For the majority of businesses these days, IT and technology have become the backbone of their operations. From staying connected via email and messaging to keeping track of company accounts on spreadsheets and other docs, IT is at the front and centre of most modern companies.
Yet, conversely, very few SMEs (small- to medium-sized enterprises) can afford to invest in a dedicated IT department, making them particularly vulnerable to problems and malicious attacks.
In these instances, outsourcing your IT support to a third-party professional is essential to give you both peace of mind and protection. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider partnering with a tech support company if you haven’t already done so.
A network designed around you and your needs
IT support companies have vast experience of working with companies of all sizes, in all markets – in other words, companies just like yours. You can almost guarantee they will have built countless systems similar to your needs from the ground up in the past.
A professional IT company will first ascertain where you are – and where you want to be – in terms of your network requirements. They will then go and plan, design and purchase all the tools and tech you need and build a bespoke IT network tailored entirely to your needs.
Support teams save you money and maximise profit
Depending on the size of your company, employing a full-time, in-house IT team simply isn’t required and will just end up adding to your overheads. By outsourcing, you’ll save considerably on these needless operating costs – while still having the support you need, when you need it most.
Professional tech support companies such Leap IT, an expert IT company Birmingham will take the time to get to know your company and its particular networking requirements – meaning, should the worst happen, they’ll already have an in-depth knowledge of how your systems work. A well-designed network should largely run itself most of the time, but having dedicated support available is a blessing when inevitable gremlins and problems appear.
Data management and access
It’s quite likely your company will have a huge library of documentation and files, which simply aren’t needed by all employees. An IT company will sit with you and plan which staff members need to access to what data – offering a tiered access system to your workers.
For example, it’s unlikely anyone other than the managers and the accounts team would need to see the company profit and loss statements – so these can be locked away, with access being granted based on privilege levels that have been set up at the design stage of the network.
Maintaining and managing communications
No matter the size of the company, these days, all businesses rely heavily on IT for communications. Despite phone, messaging and video-conferencing apps becoming more popular, email remains the most common platform for corporate formal communication.
Should your network suddenly drop or get hacked, it’s very likely you will also lose your network-based communications, potentially resulting in huge downtime for you and your staff. Most people take the internet and email slightly for granted as an always-on technology – but just try operating for 24 hours without it and you’ll soon realise how much your company relies on both.
Unfortunately, networks can and do develop problems from time to time and security is one of the most common problems in all areas of IT. Having tech support on-call gives you the security of knowing you’ll be able to get your systems back up and running quickly, allowing your employees to get on with their jobs.
In summary, if you are the owner of a SME, keep the above points in mind when considering the types of tech support that can benefit you.
