What Types of IT Services Does a Small Business Need?

Yes, recruiting, hiring, training, and managing an internal IT department can be a jaw-dropping expense. But that doesn’t mean your only other option as a small to medium-sized business is to beg friends and family to fix your IT problems.

Fortunately, managed IT services can come to the rescue – and save your personal relationships for the next time your car breaks down instead.

IT Staffing Challenges at Small Businesses

No business can survive today without good technology, and this can be especially challenging for small and growing businesses. SMBs are challenged by trying to grow while ensuring revenue streams stay reliable and consistent.

The problem is, that a good in-house tech team can be pricey. Ouch!

Sometimes upfront investments need to be made in order to enable the opportunities that will lead to growth and stability. Ideally, small businesses will invest in resources and teams that can directly result in income generation. Product development, sales teams, and customer service are all important parts of a successful business.

That potential for income generation doesn’t typically include IT staff, unless your business is literally technology.

However, all your teams need to be supported with their day-to-day technology. Hiring a whip-smart tech team – to make sure that the money-making teams can do their job – is one of the big challenges SMBs face.

Highly qualified and experienced IT people can cost money and for good reason. Their knowledge can be highly specialized, and if they do their job right, your business will run smoothly.

However, if IT screws up, it could be completely catastrophic for a small and growing business, not to mention a large one as well. So, what’s a small business to do when the bulk of the budget needs to be spent on things that directly impact the revenue and profits?

Stretched IT Staff at Small Businesses

Finding good IT staff is becoming harder and harder for SMBs as many technology people are considering leaving the business because they are overwhelmed and stressed out.

Being a one-person tech support team for a small business (or a nonprofit organization) can be quite stressful. And the pay isn’t necessarily worth the number of hours that are often required to do the job well.

That one tech person might be responsible for managing the website, making sure that all the computers are working, keeping software updated, administering the internal network, fixing the printers, and also handling cybersecurity.

This is simply too much for one person to handle well.

One of the areas where it’s very dangerous for your tech person to become overwhelmed is cybersecurity. One ransomware attack could shut your small business down for good. It’s not worth it to skimp in this area, but one tech guy or gal simply won’t cut it.

Managed IT Services to the Rescue

Fortunately, small, and medium-sized businesses have an option. Managed IT services are a way to expand the reach of your tech team to include a qualified third-party provider.

A strong managed IT services provider can either handle all your IT needs or work with your in-house technology staff. Managed IT services can oversee and manage many of the most important functions of technology for your company or organization. These include:

Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity and ransomware prevention is critical these days as small businesses are being targeted by hackers more and more.

Disaster planning and recovery: Disaster planning is very important, particularly for businesses that might be in areas of severe weather or earthquakes.

Cloud storage, backup, and retrieval: SMBs can benefit from having a good data storage and recovery strategy. Cloud storage can be hugely helpful in keeping a business running, and of course, backups are always important.

Email management: Reliable email for your organization can be easy with managed IT.

Help desk: Imagine having your own help desk available to your business at any time to deal with technical problems and network issues.

The best part is that managed IT services are often much more affordable than hiring an in-house IT team, giving you a set monthly cost that is easy to include in your business budget.

Ensure Your Technology Stays Functional and Secure with Managed IT Services

If your small to medium-sized business needs IT support, RJ Young can help. Our world-class managed IT services will ensure the stability and security of your network with our four-pillar approach: plan, protect, secure, and recover. Our managed IT services include networking, security, 24/7 monitoring, help desk, email management, disaster planning, storage and backup, and strategic consulting services. We can help with all your IT needs or partner with your own internal team. Let us know what you need by contacting us for a consultation at 800-347-1955.

RJ Young is an industry leader providing technology solutions that power your business. We help small to enterprise-level organizations with comprehensive managed IT solutions, office equipment and technology, business process outsourcing, and digital communications. Contact us today for a consultation.