You may be paying a monthly amount to an IT company to provide you with a “managed service”. What does this include and what exactly are they doing behind the scenes to keep your business online and up and running?
Here’s a list of the most common items an IT company does as part of their service.
Remote management and monitoring (RMM):
This is by far the most common service offered. It’s part of the proactive piece that most firms offer and do for their client base. Included with remote management and monitoring is the ability to patch and keep desktop PCs, laptop and other devices securely updated.
It does not stop there, the RMM services will also monitor server and system health. If you have a critical business system that’s running at almost full capacity, let’s say for example a network storage area.
The RMM will send an alert if a threshold is reached. This allows the IT provider to plan for capacity and storage upgrades before you run out of space.
Backup & Antivirus
Maintaining a working backup is commonplace and most IT companies that know what they are doing will be regularly checking your backup system to make sure it is working.
The current number one threat to most businesses is data loss and cybersecurity threats. As such a working backup is imperative.
If for some reason your backup fails and you are a victim to a cybersecurity breach you may lose data, what’s worse if you can’t prove to your insurers the process you have in place for taking working backups any insurance policy may be null and void.
This is where having both a correctly managed backup system and a managed anti-virus solution can really help secure the business.
Again most managed IT service providers will include antivirus protection as part of the overall service. This is usually charged out on a per device basis however cost and price structures can vary widely.
Future-Proofing
If your IT provider is forward-thinking they’ll be sitting down with you on a quarterly basis to discuss the direction of your business and what technology you should be aware of.
It’s critical in our ever-changing world that your company stays informed on what technologies may not only help make the business more efficient but also one that could transform the entire structure and operation.
Most commonly these may be referred to as account management meetings however sometimes referred to as IT strategy sessions or technology road-mapping.
Have a clear goal of what you are looking to get out of the session and prepare with a list of problems you may have encountered since the last meeting.
Most IT providers love solving problems if you’d like to schedule a session with us please get in touch.