3 Signs Your Small Business Needs a Managed Service Provider

3 signs your small business needs a managed service provider

Are you currently researching about managed IT services for your small business? It is a common dilemma for many small business owners. You may wonder what exactly managed IT services is and if your business really needs it.

As this article states, an MSP is essentially your IT department. If something technology-related breaks, they help fix it. If you need an app devised or want to upgrade hardware and software, or take a look into virtualization, they can often help in these complex areas too.

Managed services is the outsourcing of daily IT administrative tasks in order to improve business operations. You can help determine if your business can benefit from managed services by comparing your current IT maintenance costs with an estimate from a reputable managed service provider.

Below are a few signs that may help you decide if managed services is right for your business.

There is No IT Professional On Staff

Many small businesses do not have an IT professional on staff. Often times, IT administrative duties fall into the lap of an employee who is tech-savvy enough to keep things working but not operating smoothly. Business owners then find themselves balancing technology issues while running their business. The employee who is managing IT tasks becomes unproductive in terms of their regular duties and does not have the knowledge or experience to prepare your IT infrastructure for future growth.

Your IT Person is Overwhelmed

Whether you do have an IT professional on staff or you have delegated the work to another employee, this person is probably overwhelmed with work. IT management requires various tasks on a regular basis such as software and security updates, hardware upgrades, and more. Not to mention the everyday management and monitoring tasks that need completion, even the most experienced IT professional can find this type of workload overwhelming. If your IT person is overrun with work, managed services can serve as a great resource for additional support.

You’re Being Reactive Rather Than Proactive

Many small business owners respond to IT issues from a reactive approach rather than a proactive approach. Meaning, when an issue arises, you call an IT company to send someone over to fix the broken issue. The problem with this approach is that these broken issues continually need fixing because they were not detected earlier nor fixed at the root level.

You can avoid these types of hassles by outsourcing your IT management to a managed services provider. They can continuously monitor and detect problems 24 hours a day. When issues occur, IT professionals receive notifications and they are able to troubleshoot and resolve issues before they become major problems.

Do you experience any of the above? If so, managed IT services is an ideal solution for your business. Contact us today to learn more about our pro-active IT support services.

Why You Should Choose an IT Company that Offers On-Site Customer Support

why you should choose an it company that offers on site customer support

on site computer support

Choosing an outsourced IT provider is an excellent decision for any small business. Not only will it save your company money on staffing, training and future technical issues, but you know that you will be receiving support from some of the best trained IT support specialists in the industry.

Like this article notes, many small businesses fail to realize just how important good customer is for the overall health of your business. This can be a huge mistake, since good customer service isn’t just important… it’s absolutely vital.

However, when you choose an IT company, your company may prefer to work with a local IT company. They are able to provide on-site customer support, in addition to online support services.

Having the ability to bring an IT professional on-site will ensure that all issues are fixed in a timely fashion. Also, without any additional expenditures for your company.

Not All Issues Can Be Fixed Remotely

Although most software issues can be fixed remotely, hardware issues typically need a trained IT professional to fix them. Companies that rely only on remote IT support will have to turn to another provider for hardware failures.

Develop Face-to-Face Relationships

It’s nice to get to know the companies that you are working with. Developing a face-to-face relationship with your IT provider will help you to establish a more personal connection. Although receiving IT support remotely is almost always convenient when it is possible, you’ll want to know that you are working with a capable team that can help your business to solve any of its IT related problems. Using on site computer support service providers will help you to establish a relationship with your IT provider.

Help with Installation and Implementation of Technology

As businesses grow, the systems that they use grow with them. This means that you can expect your business to require new hardware and software to be installed with some regularity. An on-site support team can help you to seamlessly install new pieces of hardware and software, allowing your business to run smoothly with minimal downtime.

If you are interested in working with an IT company that provides on-site customer support, reach out and contact us today. We’ll get to know your company and let you know how we can help your business with IT problems today.

Need Computer Services in Miami? We Can Help

computer services miami

Business technology is more powerful and useful than ever before. But let’s face it: Your technology should be following your business goals, working for you in order to enhance what you do, not demanding all of your time and energy or leaving you scratching your head and wringing your hands. If you’re looking for computer services in Miami, 4 Corner IT can help.

Whether you need on-site servicing and emergency repair for your office computers or hardware installations, we have the knowledge and the ability to get your IT infrastructure where it needs to be. Our assistance doesn’t stop there, however. We’re also available to meet with you face to face to discuss your business strategies and to consult with you on how to make your technology a greater asset in achieving your goals. Do you have an employee who doesn’t understand how to use the computer programs that your company uses? Relax and let us help them.

Office 365

Are you needing to make your technology more mobile to accommodate multiple office locations or remote staff? Office 365 puts the commonly used Microsoft tools such as Excel, Sharepoint, Powerpoint, Word, and Lync into one cloud-based program that gives your you and your employees the ability to collaborate wherever you choose to work, and whenever that work needs to be done. It also provides us with the ability to offer you further assistance with remote troubleshooting and repair.

For those who wish to have ongoing IT security and management, we provide our services for a single, flat-rate fee. For those who simply need fast and efficient computer repair services, we can provide an hourly rate. If you’re ready to find out why 4 Corner IT is the strongest IT company in the region and what we can do for you, contact us today.

That IT Network Specialist Is Going to Cost You

that it network specialist is going to cost you

Outsourcing IT

Business is good. So good that your enterprise is becoming well-known in your community and on the Internet. But with the Sony hack occupying the news recently, you’re afraid that your increased exposure equals greater risk. So you spend all your waking hours beefing up security and managing your network. You have very little time to run the business itself. This is when it is best to practice outsourcing IT.

The easy solution is to hire a full-time IT network specialist to relieve your business burden. Do you really know how much such that employee will cost?

  • A network support specialist earns about $49,660 per year, or $14.57 per hour, in the Fort Lauderdale area, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). You might be able to hire a cheap one for under $30,310 annually. But since you get what you pay for, the best ones can cost over $86,290 yearly, or $41.49 an hour.
  • You may not have the technical background to do the hand-holding that a support specialist needs to manage your network. In that case, you’ll want an administrator at $75,630 yearly, or $36.36 an hour. Annual pay for this position can range from $43,810 to $106,660, which equals $21.06 to $51.28 an hour.

These are just the salary costs. You have to account for benefits, taxes, insurance, equipment, and other overhead associated with employees. Those can easily bump up the cost of a worker by a third or more over the salary alone. You also now have to worry about dealing with a new hire and providing enough work to justify the expense.

There is an alternative to hiring if you want the expertise of a network specialist but without the hassle of an employee. Outsource your IT company. We can come in by the hour if you have specific problems you need solved. Or we can set up a contract to ensure that your network is running efficiently and securely all the time.

Why don’t you contact us to see what we can do for you?

Outsourcing IT Support For Businesses: What Decision Is Right For You?

outsourcing it support for businesses what decision is right for you

4cit-outsourcing-1Outsourcing, or hiring an outside business to take care of some functions that are typically performed in-house, is something many companies are definitely familiar with. Some companies choose to outsource their finances and logistics, and that is becoming a common practice because it decreases costs and increases productivity and efficiency. Another popular and increasing trend is the the outsourcing of IT support for businesses.

IT Systems And Electricity

Your business’s IT systems and other equipment is kind of like your electricity. When you walk into your office and flip the switch, you expect it to come on immediately with no problems. You just anticipate that it will work, and you do not even think about it. When your electricity is not working, you immediately notice a difference and your business suffers because everything has gone down.

No IT Support Can Frustrate Customers

When your IT systems are working properly, you do not really pay much attention to it either. However, when it is not working because of a problem, everyone in your business and your customers immediately realize a problem. Like any other department in your business, your information systems are an integral key to your business’s success.

The systems need maintenance and administration in order for it to perform properly every single day. The systems should work in such a way that you are able to provide support for customers when they contact you. Your customers expect to receive a response in a specified time frame when they contact your support team with a problem.

More Tickets Than You Can Handle

When a business finds itself having more tickets coming in than it can handle, this an certainly slow down your entire work process. If your IT support is outsourced, you have the ability to outsource your support to a company that has the ability to handle everything because of their level of scalability. The third-party that you have selected has the ability to bring increase the support team or break down the support team in different areas. You will not have to worry about the stress, extra time, and extra money needed in order to meet the needs of your customers.

In many cases, it seems that outsourcing is certainly a popular and effective choice. However, what works best for one business may not work for the next. Your business should decide on what is best for your business and its customers. If you need assistance in IT support and you want to determine if outsourcing is an option to consider, contact us. We would love to assist you.