There are few certainties in driving growth and competitiveness in the digital era.
The IT landscape in Calgary has undergone rapid growth of digital services in recent years, and it’s apparent that traditional IT mindsets are diminishing. Leading companies are adjusting their strategy, reorganizing themselves, making targeted investments, and improving their competitiveness to build and scale their digital services and effectively manage multiple priorities relating to cost, efficiency, quality, and innovation.
To cut costs and adopt next-generation infrastructure technology and hybrid-cloud models, leading businesses are leveraging managed IT services. With the right partner, you’re not only able to augment in-house capabilities but also increase competitiveness by optimizing operating costs and efficiencies.
These are some of the ways IT Managed Services are streamlining business operations in Calgary and across Alberta.
What Are Managed IT Services?
Before we explore the myriad benefits of the managed services model, let’s first take a glance at its definition and how it operates.
Managed IT services are information technology functions that are outsourced to a third-party vendor. Common managed IT services may include (but are not limited to):
- Managing a client’s digital help desk
- Monitoring the health and security of client networks
- Overseeing software installations and updates
- Implementing business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) protocols
Businesses, ranging from start-ups to SMBs to large enterprises, seek these services on a subscription basis to elevate their companies’ digital infrastructure and transform their technology capabilities.
The Impact of Managed IT Services on Calgary Businesses
With Alberta’s labor force growing by over 139,000 people (+3.9%), the highest annual growth since 1981, businesses have been in a constant sprint against the clock to build differentiated offerings and solutions, while leveraging a multitude of technologies to accelerate their growth. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) deliver opportunities to streamline operations, automate mundane tasks, and fine-tune resource allocation, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
With the help of third-party IT service management, businesses can keep their critical networks, endpoints, and data operating smoothly and securely, without the high upfront costs, infrastructure, or talent required to handle these systems in-house.
Scalability
Keeping an in-house IT team comes with a hefty price tag, and that’s why we often find teams feeling stretched thin, overwhelmed, and struggling to keep up with tasks because of limited time and resources. It’s just not sustainable for day-to-day operations, especially when you’re looking to grow your company.
Training even one additional employee for your IT department costs thousands of dollars, and there is never a guarantee that you’ll retain them for the long term. An MSP absorbs the cost of training, and you’ll never have to worry about your IT experts jumping ship.
Scaling networks takes significant collaboration, manpower, and new investments. I It’s a sizable financial commitment for any company to undertake, and it often takes an IT team’s focus from other important functions like security. Managed services can help you expand or upgrade systems when you need to, without having to hire and train employees you won’t necessarily need later.
Managed services providers keep your business flexible when it comes to resources and can accommodate swift changes that an in-house team might not be able to respond to promptly.
Minimizing Downtime
Downtime most often occurs due to equipment challenges.
Servers fail, computers malfunction, even electrical disruptions are a factor. Unintentional human error can also account for a significant chunk of downtime, and there’s not much you can do to eliminate this altogether. Employing strong safeguards in critical systems is the best way to reduce the potential risk.
However, reducing the risk of downtime is a complex, laborious task that an in-house team may not have the bandwidth or experience to tackle effectively.
Managed Services can cut costs associated with downtime by preventing problems before they surface. Through proactive maintenance, upgrades, system monitoring, and issue resolution on a routine basis, they can detect bugs and issues well in advance, often resolving them before clients become aware of them.
Increased Focus on Strategic Projects
Bringing a third-party vendor on board to handle managed IT services could also boost business productivity.
Your internal staff no longer need to bog themselves down with tasks that aren’t the highest priority or the best use of their time. With functions like software patch updates, equipment monitoring and maintenance, and cybersecurity in the hands of true experts, your teams can rest at ease and focus on what they do best. High-value, strategic projects and other needed tasks get the time and attention needed, and you can allocate your IT resources optimally.
Proven Expertise
How often does your leadership engage with topics like effective cybersecurity policies, industry compliance standards, and insights gained from real-world experiences?
A Managed Services Provider’s comprehensive knowledge of cybersecurity and regulatory compliance is a priceless asset in mitigating your risks. As the trusted experts responsible for a company’s managed IT support, we remain consistently updated on the latest information, technologies, and methodologies essential for keeping infrastructures working efficiently and successfully well into the future.
Regulatory compliance has also become a mandate across major business sectors such as finance, healthcare, and education. Stringent regulations governing data management, storage, and overall cybersecurity mean you must seek the expertise and experience that only a managed IT company can provide in certain cases.
Bridge The IT Skills Gap
High-level IT positions are becoming increasingly difficult for Calgary companies to fill internally, with the tech marketplace facing severe talent shortages. Companies struggle to locate quality talent for their tech roles, often leaving these positions vacant for extended periods.
Bringing a third-party MSP on board may be an attractive, economic solution to bridge the gap during these uncertain times. In time, you may even find them as a permanent solution for your IT needs. Not only do you experience the skills of an MSP, but you also benefit from their resources.
Since finding the skilled talent to build an internal IT team can be bad enough, most business owners tend to forget that IT operations are resource-heavy as well.
Partnering with a third-party MSP can make services more dependable and reduce disruptions. Further, vendor-client SLAs clarify what’s to be expected and when to expect it, making both IT services and utility services (electricity, internet, etc.) reliable.
Uncover ROI
If you lack an internal IT team, it’s natural to feel the financial strain associated with unpredictable break-fix services whenever issues arise.
For those with a relatively small IT department, they’re likely inundated with a lengthy list of service requests and struggling to plan for future IT expenditures. How do you justify your current IT operations if you don’t see a return on investment?
MSPs are your trusted partners in safeguarding your IT infrastructure, always one step ahead to minimize downtime and ward off cyber threats. Their proactive approach ensures you receive greater value for your investment compared to the unforeseen expenses of break-fix IT support. With fixed monthly fees, scalability options, and a team of experts at your disposal, you’re empowered to focus on what matters most, bolster productivity, and achieve your long-term objectives with complete peace of mind.
OPTIMIZE YOUR IT INFRASTRUCTURE WITH A RISK-FREE ASSESSMENT
An IT Assessment provides both qualitative and quantitative measurements of IT performance, consisting of key insights regarding your staff, organization, business alignment, user communication, and risk management. More than just metrics, it offers valuable industry best practices, root cause analysis, and subject matter expertise to pinpoint actionable results through prioritized recommendations. You want to build a foundation for planning upgrades, migrations, or modifications within your business’s current technology environment.
At Yardstick, we are currently offering a complimentary, risk-free IT assessment to evaluate the overall strengths and weaknesses of your organizational network, as well as actionable recommendations for improving system security, network design, and overall IT infrastructure.
If you want to develop a roadmap for IT improvements, prioritize IT projects and investments, and align your IT environment with business goals and staff organization, sign up for this assessment ASAP.
As a leading Managed Service Provider in Alberta, Yardstick Technologies brings over 15 years of specialized experience in IT consulting, helpdesk support, and managed services. Focused on Alberta’s distinct business landscape, our seasoned team crafts personalized solutions to address the varying needs of local clients. Whether it’s expert IT consulting, responsive helpdesk support, or comprehensive managed services, we remain dedicated to bolstering Alberta businesses with reliable technology solutions.
