The use of computers and information technology has become increasingly widespread in the management of a business. Solutions have become sophisticated and place a greater demand on IT personnel's capabilities engaged by companies for the purpose. This has led some of them to outsource IT functions and other core business processes to keep up with the requirements of IT for their operations.
Larger companies have found it easier to fully manage their IT services by being able to absorb the cost of increased staffing and better-qualified staff. In contrast, smaller companies have preferred outsourcing all their IT work to companies who undertake such work. Co-managed IT support is a middle ground that can be ideal for all companies' sizes. It allows them to get over the inconsistencies of ad hoc IT support by continuing to have their own IT services in place to deal with typical day to day routine work.
In this co-managed IT services model, the IT department of a business works along with a third party. The experience and specialist knowledge that this third party has been made available to the company's IT service, as and when required. The workload and responsibilities are divided between them, depending on the available time and resources and the skill that each team of IT personnel has.
Opting for co-managed IT services becomes a sensible option when you find that your in-house IT team has to concentrate on strategic issues. This needs to neglect the day-to-day processes required for the daily operations of the business. The reverse can also be the case, and the IT team may be so busy with the daily routine requirements that they have no time to look at any other issues that need their strategic input. The rapid growth in business and operations can often lead to the IT team requiring to be rapidly augmented to deal with the increased needs that can then be filled in by the third-party IT company such as Ntiva. Usually, a well-functioning IT team may need extra support to deal with any increased workload that comes up, especially when management requires more generous support and information to help them make the right decisions.
There are many benefits when you chose the co-managed IT support option for dealing with your information technology needs. To start with, such a system will ensure that your IT functions are always looked after, irrespective of the load on it. There is no need to worry about your employees falling sick or taking their well-earned holidays, as the slack created by their absence can always be taken over by the third-party. As a result, IT functions that are so important to your daily operations will never be interrupted, and there will never be any downtime. The better productivity from having constant service from the IT department can always help the business.
Once you decide on this co-managed system of IT services, you will have properly negotiated with a third party, after ascertaining their credentials, capabilities, and experience, to agree to some fixed monthly expenses that they will have to be paid for any services that they render. This will always work out cheaper than hiring any additional IT staff and taking on the burden of their payroll and other expenses like office space and providing other amenities generally given to employees. As a result, costs will be consistent, while you will never have to worry about any fluctuating workloads that place stress on the IT department.
Most third-party IT companies will always keep up with the latest in technology and security needs. They will also know of the latest software and updates and any security threats that are currently affecting the internet and computers. They will ensure that all this knowledge is always available to you, their client so that your IT systems are still secure and well protected.
IT teams in businesses are limited to the business's needs and will rarely have the skills or experience that any changes in software, hardware, or strategies that are often needed. IT departments in businesses are service departments and rarely have the importance that operating departments will have. This leads to inadequate resources that the third-party appointee can easily augment to cover any existing gaps in the existing team. A co-managed IT makes for the perfect solution when your team is overworked or does not have the capacity to manage the business's IT support. IT workload frequently fluctuates, and you can always call for support from the vendor if your team is overwhelmed.
Co-managed IT support ensures that the IT team in a company will always have access to experienced and professional workers whenever they are needed. It then becomes more comfortable to have a small but efficient in-house team whose workload and productivity is constant. The cloud is being increasingly used by most companies for the storage and retrieval of data and reduces the costs of hardware significantly. A vendor appointed for providing co-managed IT support will have the expertise and experience to help you negotiate for the customized use of the cloud so that costs are optimal and security is always assured and sufficiently enhanced.
This method of IT working with third parties also makes it easier to get the needed technical support at any time of the day or night. While appointing such a vendor, you must ensure they have the required skill and expertise and fully understand the processes that your business uses in its day-to-day operations. They have to be easy to communicate with and must be a team that you can fully trust with your business and can keep things confidential.
Appoint a firm only after obtaining proper references and referrals and see that they can help you with cloud storage, security, and other network services that your own operations team will often require.
