Choosing the Right SMB IT Support

a group of business people standing in front of a window

Having good small business it support and solutions is important if you want to ensure that your company’s information technology needs are satisfactorily met. But with all the SMB IT support providers out there, picking the one for the job can sometimes be difficult.

So how do you choose a solutions provider for your business operations?

Understand What Your Business Really Needs

One important matter to note of when choosing an IT solutions provider is that small businesses have different needs compared to larger companies. For instance, a small online store might not need to use a dedicated server to handle transactions. Hosting services, such as Google Drive, are often enough to keep tabs on the transactions coming through the store. This in turn, can cut down greatly on the amount of IT solutions needed.

However, as this PR Web article says, you need to think broadly when looking into your business’ particular information technology needs. Ask yourself what kind of tasks have to be accomplished for business operations. Determine which tasks need IT support and which ones can be managed even without it. You also need to determine whether your business operations might be at risk with your current IT setup. From there, you will be able to map out a comprehensive IT support plan.

Looking For an IT Support Provider

Price is often one of the first considerations made by companies when looking for small business IT support and solutions provider. After all, these companies often don’t have a lot of money to spend. However, one mistake to avoid here is going with a provider simply because they have the lowest offer. Remember that you are putting your business’ IT capability on the line here. Go over the IT plan you have prepared and see which provider is able to give everything you need for a fairly reasonable price.

Sufficient tech support is also an important consideration when choosing an IT solutions provider. Blue Derkin gives a rundown of important questions to ask when checking a provider’s tech support capability:

“When my site, for some unknown reason, goes down, can I call up and get a real, live person on the phone? And, more than that, can they find out what’s wrong and fix it, or at least tell me what I need to do to get my site back online? Before going with a host look into their reputation for customer support. See what kinds of different ways you can contact them when you need support – email, toll-free phone, chat, and so on. Are they staffed 24/7? Do they outsource support?”

Working with a SMB IT Support Provider

When working with your chosen IT provider, keep in mind that they still have their limitations. For instance, the tech they provide might not be able to meet demands higher than what has initially agreed upon. Take this into consideration when making an assessment of the provider’s performance. It would also be a good idea for you to discuss scalability options early with them, so that these can be implemented when needed.

Contact us today to learn more about small business IT support and solutions providers.

The Crucial Elements of an MSP

a man in glasses is holding up a computer

What are the crucial elements of an MSP? What should be included in your services provider package? Will it offer security in times of a disaster, or anytime?

Here are some ways an effective Managed Service Provider can help your business thrive and take the worry out of networking and security issues.

Staff and Talent Acquisition

An MSP takes current staff and has them do what they do best, while combining it with the best outsourced agents for specific IT tasks. These can come from a variety of sources. But it still keeps the process under the same roof by calling on specialists from within or without, whenever they are needed the most.

Handles networking and security issues

The complications of networking and keeping your network and servers secure can be immense. Having a managed services provider that takes time and care to ensure it all runs efficiently and limits down time is essential to the smooth operation of a business.

Cloud service solutions

A good MSP also provides the best cloud service and integrates all your systems to work with your cloud servers. Cloud storage and maintenance is one of the most important things a business can do to allow for natural disasters, have a reliable backup system, and be able to access files from any location. Choose a managed services provider who understand how things work in the cloud.

IT support and management

It is important to be able to get in touch with someone in the event of a crisis. Having all your systems in one place often makes this process simpler and easier to manage. If you do not have to call different places to get the job done, it will also happen faster.

Disaster recovery plans

Having a disaster recovery plan is essential to the smooth continuity of your business in the event of a disaster. Plan today by having an MSP who knows how to handle this. Additionally, how to design a plan that will work in the event of a crisis.

When looking for the best managed services provider (MSP), it is important that you find one that can handle the above elements when you need them. Networking, security, and cloud-based services. As well as disaster and recovery plans are all essential to the smooth operation of a business. Having local IT representatives, or at least ones who can respond quickly to any breaches in security or other issues, will help provide a sense of security in the day-to-day routines of your business.

If you need advice on how this applies to your business, or want to consult with us about what we can offer as a managed services provider, contact us.

A Cloud Solution as a More Stable Server

a keyboard with a blue cloud button on it

Using a cloud solution as a virtual server is a method you should be curious about if you’ve ever had nightmares about keeping up your own server.

That’s because when you move to the cloud, you’re essentially moving all your hardware and software there so there’s nothing you have to take care of on your own. For any business, the fear of a traditional dedicated server having a meltdown is one that can bring that business to a complete standstill without a better solution.

Perhaps you’ve heard about cloud servers and balked at the idea of having to move everything to something new. When you see the control you actually have using the cloud, you’ll perhaps feel differently as much as millions of other businesses have.

Easy Modification of Cloud Software

All the software that you use in the cloud is built in and can easily be modified to your own specifications. You can even tweak the operating system to what you need. You ultimately save money this way because all of the software you use is in the cloud rather than requiring the expense of buying new software and installing it on your own network. Also known as software as a service (or SaaS), the same applies to your hardware.

Security from Any Software or Hardware Problems

With automatic updates to your software and hardware, you don’t have to worry about any technical issues happening that could bring everything to a stop. You never have to worry about your hardware failing either. Additionally, software issues are all maintained internally without needing an in-house IT team.

Save Money from Running Your Own Server

Many new businesses that insist on running their own server soon realize just how expensive it can be. It costs money to keep it powered as well as maintaining cooling for protection. A cloud server only requires that you pay for what you really need to use to keep your business running optimally.

Faster Speed

If you try a cloud server, you’ll realize how fast they are. Without worry of your own server getting bogged down from data overload. When you have a business that depends on outgoing and in-going information every minute, a sluggish server is the last thing you want. In some cases, an in-house team may not have the capability to fix it for you. This can potentially put a damper on your business. A cloud server’s speed is going to be your best ally in keeping your business running efficiently without delays.

Using Cloud Servers for Different Tasks

You can have more than one cloud server for particular tasks that require a mountain of data on their own. You can store a remote backup of your entire system in one server, and a disaster recovery plan in another. This helps give better organization for different tasks your business may have to utilize later. Best of all, those servers can be accessed anywhere you have an Internet connection. This is part of the celebrated universality of the cloud.

It’s time you tried a cloud server solution for your business, and we can provide it for you. We partner with the most cutting edge cloud vendors to provide solutions that are robust and very affordable.