Although today’s technological advancements have made our lives a lot easier, they’ve simultaneously made them more complicated. For small-business owners, modern technology has also increased the cost of doing business.
If they want to have full control over what their employees can and cannot do, small-business owners have to provide mobile devices such as tablets, laptops and smart devices with all the bells and whistles that will allow for things like remote wiping in case a device gets lost or stolen. Add to that the cost of providing training for employees to minimize the risk of a device’s being lost and stolen, and you have quite a hefty chunk of money going everywhere but into the business’ coffers and an equally hefty of chunk of time being spent doing something besides actual work. Even executives in medium and large businesses struggle with the costs associated with having mobile workforces.
Enter the BYOD (bring your own device) trend. Adding security software and software to allow for remote wiping are still viable options, but executives have less control because the devices aren’t company owned. That’s where things really start to get complicated. So, how do small-business CFOs solve this puzzle? They could start by outsourcing some or all of their companies’ IT support services.
As more and more business leaders begin to understand cloud computing and appreciate how it can help their teams work more efficiently, doing business in the cloud will grow in popularity. That includes embracing virtualisation.
Transitioning to cloud computing and virtualisation requires the work of a skilled IT staff. Maintaining an IT staff with the right amount of training can eat away at a business’ bottom line, especially if the company experiences rapid growth. More data means more servers and more servers mean more staff to maintain them. For small businesses in particular, the decision to go with an outsourced IT services provider could make all the difference in the world.
First and foremost, CFOs have to be careful about who they entrust their companies’ networks to. Forget about the $25 monitoring services. Small-business CFOs need something more. They need managed IT services providers that offer monitoring, help desk support, regular hardware and software upgrades, consulting, etc. as part of their comprehensive service packages. Hiring an MSP allows a CFO to get a grip on spending and go from managing invoices from several service providers to managing just one invoice from one provider with a team of skilled and experienced IT professionals.
Finding the right MSP takes time, but once a good fit is made, outsourcing some or all of their companies’ IT support services could help small-business CFOs get a grip on their IT spending.
Take our MSP. We help with a wide range of managed IT support services and can provide you with all the services and consulting you require. Our services provide a fixed-cost for IT support so you can effectively budget your annual IT expenses.
