Streamline Success: Managed IT Solutions to Empower Your Business

Business owners and employees wear many hats and when it comes to business technology needs, the “tech hat” can be a heavy one to wear. Fortunately, there are solutions to help lessen that burden or take it off your plate (or head) completely.

Estimated read time: 4 minutes

In white hard hat. Foreman is in the storehouse, shipping distribution business.

Hang Your Hat on Managed IT

This is where Managed IT enters the scene. A trusted Managed Service Provider (MSP) offers your business the flexibility to maintain your specific needs with experienced and knowledgeable tech experts. Relying on an MSP for your IT solutions lets you focus on doing what you do best: growing your business.

One thing is certain, technology changes quickly. What was common practice or recommended two years ago likely has been replaced with something new. As a business owner, you probably wear many hats and understandably reach a point where you simply cannot be the expert in all areas—especially with the fast-paced evolution of IT.

An MSP handles technology matters for you so don’t have to worry about maintaining best practices for data security or staying on top of industry regulation and compliance requirements within your industry. You can even say goodbye to being the go-to person for fixing email or network problems raised by your staff throughout the day.

You Get to Decide

Much like paying an accounting firm to run the books or hiring a lawyer for legal matters, many small- to mid-sized companies opt to outsource their IT responsibilities. Every business has different levels of staffing needs and budget limitations. An MSP like Hamilton will help you determine what type of Managed IT service can maximize the benefit as well as the budget set for your business. In some cases, MSPs can serve as the only IT solution, and yet for others, it can act as an extension to the existing staff.

Adam Jurgens, Hamilton Account Executive, explains in a recent radio interview how businesses utilize Managed IT services differently. Some companies may choose to handle the typical helpdesk issues while they have an expert like Hamilton manage the network and security on its behalf while others decide to offload the day-to-day issues while their own IT staff focuses on the backend.

Oftentimes businesses search for MSPs only after a problem has occurred. Waiting until you need help recovering from an outage—whether it’s a cyberattack or otherwise—takes time and money. Taking a more proactive approach includes reviewing your current IT staffing, capabilities and how you are meeting compliance and regulations as well as managing protection and security for your network.

When selecting a solution that’s right for your business, look for outsourced IT support that can be made available both onsite and/or remotely with a flexible contract or agreement to allow for growth or other changes.

Staffing Matters

As your organization evaluates your options to outsource, it’s important to assess your current staffing capabilities. Some things to consider are:

Expertise: Is your existing IT staff equipped to handle all the current and future needs ranging from helpdesk support to maintaining strict cybersecurity practices to protect your business? Do they have the time to stay up to date on the constantly changing technological dynamics?
Budget: How much does it cost to hire an additional employee(s) versus paying a third-party provider to fill in gaps?
Availability: Does the pool of candidates available fit the demand for the work that is entailed? When issues arise, do you have the experts in place to troubleshoot and quickly resolve them?

Regulation & Compliance

The aforementioned items are just a few things to consider when it comes to evaluating your business’s technological needs to ensure that you are set up for future growth and success.

One of the most important benefits a Managed IT provider can offer your business is the ability to stay ahead of and comply with various regulations and technology requirements within your industry.

For example, in the healthcare industry, clinics and vendors must comply with the rules established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Meanwhile, schools and educational institutions must adhere to privacy mandates from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Many of these types of mandates involve protecting personal data which means that your business must have cybersecurity measures in place to maintain that protection. Managed IT providers not only know how to protect your data, but they can also proactively monitor and prevent data breaches with advanced software and technology systems.

Should your business undergo an audit from any regulatory group, you must be able to prove you are complying and have the measures in place to prevent data breaches. Hamilton can help you with these efforts, whether that is through the creation of policy and procedure guidelines and/or custom reporting developments.

Working with a Managed IT provider such as Hamilton provides the peace of mind that your business has a team of individuals who proactively support your growing technology needs. Whether it’s assistance with business phones, cybersecurity implementation and maintenance, or helpdesk support, Hamilton understands the role technology plays in upholding staff productivity. Let us help keep your operations running as expected so you can get back to your business.