We get it – budgets are tight. But skipping cyber essentials can open the door to far bigger costs. Here’s why a Managed Service approach makes more sense than doing nothing, even if you already have an internal IT team in place.
Table of Contents
Alleviating the Burden on Your Internal IT Team
Access to Enterprise-Grade Solutions
Alleviating the Burden on Your Internal IT Team
You’ve hired the most capable staff to manage your IT, but you notice delays in IT projects being delivered and/or frustrated users because IT issues aren’t resolved quicker. The result: project dates are overshot (if projects are even realised at all), IT staff overworked, and other colleagues inconvenienced and annoyed.
Additionally, cybersecurity may be neglected despite cybercriminals becoming smarter, posing an ever-increasing risk to your business if you don’t stay on top of cyber risks and technological advancements.
What Are Your Options?
Not doing anything about your situation is not practical, but neither is hiring more IT staff, as you’ll have to spend more money (and time) hiring, training and eventually paying them a monthly salary. We all know budgets are tight.
That’s where a managed IT services provider (or generally Managed Services Provider, MSP – like us) comes in. With a dedicated resource focused solely on your day-to-day operations, you automatically provide cost-effective security and compliance. An MSP proactively monitors your systems, detects threats and responds to them. The second a threat is detected, they have the ability to respond. And because that’s the type of work they do every day - for multiple businesses across different industries - you can rely on their specialised IT expertise, tapping into a vast pool of resources. This then frees up your own IT team to take care of your own IT projects.
Security At Its Core
In-house teams being overstretched and understaffed creates blind spots in patching, backups, and access controls.
But updating and patching to keep your systems safe is a 24/7 effort, and this is a significant part of the work of an MSP. New security standards are also automatically implemented. If we’re talking access controls, we’re making sure that principles like Zero Trust and Just-in-Time access are followed.
Especially for lean IT teams supporting 50 to 200 users across M365 and hybrid setups, managed cyber services are no longer a luxury but a safety net. In M365, there’s a vast amount of configuration settings that can leave your backdoor open despite so many security features at your disposal. An MSP would know that and optimise those. This is especially relevant in a time where cyber insurance providers are now asking for baseline controls. Working with an MSP helps you to meet those requirements without hiring for your internal team, and you can count on your Secure Score being an accurate reflection of your cyber security status.
Another responsibility is necessary backups and the ability to restore your systems to a previous point, should an update fail. At Innovate for example, if there’s a problem with Microsoft, we’ll work on resolving the issue at the same time as we get in touch with Microsoft, meaning we don’t lose time waiting and achieve a resolution quicker.
You’ll minimise downtime and speed up response times as well as time to resolution if there’s an issue, meaning end user productivity is not affected. And if you improve the latter that means you’ll also have to deal with fewer interruptions.
If you have a company like ours in place, you’ll have peace of mind that all documentation and standardisation is in place and you’ll avoid undocumented micromanagement of systems.
Access to Enterprise-Grade Solutions
Investing in cybersecurity upfront is much cheaper than cleaning up after a cyberattack. Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and without proactive measures, your company is at risk. An MSP ensures that your systems are continuously updated and patched, closing any potential vulnerabilities.
MSPs implement advanced security standards, such as Zero Trust and Just-in-Time access controls, to safeguard your data. They also ensure that your company meets all necessary compliance requirements, which is crucial in today’s regulatory environment. By proactively investing in cybersecurity with an MSP, you can prevent costly breaches and protect your company’s reputation.
Access to Enterprise-Grade Solutions
MSPs deal with software licenses on a day-to-day basis, so they’ll have better access to tools and integrations. That includes enterprise-grade solutions, meaning you’ll be able to benefit tools, coverage and expertise that would ordinarily be hard to fund in-house
Support On Flatrate Basis
An MSP looks after everything for you – think of a scenario where you encounter a bad series of problems, they can resolve them all rather than you having to pay ‘by the issue’. Additionally, you’ll benefit from knowledge that’s always up-to-date, so your IT staff can focus on the IT projects driving you forward in the meantime. And in our case, if you have other software vendors that may be reluctant, we’ll step in and liaise with them on your behalf. That’s especially relevant where technical expertise is required, as we’ll explain everything in simple terms for everyone to understand and that also ensures you’ll always get exactly the technology you need at the right price, without overpaying.
Think Long-Term Success
Successful businesses grow. But you’ll have to allow for this scalability within your IT infrastructure, so a strategic viewpoint is essential before you start any work - keyword: digital transformation. Unless you have carried out many such projects in the past, you’re probably looking for a partner who understands your business from the inside out and who can guide you through the process. That’s where Innovate is more than ‘just’ an MSP – we look at your infrastructure and new technologies that are suited to you. We’re allowing you to innovate while we take care of the rest.
If you’d like to explore how Innovate could help you take care of your IT or even take the next step towards digital transformation, book a free consultation.
Conclusion
Partnering with an MSP offers numerous benefits, from alleviating the burden on your internal IT team to providing cost-effective cybersecurity solutions. By investing in proactive cybersecurity measures, you can avoid the high costs associated with cyberattacks and ensure your company’s long-term success. Consider partnering with an MSP to enhance your IT capabilities and drive your business forward. If you’d like to explore how Innovate could help you take care of your IT or even take the next step towards digital transformation, book a free consultation today.
Watch the video below to hear more from our customer Harkwell and David Pape from Innovate how we keep them safe.
