairs undertaken… and through trial-and-error, these business essentials are maintained.

But then the company grows. Additional employees are hired, and larger projects are undertaken. More clients or customers mean everyone is busy keeping up, and these support roles may fall to the wayside.

The quantity of data that every company faces is growing exponentially each year. In fact, a modern interpretation of Moore’s Law states that computing efficiency doubles every 18 months. (Source: MIT Technology Review) 

Whether or not technology continues to advance at this break-neck pace, businesses are constantly struggling with how best to keep up with frequent updates to hardware and software, and how to nimbly and efficiently manage their data, devices and users.

There’s always going to be someone in a company who takes it upon himself or herself to get involved with managed IT services. When those duties become part of that person’s job description, say Director of IT, that’s just perfect. Forget we said a word and continue with your business.

But, what’s more likely to happen is that fixing the system, tweaking the network or chasing a bug, takes someone away from their regular duties, and it may not necessarily be their full-time position. We can hear the muttering now – “If I wanted to work in IT all day, I’d still be doing it.”

According to this handy infographic from CMA Technology Solutions, you’ve now become an “Involuntary IT Manager,” a position that comes with all the headaches and none of the glory of an actual IT manager.

Since just about everything in business has moved into the digital realm, organization and protection of company data is absolutely critical.  This means data about your customers, inventory, receivables, important files and the like. Similarly important is backing up this data, ensuring that copies of everything a company needs to remain in business will be available. This is where a managed services provider can be invaluable; the right managed services vendor is vital to a business and can deliver on many important technology fronts, none more important than protecting company data. Their system will become your company’s way of organizing, copying, and protecting all information. Having this backup safety net for everything your company could ever need is important, for the reasons listed below.

A highly functional IT department is one that is free of the daily struggle to maintain a vast network of individually supported systems, which suffer from bugs, inopportune immediate patch needs and unexpected (and often incomprehensive) down time. By shaking off the shackles of reactive problem solving, your IT department can be free to contribute their expertise and innovation to: