To run a business at a competitive level today, you need three essential IT services for business growth. If you haven’t thought about these lately, you may soon start feeling the pinch from your competitors. To stay one step ahead, it requires the best technology and means to communicate. For the latter, this means properly linking with customers as well as your employees.
Fortunately, IT technology has evolved quickly to a point where expensive and space-consuming equipment isn’t necessary any more. Businesses can basically operate internally through an Internet line.
Much of this comes from the cloud and the ability to safely store critical data there. No matter what you’ve heard about the cloud, it’s still the best digital storage system in existence when having proper monitoring.
The cloud is the sturdy foundation many IT services rely on. Let’s take a look at three extremely important small business tech trends that can fuel your business growth to a new plateau this year.
Recent statistics show managed services continue to grow in companies worldwide. It’s no surprise why when you consider it eliminates having to rely on an in-house IT team.
Having employees on your payroll to basically work as a “break and fix” department can become discouraging. Even if you’ve had IT technicians in your company for years, you’re essentially paying yearly for only occasional services.
A bigger problem is this: because those technicians only work for you, they may not fully understand the realities of IT threats. When you hire a consultant, it’s a different story because they’ve worked for hundreds of businesses out in the field.
With managed services, these consultants work remotely through your existing Internet line. They’ll monitor your network 24/7 and prevent things from occurring in the first place. Ultimately, this mostly removes the “break and fix” concept.
If something does go wrong, a managed service team takes care of it without wait times.
VoIP
When you see current statistics on VoIP, you’ll notice constant growth. The only thing perhaps keeping some companies away is not realizing how affordable VoIP solutions are.
This affordability is possible because it eliminates having to use physical phones. Your entire phone system moves online and even into the cloud. Thanks to this, it opens the doors to universal telecommunication possibilities.
VoIP stores all caller data online so call centers don’t have to search for information. Features are tremendous as well, with digital assistants being one of the basics. Routing allows extensions on mobile devices so you and your employees can easily reach one another while out of the office.
Even more important is your phone system has protection in the cloud if a disaster happens to destroy your physical business.
Network Security
Cyber threats continue to increase, and network security should arguably take precedence above any other IT service. Regardless, managed services (MSP) and VoIP work in tandem with network security. That works when you have a dedicated management team working behind the scenes to keep your systems secure.
Once again, many providers of network security work remotely, though not necessarily always. Having some in-person meetings with IT security experts are important to work out efficient plans. They’ll provide the best and most affordable tools that help fight against today’s worst threats.
With the latest encryption technology and improved firewalls, you can protect all devices, including mobile. If your employees work regularly in the field with mobile devices, network security should become a #1 priority. You’re especially at risk if employees consistently store sensitive customer data.
Let us help you with your IT challenges here at IT Support Burbank.
Do you want to understand more about Managed Services and how to best leverage IT Support staff? Download our free guide: Leveraging IT Support Staff to Eliminate Slow Response Times.
