How large is your company? If you’re a small business with only a few employees, it’s exceedingly difficult to have a dedicated IT department. Also, given the complexity with all the different aspects of technology these days, it’s challenging for one person to even get close to becoming a single solution to all the company’s technology woes. Therefore, even small companies need a team of IT professionals to manage all the areas required.

In this article, we look at whether smaller companies should opt for a managed IT solution over trying to do everything in-house.

Patchwork IT Management is Risky

When choosing to handle some aspects in-house while outsourcing small parts of the IT requirements externally, this creates a patchwork model. Many IT management responsibilities overlap making it difficult to know what’s separate enough to outsource and not cause conflict or confusion between the teams.

Communication is going to become increasingly difficult when using a collection of small operators, each handling part of the IT requirements. This can quickly get out of hand.

Avoiding a Crisis vs Managing One

A single managed IT service provider removes the technology headache from the company. The costs are clear while the complexity is dramatically reduced.

A company like HERO Managed Services allows companies to focus on their core business and leave the technology requirements to their team of people. When a specialist has these responsibilities, it removes confusing communication mistakes, and one hand not knowing what the other is doing. The added clarity permits management to move forward with confidence.

Protection from Cyber Attacks

A significant risk for smaller businesses, cyber-attacks have become far more common. These attacks often focus on SMEs that have inadequate cybersecurity compared to major conglomerates and operate without dedicated teams in place to respond to phishing or ransomware attacks.

The security realm is complicated and increasingly requires a special team just for this area alone. It’s moving so quickly now with increasing sophistication that it’s genuinely difficult for an in-house team to keep up with developments and protect against them.

Accessible IT Support

While an in-house team may work a few early mornings and late nights, they seldom are set up to operate around the clock.

However, IT managed services companies are usually substantial enough to employ teams that ensure full or greater coverage. This way, should a server suddenly go down after hours, it can be reviewed and resolved sooner than it would be with an in-house team. This is especially so if it’s an issue that’s fixable through a remote link.

Peace of Mind

The stress is real for a small business owner. There are already too many different things to juggle that it can quickly become overwhelming. From a personal standpoint, accepting the potential limitations of what an overly small IT team can handle and using an outside provider offers peace of mind. It’s one less thing to worry about.

While a small business owner typically wants to hold the reins tightly, sooner or later they acknowledge that asking for help is often a smarter strategy. Don’t leave it until a major IT problem occurs before doing so.