Improve Business Efficiency With IT Support
Technology has advanced so much in the last few years that it has become ubiquitous in the businesses of every industry. In order to have a successful business, you must have a solid Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. This may look different in every business: a simple intranet for your office, or a large network of extremely high-level servers. No matter what the IT setup for your business looks like, you need to have access to fast and professional support for your business’ technological infrastructure. Finding the right IT support for your business can dramatically increase productivity and efficiency, while allowing you to be focused on the business itself instead of always worrying about the network.
Ad-Hoc Versus Managed Support
There are two basic types of business IT support: ad-hoc support and managed support. Each type has specific advantages and challenges. It’s important to understand each one so you can choose the type that will work best for your business. Ad-hoc support is also called reactive support, and it basically means IT support to fix a problem. Ad-hoc support begins when the end user contacts an IT support company to request help for a specific issue or problem. Users may also request a maintenance check-up or consulting services. The main aspect of ad-hoc support is that the end user initiates it in response to some IT issue. Ad-hoc IT work is generally billed at an hourly rate, so your business only pays for IT work related to specific situations.
Managed support, on the other hand, is proactive in nature. Your business hires an IT support company to directly manage your IT infrastructure in an integrated way. The IT support company provides complete management and maintenance of your IT network and systems. Managed IT support plans generally include ad-hoc support when necessary, so end users can still receive help when they need it. However, a managed IT support plan means you can leave all the work to the IT support company. IT professionals will proactively perform maintenance on your system: applying security patches, upgrading software, and ensuring optimum efficiency. Any problems should be detected immediately by the IT management company and fixed as soon as possible.
A managed IT support plan is generally billed at a fixed monthly price that includes all proactive and reactive work on your system. Managed IT support plans allow you to outsource all IT work to dedicated professionals. You don’t have to keep in-house IT employees or manage your infrastructure yourself. If you want a hands-off approach to keeping your IT infrastructure working at maximum efficiency, a managed IT support contract is generally the best option.
Finding a Reliable IT Support Provider
There are usually several options in IT support providers for your business. It’s important to choose one that offers a plan that will work well for your business, whether that is ad-hoc or managed support. You should choose a provider with a good reputation for quick response times and high-level expertise. Additionally, it’s good to choose a provider dedicated to personal service. This means your business should have a dedicated account manager who it familiar with you, your business, and its IT system.
