If you’re a small business looking for managed IT services, you may be surprised at the many different choices you have. You don’t have to outsource all your IT operations to a company or nothing at all. Many managed TI services providers offer co-managed IT, where your full-time staff handle certain aspects of your IT needs, and the MSP delivers on different ones. Which way should your company go? There are many factors to consider with a major choice like this, and one shouldn’t assume it’s as simple as using co-managed IT if you already have an IT department or outsourcing entirely if you don’t have any thing yet. Each business has its own complex IT needs. Here are some complications to consider when you’re making a choice for your company.
Do You Have Major Projects Alongside Standard IT Needs?
One important factor is the sort of work your IT staff does if you have one. If your staff has long-term projects to work on, are they capable of getting them done in a timely manner while handling all maintenance for your IT infrastructure? Often, when you have a staff, it makes sense to have them focused full-time on projects that will advance your business while your co-managed IT relationship with a managed IT services provider takes care of more regular IT tasks and services. Even if you don’t have an existing staff, if you think outside-the-box IT projects would definitely be part of your IT needs, it might benefit to look at all your options for attaining those, from multiple different possible sources.
What Resources Do You Already Have?
Beyond staff, what resources can you provide for your existing IT needs? How much access do you have to the tools you need to maintain your company’s IT infrastructure and support? If you don’t have all the resources you need, a full-time contract with a managed IT services provider is probably a better solution for you. Managed service providers can give you access to a large amount of IT expertise and access to new services and tools that would be a struggle to implement on your own. Rather than struggle to build up your own resources, managed IT services can give you access to what you need immediately and save you time.
Are You Looking to Scale Quickly?
How fast your company is looking to grow is a factor in what type of service you should choose as well. If you don’t expect to scale extremely quickly, you may have time to build out your own IT resources over a longer period. However, if you are trying to scale fast and grow exponentially, outsourced managed IT services can make it quite a bit easier to do. Your future business plans should affect your decision as much as your current situation.
Whether you decide a co-managed IT solution or full-service manager IT is more appropriate for you, Preactive IT Solutions is always available to discuss your options when you reach out to us.
