Once upon a time, all you needed to run a business were a computer for each of your workers and a phone line. Today, it requires a substantial IT effort to run even the smallest businesses — data storage, network troubleshooting, system backups, and security are just a few of the issues that need handling on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this is simply out of the budget range for most small and growing businesses. What is a small business to do?

Modern IT Assistance at a Small Business Price

The age of cloud computing couldn’t have come at a better time. Just as startups are popping up all over the nation and IT needs are growing by the moment, managed services are making it possible for these small businesses to get the IT support and technical assistance they need to compete with the big guys, even on the smallest of budgets.

Defining Managed IT Services

Managed IT services is a service that provides any level of IT support a business needs through an outside firm. The services can be provided remotely, meaning that you don’t even have to have the office space to house an IT staff. The managed services provider delivers proactive monitoring of the business’ networks on a continual basis, with minimal involvement from the business’ owners and employees. The managed service provider is responsible for all of the networking specialists, computer support personnel, and security experts to make the small business run as if it had a fully-staffed IT department right on site, only for a small fraction of the cost of hiring even one IT professional.

When necessary, the IT experts working for the managed IT service can provide onsite assistance, such as in the case of some emergency or problem with the network. Managed services offer a wide range of support levels, from basic monitoring services all the way up to fully managed IT services. This is usually done via a flat monthly fee or on a per-device basis. This allows small businesses to keep up with the ever-growing demands of evolving technologies, while keeping the bulk of their capital available for growing and nurturing the business — not buying and maintaining servers, complex network monitoring tools, or exhaustive backup and disaster recovery plans.

What Can Managed IT Services Do for You?

What are some of the services available through a managed IT service provider?

• Computer and server support
• Data backup and recovery
• Network security
• Custom software development
• Remote network monitoring
• Technology evaluation and planning for the future

Does managed services sound like something your small business could use? To learn more about how it works download the white paper: Managed IT Services For Small Businesses at TOSS C3.