Avoid the High Cost of Business Downtime, Partner with an IT Consultant

Think your Small to Mid-Sized company Can’t Afford an IT Consultant? Think Again.

I know the face you’re making after reading this headline, it’s the same one I make when my teenager says she already studied for her test tomorrow and has plenty of time for Netflix – sure I believe you. I’m here to change your mind. An IT Consultant in a managed service environment can deliver expert-level experience and stability for your IT infrastructure at a fixed monthly cost. This means you can spend more time watching Netflix and less stressing about the next IT virus that could bring your business to its knees.

Let’s talk about those days when the latest Microsoft patch or hacker virus wreaks havoc with your network and business-critical applications or even worse the ability to process orders and payments via the website. Your employees are looking at you to fix it and you watch as dollar bills just float out the window disappearing into thin air. I’ll go out on a limb and say there are literally zero companies in existence that don’t in some way rely on technology to be successful; it’s a necessary evil no matter what you make, sell, or provide. Ensuring a stable and scalable IT infrastructure should be one of the highest priorities for your business. Why? Not to be dramatic here, but the cost of a significant downtime episode can take weeks or months to recover from. This case study conducted by CIO Magazine of Delta and Southwest Airlines shows how failover failure cost them millions per hour. If you happen to be in the world requiring compliance with PCI or HIPAA regulations you’ll spend the next few months explaining your failure and what’s been done to fix it instead of growing the business. That will be fun.

How can you calculate the cost of downtime to your bottom line? Financial impact due to system outages is segmented into four major areas: Employee Productivity, Lost Sales, System Restoration, and Lost Customers. For a company with 25 employees and annual sales of one million, the estimated cost of a significant business interruption is estimated at $33,000 per day or $4,200 per hour. That ain’t chump change, and depending on the industry, it could be the cost of a full-time employee for the entire year! Many organizations feel they can’t afford the expense to implement a technical team to ensure thorough and professional network architecture, data security, and recovery solutions. Totally understandable it sure sounds like a hefty price tag, but stay with me here, there are IT consultant solutions which provide the stability you need at a fixed monthly cost. Stop giving me that look again.

Making the Most of an IT Consultant in a Managed Services Environment

Briefly, a managed services environment is the equivalent of outsourcing your technology needs to an organization of IT consultants with more expertise, resources, and industry connections than you could ever hire on your own. Contracts are customizable based on business needs, but generally include 24/7 help desk support, remote network monitoring, system architecture evaluation and improvement recommendations, data security audit and maintenance, disaster avoidance, emergency recovery, and an experienced partner to advise on meeting technical compliance standards, if applicable for your business. Basic services are typically priced on a monthly flat rate with the option to add extra services or support as your business grows. Let’s explore what you can expect and why an IT consultant is generally far superior to in-house IT staff for any small to mid-sized business.

Wide-Ranging Staff Experience

Most MSPs employ a team built with a diverse skill set designed to meet the needs of various clients. This range of expertise simply wouldn’t be possible for most businesses to hire. They can offer expertise in servers, desktop support, core applications, security, data management, and depending on the provider, specialized PCI or HIPAA compliance requirements. Aside from vast knowledge they’ve most likely put their experience in action many hundreds of times for a wide range of business types. They know what works and can advise on best practices for your business.

Tools and Equipment

Having the right tools to manage your infrastructure can be pricey. Outsourcing services to an IT consultant means you’re buying into their already established equipment lineup. Managed service providers invest heavily in the most current and time-tested tools so their team, who sometimes service multiple clients, are equipped to be as efficient as possible. You can expect they will have a wide range of system monitoring, anti-virus, data management, and user support tools. Your business will once again receive a significantly higher level of support than most companies could afford on their own.

Cost Efficiency and Savings

The general market value of a competent IT person responsible for all network infrastructure duties will average about $100,000 per year which is out of reach for most organizations. Typically they settle for staff with less experience and knowledge just to have a warm body on site. Big mistake. Consider that you pay this person to come to work every day whether you need them or not; with managed service IT consultants you only use them when necessary. As part of the service MSPs provide remote maintenance and monitoring as a base service conducted to prevent problem from occurring and reduce business interruption. Not only will you pay less, but you wont sleep worrying about the threat of downtime for your organization.

IT Insider Expertise and Vendor Relationships

Would you know the most recent crypto-virus out there or the latest Microsoft security patch released? A local MSP will because IT is all they do. Remember it’s their job to be on the cutting edge of technology not just for your company, but for all their clients. Even though your firm may be assigned only one dedicated technician, they have access to a diverse team to assist with complicated obstacles. It’s like getting a big team for the price of one player. Another huge bonus, doing business with a managed services means gaining access to their elite network of connections. Not only will they know the best tools, but who to buy them from, and how to get a good deal.

If you’ve haven’t considered investigating a managed services provider (MSP), get on it, there’s no better time to protect your company and bring yourself peace of mind.