Maintaining an internal IT team has been a challenge, and talent attrition and recruitment issues in this field are likely to get worse before they get better. Maybe that’s why you’re considering managed IT, or maybe you’re looking to outsource more risk. Whatever the reason, there are some things you should know before picking a provider.
In this blog, we’ll cover 10 facts about managed IT that can make all the difference in your partnership, in your business technology, and ultimately, in your success.
1. Managed IT Should Be Focused on Business Outcomes
While managed IT teams can help you prevent and resolve disruptions, they should have sufficient tools and resources to do that and much more. Modern managed IT providers should be able to get you out of the break/fix cycle so they can focus on:
- Increasing innovation through automation and process improvement
- Giving you more ROI through technology investments
- Accessing additional competitive business advantages through technology
- Empowering your mobile workforce
- Boosting employee productivity and retention
2. Pricing Models Vary for Managed IT Services
A business with ten employees is going to require a different level of service than one with a thousand. And an organization without an IT staff is going to need different services than one that has IT expertise on hand. And just like how the music industry has evolved from selling albums to offering subscription services, so has managed IT.
There are six common pricing models for managed IT. Sometimes that means you can get the same service for a lot less.
Our managed IT is priced by user, which offers a few unique benefits:
- It’s easy to understand how much you’ll be paying
- Your bill will scale up and down along with your business
- It’s easier to budget for growth
- Our experts are just as accessible to small to midsize businesses as they are to our bigger clients
- We are incentivized to help you prevent cybersecurity attacks and keep your systems and tools running
3. Industry Expertise Is Huge
Most managed IT organizations will assert they can save organizations up to 10% on their IT infrastructure, provide timely support, and world-class expertise. That’s great, but if you work with a provider that has a lot of experience working with organizations similar to yours, they can offer a significant amount of additional ROI that is difficult to quantify.
They can tell you what solutions are likely to work well for you, what you really need, and what you can probably do without, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. They can also fill you in on how you might be able to leverage technology to get a competitive advantage.
4. End-User Support Isn’t All the Same
This probably won’t come as a shock, but not every IT person loves providing end-user support. Communication and interpersonal skills are important — especially when you’re resolving issues remotely.
That’s why we monitor our team to make sure they’re providing friendly, knowledgeable service to solve problems quickly. That’s also why we don’t rely on offshore support or bring in entry-level people. We’ve invested a lot in our US-based team because that’s the best way to resolve issues with one call.
We’ve also invested in robotics process automation (RPA) to, for example, simplify our invoicing, which helps us focus more on where our attention is needed — solving problems for clients that require additional flexibility and a human touch.
5. Cybersecurity Is a Specialized Skill
Nowadays, one would think that any IT provider would understand the importance of cybersecurity. However, when we conduct cybersecurity assessments for clients that use a different IT provider or rely on an internal team, we still tend to find things that raise a few eyebrows, like common cloud computing misconfigurations that could increase the risk of a data breach or another serious cybersecurity incident.
If technology changes by the year, cybersecurity risks can change by the month. Unfortunately, not every organization or technology provider has the resources to keep up, and even more unfortunate, hackers know it.
Your cybersecurity is top of mind for all of us at Marco — we won’t recommend a solution that will put your business at increased risk, and we understand that part of our role is to provide mentorship around securing your tools, systems, and data.
But you don’t have to take our word for that. We’ve completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination of our managed IT services to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to security and assure our clients that we’re consistently following best practices.
6. Today’s Tech Is Designed To Work Together
Here’s a pretty common experience we wish were a lot rarer — it’s the blame game that happens when your internet provider, for example, insists that an equipment failure isn’t their responsibility. The equipment manufacturer insists that an internet issue is really at fault, and you’re left with no solution.
When you get a managed service from Marco, no matter what’s causing a problem with that system, we’ll help you resolve it. And because we have experts who specialize in connectivity, AV equipment, printers, phones, and the like, we can take care of these problems in-house.
7. It’s Not Normal To Have Lingering Doubts About Your Managed IT Service Provider
If you currently have a provider, and you’re wondering if you’re really benefiting from their services, that’s not normal. It’s also not a good feeling, which is why we make sure to provide a much closer partnership, even if you might not be seeing our techs around your workspace nearly as often.
At Marco, our managed IT customers receive a bi-annual business review with their dedicated technology advisor. Our advisors go over our performance analytics and ticketing information, assess where your end-users might need additional support, discuss your business goals, and offer recommendations to help you achieve them.
To put it another way, if you ever fantasized about having an Obi-Wan Kenobi for your office technology, that’s what we try to be for our clients.
8. Vendor Partnerships Are Huge
Here’s a sneaky tip: some IT providers have formed close, strategic partnerships with equipment manufacturers and software developers — insider pricing is one of the ways providers can save you money.
However, you might also want to poke around at any certifications they have. We have Gold Certified Partnerships with Microsoft and Cisco — a rare status that means these vendors have verified that our specialists can support their products as well or better than they can.
9. Technology Services Are Customer Services
Your satisfaction with our support, services, and your technology is important! To make sure we are holding up our end of the bargain, we’ve created a customer satisfaction process where we regularly ask our clients for feedback. Results are measured and charted monthly so we have the information we need to enhance our processes and continually improve our service to you.
10. Happy Employees Make for Happy Clients
Stress and burnout are common in our industry, and we understand why. But stressed, burned-out people aren’t always in the best head space to make anyone else’s day better. Need we say more?
We’ve found there’s no real secret to attracting and retaining top talent — treat them like the amazing people they are and give them work-life balance, tons of health and wellness resources, awesome benefits, and good pay. Bad days happen to everyone, but at Marco, we work really hard to minimize them. Our team gets great satisfaction from helping their clients, and we do our best to take great care of them in return.
Finding the Right Managed IT Support Team
Okay, so we’re a bit biased.
But the right managed IT provider can make all the difference in the success or failure of your office technology and productivity. We could talk your head off about that — clearly — but we understand that price is sometimes the first thing clients need to know.
Click the button below to get a quick estimate for our managed IT services!
