IT support has changed a lot in the last few years. The wide-spread adoption of cloud technology has created more opportunities for IT professionals to be a partner in complete business optimization. Now updated for COVID-19 response!
The IT industry has shifted from a sideline support model to a more partnership-driven managed services model. This shift has many benefits for every size business.
A managed service provider can work alongside business executives to leverage technology that will drive new revenue streams. And help your business through challenging times like the global spread of the Novel Coronavirus.
Here are some of the things IT support should be able to do to make your COVID-19 response plan successful.
- Helping you with remote user identity and access.
- Setting up Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and VPN licenses to access corporate resources securely and in a timely manner.
- Managing work devices in a cloud-based environment.
- Helping you to get the most out of the productivity apps you already have.
- Advice and technical assistance for holding virtual meetings (like help using Teams).
- Making sure you can access your line of business applications from home.
- Monitoring your service and alerting you to any changes in behavior or security status.
Bonus: Educating your employees on current phishing scams and vulnerabilities exploited by hackers during this pandemic.
We hope you feel well-supported during this time. If you or your IT department requires any additional assistance--please do not hesitate to 👉 contact us. 👈
Here is what a modern IT company should provide all the time:
Establish Regular Business Benchmarks
A managed service provider monitors a company's network infrastructure. This access allows a good MSP to provide the C-suite with quarterly benchmarks. At minimum, this quarterly scorecard should provide system security and threat mitigation, but it can also identify opportunities that increase the productivity of the workforce and maximize the company's technology investment.
Take A Proactive Response to Security
Cybersecurity is one of the biggest concerns a company has. Today's MSPs go beyond the old "set it and forget it" attitude towards security and antivirus protection. Providing security in today's high risk environment involves constant monitoring, warranties against ransomware, and the combination of several different threat protection tools rolled into a robust security suite.
Good MSP's also provide resources to educate an organization's workers. Security education and testing helps to mitigate a company's biggest security threat (human error). Your organization should know which workers are the most likely to fall for a phishing attack, so that the right education can be provided to them. You're only as secure as your weakest link.
Provide a Scaleable Technology Roadmap
A valuable partner is one who can grow with you. A company should share their KPI's with their managed service provider to see how technology can be leveraged to help the business achieve their short and long-term goals.
Usually, bottlenecks in either the internal infrastructure or customer-facing processes can be identified. Once these bottlenecks are removed, the business can scale with less resistance.
Asking your IT provider to give you a 12-month roadmap (including an emergency action plan) for technology success is a great starting point.
Give Workers Freedom to Work From Anywhere
If there's one thing COVID-19 is teaching us, it's that every business that has the ability to work remotely--should make sure they have the option to do so when needed.
The old factory-style business model has been disrupted. Soon, 50% of the American workforce will be remote, and by 2027, freelancers are expected to become the workforce majority.
There are simple IT solutions now that allow workers to be able to work from anywhere on any device.
With the advantages of worker flexibility (reduced office costs, higher worker retention and productivity) comes enhanced security risks. Companies must also have the right communication infrastructure in place to make workers feel connected to the team wherever they are.
Allow Business Access to Transformative Technology
Digital transformation is happening fast and that will continue to affect the way business is performed all over the globe.
Microsoft, in a newly-released e-book called, Designed to Disrupt Reimagine Your Apps and Transform Your Industry, has identified these prevalent themes:
- Global, highspeed inexpensive connectivity has sped up decision-making and brought closer contact between customers, partners, and vendors than ever before.
- Nearly infinite computer resources, memory, and cloud storage has removed the previous limitations of software and apps.
- New technologies are emerging that are only available in the cloud (like Internet-of-Things applications that can control a massive amount of connected devices.)
- Advancements in Artificial Intelligence have made analytics, tracking, reporting, processing, and memory functions more powerful then ever before.
The technology and data needed for these advancements are already here, but businesses need an experienced partner who is able to strategize the best ways to access, combine, and utilize these new opportunities in order to stay relevant and profitable.
Is your business ready to make the move from a traditional IT structure to a proven managed service provider? Find out what you're missing, contact us today.
