It’s challenging to be a business owner these days. Depending on the nature of your business, you could be facing changing government regulations. You are responsible for business growth while still maintaining appropriate quality control. Perhaps you are working to build the right team of individuals who share your vision. And right at the top of the list, you must balance your evolving technological requirements against diverse IT solutions, cybersecurity needs and best practices.
IT has a knack for keeping decision makers up at night.
New tools for streamlining operations and increasing productivity are being released to market every week. While these new tools have the ability to be game changers as far as heightened production goes, they also bring with them a (sometimes steep) learning curve, fresh process requirements and new vulnerabilities and exposures.
Thankfully, business owners don’t need to moonlight as information security experts. Who has time for that? The Managed Service Provider (MSP) market is rising to the challenge of keeping businesses on top of their IT game, safely and securely. An MSP is a company that will manage the full scope of a client’s IT requirements. Below, we explore 6 of the IT solutions that an MSP can provide to give decision makers peace of mind (and sleep-filled nights).
Keeping the Cybercriminals at Bay
Cybersecurity is not a nice to have, it’s a must have. Cybercriminals are tech-savvy and relentless. They don’t care whether you have 5 employees or 50,000 employees – they target companies large and small. They’ll hit your employees with sophisticated phishing scams. They’ll use social engineering to crack passwords. They’ll install ransomware, followed by an extortion request.
These statistics paint a grim picture:
- The FBI has reported a 300% increase in cybersecurity complaints since COVID-19 hit
- 88% of organizations experienced phishing attempts in 2019
- The average ransomware payment in 2020 was $111,605 (a 33% increase from 2019)
- 20% of organizations experienced a security breach last year that was attributed to remote workers
Truly the stuff of nightmares. That’s where the expertise of an IT Managed Service Provider comes in. Your MSP’s arsenal will include tools ranging from intrusion-detection monitoring to real-time security alerts to spam filtering. They are up to speed on the latest cybercrime threats and the most effective ways to combat them, so you don’t have to be.
Disaster Recovery for When Disaster Hits
It’s been said again and again (and again). But it bears repeating. Data is king. Could your business survive a substantial data loss or breach? IBM reports that $3.86 million is the average cost of a data breach. And while cybercriminals are certainly to blame for a great deal of data-loss issues, human error shoulders the bulk of the blame, along with natural disasters.
The top MSP disaster recovery solution will utilize the most reliable backup and recovery solution on the market, along with standby server technology, ensuring that your data is impenetrable.
Experts Leverage Emerging Technologies and Boost Your Business
Technology is evolving at such breakneck speed that it’s impossible for a layman to keep up. Having a Managed Service Provider who understands emerging trends and technologies, and how they can be applied to the betterment of your business, can result in significant growth and cost savings.
Significant Savings with VoIP Solutions
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), a technology that allows users to place phone calls over the internet, has been quickly replacing traditional phone lines as a go-to mode of communication. Adoption of VoIP technology leads to substantial savings (to the tune of 90% for international class and 40% for local calls). This user-friendly, convenient and reliable system is another tool that your MSP partner can implement and support.
IT Consulting Services
New IT program implementations can be daunting, painful and fraught with risk. They can also result in massive productivity, cost savings and quality improvement gains when done right. From data integrity considerations to training tools to ensuring alignment to compliance regulations, an MSP can be your trusted IT consulting partner in implementation projects, from start (Which is the right solution for our business?) to finish (Phew, that was a big undertaking!).
Hardware and Software Procurement Done Right
Computers, printers, networking systems, equipment, software – it can be intimidating to know where to even begin on some of these purchasing decisions. Your MSP partner can take this off your plate and take the guesswork out of the procurement process. A really fantastic MSP partner will even be able to procure these items at a discounted rate, as a result of authorized partnerships with leading technology firms.
Minimizing Spend While Maximizing Security
These are a mere handful of the types of IT management and network security solutions that an MSP can provide. Having the right IT solutions and managed services partner will give your organization a significant competitive advantage by keeping you ahead of the curve technology-wise and by minimizing your IT spend while maximizing your IT security. AGJ Systems & Networks, the go-to IT service and support provider for the Gulf Coast region since 2002, and their team of certified IT experts provide a true co-managed approach that will help your business work smarter and perform better. With a diverse roster of clients ranging from municipalities to medical organizations to architecture firms, AGJ prides itself on being a valued extension of your organization. Schedule your free no-obligation assessment today.
