What are IT Services? The Oklahoma City Business’ Guide to Managed IT Support
Oklahoma City is home to one of the fastest-growing business communities in the country. It is no secret that running a company in the digital age requires you to have your IT down pat. Advanced technological solutions can help improve client-end experiences, enabling you to make a lasting positive impression on your patrons.
However, the reality of an intricate IT infrastructure might be a tad bit more complicated than you’d expect. Organizations with limited resources often struggle to strike a balance between their IT demands and core business responsibilities, which decreases productivity and results in losses. This is where an IT company comes to your aid.
But, before jumping the gun, let’s take a quick look at what IT services mean, and how your business can benefit from investing in a managed IT service provider.
What Are IT Services?
IT services involve the use of technological and business expertise to help create, optimize, access, and manage your IT processes.
According to the Statista Research Department, the amount of money spent on IT services around the world is expected to exceed $1 trillion in 2021, which goes to show managed IT services providers’ (MSPs) overwhelming popularity with businesses worldwide.
Essentially, the IT services market is geared towards finding, implementing, and managing various software and hardware solutions relevant to your IT environment.
What Are the Different Types of IT Services?
An Oklahoma City IT Services company can offer a wide variety of technological options you can use to push your business in the right direction. Here are a few of the most availed IT services:
a. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing offers you the benefits of scalability, convenience, and on-demand access to organizational resources, thereby eliminating the need for on-site servers. It also requires minimal capital investment, making cloud computing a great fit for startups and mid-sized organizations.
b. Network Security
Security breaches – such as man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, phishing, and password attacks – are a very real and dangerous threat to your business’s confidential data. Network security can help fortify your business against cybertheft. Some of these network solutions include 24/7 network monitoring, enterprise-grade anti-virus software installations, intermittent checkups, and web filtering.
c. Data Backup and Recovery
Most Oklahoma City IT Services companies offer data backups on a daily basis. It ensures easy and reliable data recovery in case there is a natural disaster or cyberattack. This minimizes the risk of permanent data losses.
d. Network Management
From setting up servers to authorizing firewalls, some IT companies cater to all your network management requirements. In addition, they make it a point to monitor the network and schedule regular maintenance.
e. Managed IT Services
Managed IT service providers observe, manage, and improve your IT operations. Markets and Markets’ data shows that the global market for managed services is scheduled to grow from $223.0 billion (2020) to $329.1 billion (2025).
Managed IT services can change the face of your business model by enhancing employee efficiency, network security, and reducing downtime. They can also help you innovate new business processes without having to worry about having the IT expertise.
f. Dedicated Help Desk
When you partner with a company offering IT Services in Oklahoma City, you gain access to an expert IT help desk. Your employees can consult the IT help desk for various hardware or software-related problems and receive the necessary support promptly.
g. Regular Software Updates
Software updates often include critical security fixes and are intended to improve overall user experiences. As a business owner working with multiple software platforms, you might find it difficult to keep track of all the necessary updates.
When you partner with an IT company, they will make sure all your software is updated and patched regularly, even without your intervention.
Why Are Expert IT Services in Oklahoma City Important?
The needs of Oklahoma City businesses are evolving by the hour – and you need a plan to keep up.
Now that you’re familiar with a few types of professional IT services, let’s take a look at some of the ways an MSP can help your business stay ahead of the curve:
1. Boost Innovation
With a tech company taking care of your IT requirements, you can finally focus on the most important aspects of your business. This includes brainstorming and developing innovative processes to accelerate expansion.
2. Exceptional Work Efficiency
Your Oklahoma City IT Services experts can help automate most business processes. As a result, you can focus on critical tasks – instead of spending your precious time on repetitive operations. In the long run, a professional IT setup will increase efficiency and facilitate a better investment of resources.
3. Latest Technological Advancements
Since the market is flooded with a multitude of technological solutions, you might get confused about which ones are relevant to you. A professional IT team will analyze your specific business requirements and recommend the most suitable tech tools. Moreover, they will provide you with access to the latest tech advancements – without increasing your overhead IT expenses.
4. 24/7 Maintenance
A third-party Oklahoma City IT Services provider will constantly maintain your business’s hardware and software. Plus, they offer round-the-clock surveillance to safeguard your IT infrastructure against potential damage or threats. This keeps your business up and running virtually 24/7.
5. Comprehensive IT Expertise
When you hire an MSP, you are partnering with IT professionals with years of proven expertise. Part of their job – and livelihood – depends on staying updated with the latest developments in the IT field. As a result, your business will benefit from their expert consultations and opinions.
6. Minimal Cybersecurity Incidents
In 2016, Uber faced a breach of nearly 600,000 driver accounts and 57 million user accounts. This, combined with the company’s attempts to pay off the perpetrator, resulted in a fine of $148 million in 2018. (Source: CSO)
An example like this puts the far-reaching impact of a data breach into perspective. Your in-house IT team may not be adequately equipped to secure your business intelligence against the latest security threats. Organizations providing IT Services in Oklahoma City can help secure your business’s IT infrastructure, effectively providing up-to-date defenses to minimize the risk of a breach.
7. Improved Up-time
IT systems need to be updated time and again to operate efficiently. With your in-house IT team, these updates are bound to happen on a regular workday, which may interfere with your daily average productivity.
Your Oklahoma City IT services team will update the systems remotely, only when it is least disruptive to the general workflow. This will help maintain or even hike up your up-time .
8. Provides Savings in The Long Run
While hiring an internal IT team, you’ll have to calculate the cost of salaries, 401Ks, overtime expenses, space, equipment, and more. Additionally, you will have to make provisions for initial and ongoing training. All of this can be quite expensive in the long run.
Outsourcing to an IT company will help you reduce in-house staff and avoid making new additions to your existing payroll. Furthermore, you get to use their cutting-edge tech tools to bring your business to a bloom. Add the benefits of increased cyber security and 24/7 maintenance, and you have yourself an all-around technical support system with minimal overhead.
9. Puts Your Internal IT Team to Better Use
You may have certain people on your technical staff who were initially tasked with developing IT improvements or training other employees. However, in the absence of a dedicated IT support team, your employees might turn to them for everyday technical troubles, essentially taking them away from the job they were hired to do.
When you hire an external Oklahoma City IT Services company, your employees have a dedicated helpline to connect with in case they run into any problems. This will ensure your in-house IT staff can continue to focus on their core responsibilities – and growing the business.
10. Crystal-clear Service Agreements
A full-time salaried employee may not have the bandwidth to resolve multiple IT emergencies at once. They are usually drawn to the loudest and most pressing crisis, leaving the other employees waiting for their turn. In contrast, IT service providers have written contracts and SLAs that define a full list of deliverables they can attend to at any given point of time.
Does Your Business Need an Experienced Oklahoma City IT Services Provider?
There are a few tell-tale signs that indicate it may be time to invest in an IT services provider. Here are a few instances:
- Your organization has faced a cybersecurity breach more than once.
- You don’t have a well-defined data backup and recovery plan.
- You’re dealing with extended downtimes due to technical outages.
- You’re more focused on resolving technical glitches than creating new expansion strategies.
- Your IT investments are failing to deliver the desired results.
- You’re planning to take the company to new heights.
Over to You
An Oklahoma City IT Services company can do wonders for your business by minimizing security threats, improving network up-times, employee productivity, and helping you focus on your core competencies. You can draw upon the experiences of well-equipped IT professionals and sow the seeds of sustainable business growth.
Are you thinking about investing in an Oklahoma City IT Services provider?
Up next: Outsourced IT Services
Let’s find out why that may be a good idea for your business. Get in touch to learn more.
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