Once upon a time, insurance companies had to buy lots of expensive technical equipment and hire tons of IT specialists to run their businesses. This took a tremendous amount of planning in order to secure the technology needed for the years to come. Otherwise, the companies ended up buying a bunch of hardware that became useless and outdated before it even generated an ROI. Those were the sad days in the insurance kingdom.

Today, insurance companies simply partner with IT service management firms for the IT products and services they need. Not only does this eliminate all those huge capital expenditures for hardware and IT equipment, it also cuts down on the staff they need to do business. As technology becomes more important to all businesses, this means that outsourcing most of the technical stuff saves money and significantly reduces the complexity of the business’ infrastructure.

What changes should you expect after partnering with an IT service management company?

1. Get Ready for More Uptime

More than likely, the kings and queens in your kingdom have gotten used to twiddling their thumbs for an hour or two each week, while customers moan on the phone about never being able to get things done. Prepare to boost productivity, as a quality IT service management team is going to assure your services are up and running more than 99.999 percent of the time. That’s just over 5 minutes in an entire year!

2. Prepare for Security to Be Front & Center

Chances are also strongly in favor of security being currently discussed only in relation to your legal requirements. With IT service management, your data and your customers’ data will be surrounded by a moat (good perimeter protection) and protected by a band of highly-qualified, well-armed knights (excellent network and systems monitoring). Like protecting the honor of the damsel in distress, your insurance company will be known throughout the land for honoring and protecting customer data like no one else. You can find out more about what it takes to keep your insurance company secure when you buy the book ‘Easy Prey: How to Protect Your Business From Data Breach, Cybercrime and Employee Fraud’.

3. Expect to Become More Mobile & Agile

Your IT service management firm should also provide your teams with mobile access to your critical technologies. This includes customer-facing mobile services, as well as mobile access for your workforce. For insurance agents who have to be out in the field meeting and working with customers, this is nothing short of a godsend. Also, because of technological innovations, insurance companies without customer-facing mobile access will soon find that they cannot compete. Don’t be the court jester. Go mobile with a managed service provider.

4. Adjust to Stronger Login Credentials

If your network or systems login requirement is simply to enter “KingArthur1,” get ready for more secure access and more stringent login credentials. A good IT service management system includes high-level encryption and requires strong passwords that won’t easily be hacked or guessed.

5. Anticipate More Emphasis on Backups & Disaster Recovery Services

Will your business survive if lightning strikes it? What critical financial or customer information would you lose? IT service management places the focus on backups and disaster recovery, so that your castle is well-guarded from any potential disaster, from an intruding army to a fire or earthquake — anything you protect your customers from, you’ll be protected from with managed IT services.

Ready to live happily ever after?