As companies look at the value of receiving Managed IT services from an external provider, internal IT team members and executives wonder, is this right for our business? As you contemplate the adoption of managed services, consider the following questions.

Is Your Technology a Capital Expense or an Operational Expense? 

Some companies look at IT—from individual employee equipment to the broader infrastructure—as a capital expense. However, when you look at the lifecycle of today's technologies, viewing it as an operational expense makes more sense. We're seeing a trend where technology moves and changes rapidly. Technologies that used to last upwards of five years are now averaging half that time. This pace alone makes the traditional, capital expenses for business technology unrealistic and expensive.

Managed IT Services is a way for organizations to keep their business technologies up-to-date with the latest versions, without adding additional expenses. This is seen as a major contributor to the overall success of today's organizations and is, therefore, extremely valuable.

Enterprise-scale managed IT support allows a business to cut down on the expense of purchasing, installing, maintaining and eventually upgrading a complex IT infrastructure. Some of the many benefits of the support provided through managed IT services include:

• Reducing infrastructure costs by 24%
• Boosting end-user productivity by reducing IT downtime by 88% (or more)
• Improving productivity, which leads to increased revenue

Is Your Current IT Approach Reactive or Proactive?

Does your IT team respond to issues or plan solutions? Managed IT offers proactive monitoring that ensures servers and other infrastructure equipment are maintained properly. This not only keeps daily connectivity and productivity high, but also helps avoid catastrophic downtime as a result of sudden issues that catch an overworked IT employee off guard.

Businesses that hand off maintenance and emergency issues to a managed IT firm find themselves with an internal IT department that is no longer burdened by short-term demands. Instead, your IT team can focus on implementing the long-term IT initiatives that better position the business to remain competitive in the industry.

Is Expansion on the Horizon?

Few businesses exist in a static environment. The market is constantly growing and contracting. Investing in a full IT infrastructure, managed in-house, places an internal burden on company resources whenever change or expansion happens. Purchasing new equipment, installing it, streamlining processes and combining services with existing platforms can be a major drain on resources.

With managed services, companies can expand without the stress of adding IT infrastructure to accommodate your new users or locations. Managed IT service firms employ professionals with the skills and knowledge to integrate new users to your network and servers to support growth.

Is Your Internal IT Department Overworked?

One of the biggest complaints in any office is the response time of its IT department. In addition to installing, monitoring, securing and maintaining IT equipment or infrastructure, IT staff field phone calls and support requests that address every little issue that pops up each day. When an IT department is consumed with these end-user tasks, the long-term projects focused on increasing productivity or company growth may suffer.

Outsourcing your IT doesn't eliminate the need for an internal IT department, but rather, supports the strategic activities of IT professionals. Managed IT services have been shown to help boost IT staff productivity by as much as 42%. Leave the infrastructure issues, connection problems and software downtime to a managed services provider, and let your internal IT department focus on developing and implementing applications that could change the way you do business.