While information technology can greatly increase the productivity of your small business, neglecting your IT infrastructure can greatly impede your business. Staying on top of updates, removing malware, and updating servers can be a full-time job, and for businesses with few resources to spare, preventative tasks to preserve your setup can quickly fall by the wayside. Postponing such tasks however can result in a critical failure, a hacked system, or at the very least, bring your machines to a crawl due to aging equipment. If IT is making life harder instead of easier, consider these signs that it might be time to outsource your IT with managed IT services.

1. You Don’t Have Time for It All

If you find yourself frustrated by the constant little IT issues, you’re not alone. When the printer won’t connect to the network or people can’t log in, time is being wasted. Instead of focusing on the actual priorities of your business and what makes you money, you’re being distracted by IT problems.

If you can’t get your work done because you’re spending your time putting out tech fires all over the office, it’s time to outsource your IT. Imagine how much more productive you could be spending your time growing your business instead of worrying about the latest network problem.

2. You Don’t Have the Expertise You Need

Lack of expertise in technology is the bane of the modern small business. Industry regulations change constantly. Hackers come up with new ways to breach systems every day. Hardware and software advances are released monthly. Only dedicated IT professionals have a prayer of keeping up with all these changes and maintaining the level of expertise needed to keep a business running smoothly and safely.

Attracting and keeping experienced IT professionals can be cost-prohibitive, but managed IT services offer a way to access that level of expertise at a cost you can afford.

3. Your Infrastructure Is Aging Rapidly

Aging IT infrastructure can cause serious issues that affect the day-to-day running of your business and your potential for growth including mounting security risks, increasing expenses, and slowed networks.

Security Risks

Older IT infrastructure poses a serious security risk. Aging units may not be updatable and without the latest patches, they are more vulnerable to hackers. Legacy systems may not be able to  support the most robust encryption protocols, and they may even be transmitting over unsecured channels.

Expense

Many companies keep old IT systems because they don’t want the expense of upgrading, but this cost-saving measure could actually be far more expensive than you realize. Eventually, you won’t be able to use the newest software applications on your old system, limiting your ability to adapt and grow. Simply keeping your older systems alive and running from day-to-day can eat away at operating expenses.

Slowed Networks

Legacy infrastructure can also produce serious technical challenges when it’s unable to keep up with your network demands. This can lead to increased network crashes and lost data.

If your infrastructure is aging, it’s time to outsource your IT with managed IT services that help you build a faster and more secure infrastructure to save money and time in the long run.

4. You Don’t Have the Manpower

Unless you’re a major national or international business, you probably don’t have a large IT department. You might be relying on just a few people to deal with every workstation issue, keep networks up and running, keep you in compliance with regulations, manage your email systems and backups, keep all software up to date and all hardware patched, and stay alert against all the latest security issues and hacker scams.

If that sounds like a lot of work, it is; and if you don’t have the manpower, you’re limiting your own growth potential. It’s a Catch 22: you’re not able to grow because you don’t have the IT support to do more, but you can’t hire additional full-time IT staff because you’re not big enough to afford it.

If you find yourself caught in this cycle, it’s time to outsource.

Outsource Your IT With Managed IT Services

If anything on this list sound familiar, contact Advantage iTS online or call (702)827-3700 today to learn how our managed IT services can work for you. Whether you need a comprehensive service plan that takes everything off your plate, or you just need help to fill in the gaps with strategic individual services, we can help you manage your IT so you can get back to growing your business.

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