The Business Value of Managed IT to Your Organization

What Value Should Managed IT Bring to Your Business?

The value of managed IT to SMBs has become a hot topic in recent years.

As the newest technology becomes more affordable for even the smallest businesses, executives are on the lookout for ways to implement change in their organizations.

This has led to a huge increase in demand for outsourced IT. This is typically provided by managed IT service providers, who partner with vendors to provide solutions for their clients.

This demand is reflected in the growth of the overall MSP market. In the US, the managed services market was worth $33.7 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $120.4 billion by 2025.

With the heavy investment from SMBs into managed IT services comes expectations of significant improvements.

Decision makers and executives are anxious for results as they begin their strategies for digital transformation.

Digital Transformation Failure

Unfortunately, for a majority of SMBs, digital transformation attempts end in failure.

Expectations aren’t met, results don’t materialize, and returns are lacking.

Estimates indicate that around 73% of companies fall short of their goals for digital transformation.

This is, of course, a huge problem that must be addressed. It’s not beneficial for business leaders to grow weary and reluctant of updating or upgrading their IT processes.

There is little doubt that not implementing strategies for digitization can lead to companies stagnating, falling behind, or even collapsing completely.

Related post: Legacy Systems in Digital Transformation: Risks and Challenges

That is why it’s so important for SMBs to understand the value that their MSP is bringing their business.

Not all MSPs are created equal. Depending on who you partner with, the services provided can vary significantly.

At Impact, we have spent years on making sure our services meet the high demands our clients expect of us.

Because of this, we have a very firm idea of what SMBs should expect from their partner and what value managed IT should bring to a business.

Today, we’re going to be taking a look at the business value that managed IT services should be offering to your organization. 

Staying Competitive

Partnering with an MSP for your IT needs is about a lot more than wanting cloud solutions.

Your partnership should be about exploring new and inventive ways that emerging technologies can benefit your business processes to remain competitive.

After all, the primary goal of any digital transformation strategy is to transform the business into an organization that is capable of keeping up with competitors through digitization.

89% of companies expect to grow or maintain their IT budgets this year

This is why partnering with an MSP which is constantly looking at ways to implement new tech to give your business an edge is such a crucial consideration.

If you find that your MSP isn’t being proactive in advancing the technologies your business uses, then they’re simply not providing a quality service for you.

A key consideration that should be made by a business when partnering with an MSP is what vendors they have relationships with and what certifications they hold.

Quality MSPs will have partnerships with the biggest brands—think Microsoft, HP, Cisco—and access to the latest products offered by those brands.

Nearly half of business owners cite the need for staying ahead of rapid tech changes as their top priority

If an MSP lacks good partnerships and certifications to back their abilities up, seriously consider whether they will be able to provide the service you need for the future.

Much of the business value of your partnership comes from an assurance that your partner will be constantly be keeping you up to date.

Relationship

A managed IT service provider doesn’t just provide you with software solutions, they’re also your primary point of contact for support, maintenance, and consultation.

Having a strong relationship between the MSP and the client is perhaps the most valuable asset a growing business can have.

Top drivers of managed IT adoption among SMBs:

A partner who is committed to your digital transformation and clearly understands your goals is invaluable to your business.

They should be able to provide you with a clear vision for your organization’s digital transformation—and a roadmap for ensuring it.

Related post: Digital Transformation Roadmap: Preparing for Success in a Modern Business Landscape

On a day-to-day basis, a good relationship means being able to communicate with your partner for whatever needs you may have through mutually agreeable terms outlined in your SLA.

A good MSP will recognize the value of positioning themselves as a key part of your IT team, as opposed to a solely external part of your IT.

We are no longer in the break/fix world of IT maintenance; it’s impractical and a poor fit for the plethora of technologies in a modern organization.

For that reason, building a long-term partnership with an MSP that makes every effort to understand and further your DX goals is an essential and valuable asset to your business for the future.

Expertise

As the landscape of digital transformation grows and evolves, so does the workload of professionals in your internal IT team.

IT pros are expected to cover a lot of ground these days, and for many SMBs this can prove to be a huge hurdle.

Hiring a team of workers on high salaries may be an option for larger enterprises, but for small and midsize businesses this can be far too costly.

As the importance of having a solid IT team has increased, so too has the demand for IT professionals.

Average salaries of key IT positions:

Cloud engineers, developers, help desk support workers, and network administrators are just a few examples of IT positions which are in high demand.

The simple fact is that the IT skills gap is increasing, with the supply of top talent lagging behind the needs of businesses.

To make matters worse, many IT professionals are opting to work for MSPs rather than in-house, owing primarily to the opportunities to work with (and focus on) the latest tech across industries as opposed to one specific vertical.

Because of this, MSPs can bring huge business value to an organization through strength-in-numbers.

Partnering with a managed IT provider gives you access to a large roster of IT pros with expertise in every technology and every vertical.

At Impact, for example, we have over 150 IT pros, compared to internal teams that can’t offer the same level of expertise—at least not without spending literally millions of dollars.

Takeaways 

• A managed IT partnership should be about a lot more than installing cloud solutions
• Your partner should be committed to your digital business plan and be able to structure your transformation with clear expectations
• Quality MSPs will have relationships with top vendors and have the certifications to back it up
• Managed IT providers offer enormous business value with the number of IT experts they have, something that is virtually impossible for all but the largest enterprises to match

Thinking it’s time to talk to someone about your company’s IT? Reach out to Impact’s Managed IT team and speak to one of our experts today! http://bit.ly/35mu0fD