Taking Advantage Of A Managed Service Provider

Date PublishedSeptember 29, 2016
CompanyHurricane Computer Solutions Inc.
Article AuthorJames Caldwell
Article TypeSeptember 2016 Issue
CategoryArticles, Business
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HUB SEARCHHurricaneCS
PULSE Interactive

Taking Advantage Of A Managed Service Provider

Revenues are plummeting, people are being let go, you don’t have anything in the way of extra coin to lean on while you wait for things to recover. The worst part is knowing declining revenues are the root of the problem but there is miserably little you can do about it; it’s just the latest oil and gas industry slump, and you’re stuck dealing with it ...or giving in. But the latter is not an option in your mind!

So you turn your attention to the other side of the productivity equation and set your sites and focus on reducing costs. Then you immediately realize, sometimes there just isn’t a quick fix to your cost issues, especially since your business is unique in many ways. You can’t just adopt another company’s operating strategy without a significant amount of risk, or simply slash and burn at every turn. From an IT perspective there are a few things that can help almost all businesses recover, and the first starts with always looking at the bigger picture.

Sometimes looking at the big picture is scary at best and absolutely horrifying at worst, but often, it’s a very practical idea. Particularly when the big picture review doesn’t necessarily include your core network and IT infrastructure and the potential unknown costs of doing nothing as you scale back. Even scarier is mapping out your plans during the downturn to factor in the associated cost and ramp-up time when business recovers back to some semblance of normal. Focusing on individual small IT related costs today is also a must, especially since these cost recoveries are often immediate and obvious. Looking at the overall picture can help you position your company to enact lasting change, and hopefully, give you additional insight on the true size of any cost savings that can be realized today and potential cost efficiencies you can achieve down the road.

In today’s tough economic climate, the challenge of staying up-to-date with the latest technology can seem overwhelming and perhaps unachievable. IT is often one of the first areas to be hit by corporate restructuring and downsizing leaving a void that companies can’t afford. Businesses are challenged when it comes to staying abreast of the latest technology because they believe they simply can’t afford it. Usable hardware and software are sitting idle around the office and in the field gathering dust, yet the underlying technology doesn’t stop updating and advancing even though the units are powered down. However, this does not have to be the case thanks to the help of managed services as an alternative to dwindling internal IT resources.

A Managed Services Provider (MSP) and their associated service offerings can come in varying forms depending on the current and future needs of your business. The underlying reasons for wanting to partner with a MSP, normally translates into improving business efficiency, enhancing employee productivity, and positively impacting the bottom line. Even in these tough economic times each of these points are potential cost saving and productivity opportunities that shouldn’t be ignored.

While reducing costs may be your sole overriding IT consideration today, there are still other managed services benefits that can be achieved, particularly when the number of IT hands on deck are no longer around or readily available to help out with what’s left of your business to function optimally.

A network going down for any reason, for any period of time, doesn’t bode well for any business. Staff morale is strained even further, and time and money are lost at the very same time. Problems like this can be quickly resolved or eradicated by a MSP because their team will be proactively monitoring your network and will also be ready to assist you at all times. This also provides you with added security and comfort, as your MSP will regularly scan your network for viruses and other performance issues that could cause future and unforeseen network challenges.

Taking Advantage Of A Managed Service Provider

Technology issues can, and will, arise at any given time, but internal IT staff members are not always available when they absolutely need to be. The constant flow of network demands, desktop support, email accounts and secure file sharing can quickly pile up on already busy IT staff, making it very difficult for them to spontaneously resolve tech issues efficiently and on time. Many MSPs are available 24/7, and can

provide you and your staff with assistance whenever you may need it most. Plus, this can lower your operating costs by taking advantage of the MSP’s larger support resources and infrastructure versus having to hire more IT staff of your own.

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Achieving your business plans, and staying on budget is largely dependent on having the latest tech tools at your disposal. Covering costs of all the latest software, gadgets, and gear is usually one of the issues that prevents both growing and struggling businesses from achieving their goals. The other issue is not knowing quite how to use and leverage it all toward your own success. With MSPs the issues of high cost know-how are normally vanquished. A MSP focused on service quality will provide your business with only the essentials as far as the latest tools, saving money

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that might otherwise be spent on something overhyped and unnecessary. Time is also saved because staff will be assisted in learning and using the proper tools rather than having to figure things out on their own. And as all business owners know, time is money!

One last tip. Carefully vet your potential service partner, as there are many break-x IT companies out there that disguise themselves as MSPs. You can easily separate the wheat from the chaff, with one simple question:

How will your MSP ‘proactively’ monitor and support your business network and desktop devices?

Taking Advantage Of A Managed Service Provider

James Caldwell
President
HURRICANE COMPUTER SOLUTIONS INC.

Taking Advantage Of A Managed Service Provider

 

 

 

 

 

Originally published in the 

September 2016 Issue of Oilfield PULSE