Sure, you might have a lot of confidence in your relative, but how vested are they in your business, or IT for that matter? They might be technical, but their expertise might end at setting up a wireless router for you.
Adding to the difficulty in protecting businesses is a looming cybersecurity skills gap. Sure, a local, small business IT provider might give you that warm and fuzzy feeling when he pops in after your frantic call that your server is down, but can you be sure that they are staying ahead of the cybersecurity curve?
If you are fortunate enough to have an in-house team, how are you maintaining their skill set? Just like a new car depreciates the second you drive it off the lot, so does your systems engineer the second you hire them. Now that they have gainful employment, will they have the time (and will you allow them the time) to stay educated?
Combine a depreciating skill set with the average IT professional’s daily task list of 24/7 network security and management, enterprise data backup, help desk support, and, oh yeah, sleep, and your in-house team will almost always be running on fumes.
Doesn’t leave much time for long-term, strategic IT planning now does it?
That’s why IT staff with the knowledge you need to keep your business secure will become harder to find and more expensive to retain. So what is a small business to do? For many, outsourcing some or all of the traditional responsibilities of IT is the answer.
Whoever you choose, just make sure they can deliver:
- A reliable help desk – one that is responsive and has a high rate of resolution. Here’s how we operate our help desk.
- Recovery time that suits you – how quickly do you need to recover your data? Based on your service level agreements, do you need seconds, minutes, or hours?
- Scalability – will they be able to grow with you as your business grows?
Businesses need total data protection and disaster recovery to keep their information safe. That means a robust, secure data network, 24/7 access to vital business information, and help desk support you and your employees can count on (not be frustrated by). Find the solution that fits your needs.
Ready to think about outsourcing? Download our free eBook below and see if a managed IT partner could be right for you.
