Published on 15 August 2022
Modern companies need technology to function. Regardless of the size of your company, you will predominantly always need technology to be successful. Technology is one of the largest investments companies make, and for it to be maintained and grow you will need an IT Support Provider.
An IT Support Provider is an external source that is there for any IT/ technology related issues that need to be amended. If your technology fails, this can be detrimental to your company. Technology failures can result in unwanted downtime, it could take hours or days for your company to get back up and running. This could result in loss of revenue, frustrated customers, and loss of returning customers. IT support is all about preventing anything like this from happening; if it does, they are quick to respond and keep unwanted downtime to a minimum. IT Support is there to maintain upkeep, keep you protected, and ensure your company is compliant.
Most small to medium companies are cautious about hiring an IT support provider, mainly because they think it will be too costly. However, the truth is, that by investing in a professional IT support provider you could save money in the long run (more on this later).
The above is most prevalent when looking at the recent pandemic. If the pandemic has taught companies one thing, it is that how quickly you can adjust to changing environments can make or break your company. Some companies were able to move entire offices to remote working seamlessly, whilst others struggled and may not have managed to survive the downtime caused by not having an IT support provider to make the transition simple and efficient.
As a business owner, it is more than likely you or a tech-savvy colleague are your IT support. This may have worked in the beginning, but now the company’s IT is dominating your working day: taking you away from the work you want to do. Maybe you have already been missing deadlines or working late hours to make up for the time? That’s where an IT support provider can alleviate the added IT work allowing you to focus on your business. Read about how we removed the stress of IT from one of our happy clients: Hearns Coaches.
According to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022, 39% of companies identified an attack, with 31% of companies reporting cyber attacks at least once a week.
You may have some knowledge of cyber security and antivirus software, but would you know what to do if your network became infected with malware? You may be able to learn how to resolve a situation like this but, using a professional and experienced IT support service could reduce downtime significantly. Furthermore, an IT support provider will have the knowledge and ability to defend your company against large digital threats and carry out maintenance to ensure devices and networks are protected.
Cybercrime and threats are continuously rising, there is a reason large companies have dedicated cyber security teams.
Since the introduction of GDPR in 2018, the laws around data and its protection have tightened. The amount companies can now be charged if found negligible is 4% of their global turnover or 20m euros (just over £17m). This may not be something that small to mediums companies will be able to recover from.
Part of an IT support provider’s role will be to ensure your data is stored safely. They have the ability to limit who has access to the data, meaning that only the employees who require the data can access it rather than the entire company. Without the knowledge an IT support service can bring, you may be storing your data incorrectly and leaving it vulnerable to a breach.
As a small to medium company, you need to be smart with your expenditure. You don’t want to invest in something that is not going to give you a good ROI. When choosing to partner with an IT support provider see it as a long-term investment in your company. Using an IT support provider will improve your IT infrastructure not just now, but in the future and ensure the smooth running of your technology, essentially, you’re future-proofing your company.
As prepared as any IT support provider can be, IT security breaches can happen. More often than not, these are down to human errors, most cyber breaches are the result of successful phishing attacks. During these events you need to have the ability to react fast, this is where having a dedicated IT support provider will allow you to get back up and running as quickly as possible. In addition, they should be carrying out regular backups of your data, so if you are facing more extended downtime, your company will be able to continue running using your backed-up data (this will depend on how frequently you back your data up).
IT Support providers are trained and have expertise in their field. Companies need to be able to react to the ever-changing landscape of technology and software. IT support providers should be able to provide you with expert advice on which pieces could be beneficial to your company. In addition, they will be able to carry out training on new or old systems to better improve efficiency among your workforce.
An IT Support Provider can offer a company many advantages, and whilst initially, it may seem like a costly investment, you will see great operational efficiencies. As a result, you will be able to keep up with increasing demands, make intelligent decisions on your technology investments, and keep your data safe and secure. If you want to learn the two most important questions to ask when choosing an IT Support Provider, watch our video here.
If you would like to learn more about how Bluebell IT Solutions can improve your IT infrastructure book a meeting with us below.
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