In a recent poll of nearly 1,200 business, 71 percent reported having experienced at least one data breach. Failing to provide the sensitive information you have on your network proper protection can end in disaster.
Instead of trying to take on the responsibility of securing your network and fixing technology problems when they arise, you need to consider outsourcing your IT support. Often times, business who try to handle these complex jobs without professional help live to regret it.
Generally, you will have a number of managed IT services to choose from. Rather than rushing through this selection process and making a mistake, you need to take some time to weigh all of your options.
Here are some of the things you need to get when choosing a professional service provider.
Getting the right level of availability
One of the main things you need to find out from a company before outsourcing your IT support to them is the level of availability they offer. As most business owners know, tech support issues don’t always happen during regular business hours.
Ideally, you want to find an IT company that is available any time day or night. Even if they are only able to provide over the phone support after a certain hour, it is better than nothing. Assessing the level of availability a company can offer can help you decide whether or not they can meet the needs of your business.
Assistance with future technology planning
The rate at which technology changes can be hard for business owners to keep up with. What may be viewed as state of the art software this year can be outdated in a few months. Each year, you need to make a plan of action regarding what you will spend in the coming year on technology upgrades.
Having an experienced IT professional assist you with this technology budget can help you avoid mistakes. Before you sit down and hash out the details of a yearly technology plan, be sure to have your IT company perform a risk assessment. The results from this assessment will provide you with in-depth information regarding what may need to be changed.
Establishing a disaster recovery plan
Failing to prepare for acts of natures or even network outages can put your business in a compromised position when they occur. When trying to find the right IT support provider, be sure to ask them about the disaster recovery services they offer.
An adequate disaster recovery plan will feature things like cloud-based backups. Allowing IT professionals to establish and maintain these backups can take a lot of stress off of your plate. With a disaster recovery plan in place, you can get through a ransomware attack or a network crash without missing a beat.
Network monitoring services
The main goal you should have a small business owner is staying one step ahead of things like network outages and hackers. The best way to accomplish this goal is by finding managed IT services providers that offer network monitoring.
Investing in this type of monitoring will be worth it considering the useful information it can provide. IT professionals will be able to alert you when issues with your network are discovered. This will help you avoid excessive downtime and can reduce the damage viruses and malware can do to your network.
If you are tired of experiencing excessive amounts of downtime due to tech support issues, now is the time to contact us. With our help, you can keep your network running efficiently with ease.
