Computerware Blog

While IT solutions are an increasingly important factor to any business’ success, it isn’t always an easy matter to determine which solutions will be the most beneficial. One of the most important steps to identifying them is to understand how your current solutions function, and how they can be put to better use or otherwise improved.

An IT assessment is one of the most effective ways to do so.

How does your business handle IT maintenance? Chances are that your small business is in one of two situations: you either have a small internal IT department that can only accomplish a handful of tasks every month, or you have no IT department and rely on your employees to perform any maintenance. No matter how you look at it, this situation is not advantageous.

While being tech-savvy is much more commonplace than it used to be, asking a question about IT can still make one a bit nervous. This leads to many who are somewhat unlearned in technology feeling that they will be mocked for asking “dumb” questions. Well, fear not--we’ll explain some of the more common questions you might want to ask about technology.

When you are looking for help with your IT maintenance, would you rather experience downtime and frustration, or would you rather not? While the right answer to this question is clear, many organizations still rely on antiquated break-fix IT support that holds them back from achieving greatness. What are the differences between traditional break-fix IT support and a managed service provider?

Your organization needs its technology solutions in order to keep up with day-to-day operations, but at the same time, you’ll need to maintain them. Organizations that don’t have an IT department will sometimes turn to their employees to do the required maintenance, but this can put your infrastructure at risk.

To keep your IT out of danger due to inexperience or negligence, we want to share with you a way that you can keep your technology up-to-date and functional, without putting it at risk. It’s called managed IT services, and you’d be surprised what they can do for you. We’ll discuss some of the many benefits that your business can stand to take advantage of by forsaking break-fix IT in favor of managed IT.

Cost Savings
You’ll notice an immediate cost savings when using managed services as your core method of IT maintenance. Right off the bat, you’re saving money. Since you only pay a monthly service fee rather than large up-front costs, you’ll benefit immediately. You receive any sort of maintenance as per your service level agreement from your managed service provider, which is more effective than paying for unexpected maintenance from break-fix IT.

Plus, since you’re taking proactive measures to ensure that your organization’s technology is maintained, you’ll be less likely to experience crippling hardware failure. Break-fix IT providers basically depend on your technology not working properly for them to make money, so they have no real incentive to ensure that your technology is working properly in the long run. Managed IT providers, on the other hand, want to build a relationship with the client and prevent problems from happening in the first place, saving your organization money and boosting rapport in the process.

Less Wasted Time
Small businesses have a tough time acquiring an internal IT department due to budget restraints, but if you do have one, it’s probably swamped with work. This means that the work is either not getting done, or it’s being done poorly due to time constraints. You can’t cut corners in IT, as it could lead to dangerous downtime or missing important updates, putting your data at risk. In fact, one of the most important skipped maintenance procedures is the administration of patches and security updates--something that absolutely shouldn’t be missed.

Managed IT services, regardless of whether or not you have an internal IT department, can provide value in the fact that they provide your organization with more experts for more work. Whether you want to catch up on missed work, implement new solutions, or stay up to date, managed IT providers give your business the flexibility to accomplish your technology-related goals in a time-efficient manner.

Peace of Mind
Untrained employees working with complex machinery must be nerve-wracking--or, at least, it should be. User error is difficult enough to prevent, so it’s reasonable to suggest that only those trained in the proper best practices should be managing technology solutions.

This is perhaps one of the biggest benefits of managed IT services; you don’t have to have untrained users maintaining your technology solutions. You can rest easy at night knowing that your hardware and software initiatives are being helmed by Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC’s finest experts. We firmly believe that an IT project should only be done once, and that’s because it should be done right the first time.

How does your business manage its technology? We know how it should be managed--with Computerware. To get started, give us a call at (703) 821-8200.

When you take your broken-down technology to a break-fix IT technician, they’ll usually fix the problem, but you’ll be stuck with a hefty, per-hour rate that could easily ruin your IT budget. Unfortunately, small and medium-sized businesses often have little choice in the matter, as they can’t afford in-house technicians. Thankfully, there’s a third option for your IT solutions, and it’s called managed IT services.

While traditional break-fix IT services may have seemed helpful in the past, a time has come for its replacement to offer a more viable, efficient, and flexible alternative. Here are three reasons why SMBs would want to take advantage of managed IT services.

Reduced Costs
Break-fix technology is expensive by nature, primarily because you’re purchasing convenience. Think of it in this manner; you go to a restaurant to be served by waiters and waitresses when you don’t feel like cooking your own dinner. Plus, the cooks probably won’t be willing to part with their trade secrets so that you can cook your own meals. Break-fix IT works in a similar manner. They don’t want you to take preventative measures to keep problems from happening in the future, since they profit off of your misfortune.

Managed IT uses monthly payments that are easy to budget and are designed to save your business money in the long run. Most important of all, though, is that managed IT takes a preventative stance that tries to stop issues from becoming major problems in the first place. This saves you money on hardware and software replacements, as you’re wasting fewer budget dollars on downtime.

Improved Security and Efficiency
Efficiency is one of the most important traits that anyone could want out of IT maintenance. Network monitoring and maintenance is a necessity for businesses that want to guarantee the security of their systems. Patches also need to be issued in a timely manner to prevent vulnerabilities in widely-used software solutions from buckling under pressure of hacking attacks. Of course, all of this is much easier said than done. The SMB has a limited schedule and workforce, which inevitably leads to cutting corners in order to “stay ahead.”

Managed IT services can also remedy this issue. Our technicians have the ability to remotely monitor and maintain your infrastructure so that you can resolve issues efficiently without an on-site visit. In fact, most problems with your infrastructure can be resolved remotely, so you can limit our on-site visits to only the most necessary of operations.

End-to-End Support
While some businesses have an internal IT department, they may be too busy to implement new and innovative IT solutions. On the other hand, they may be too busy innovating to provide quality technology support to your users. Either way, your team is swamped with work, and managed IT offers an easier solution to this issue that’s a better alternative to putting too many demands on such a crucial asset (your IT department).

Managed IT wants to help your internal IT department manage and delegate tasks in an effective manner. If your internal team needs assistance, our technicians are only a phone call away. If you want us to innovate in your stead, we can do that too. Regardless of your IT needs, we can improve your business’s operations.

To learn more, reach out to us at (703) 821-8200.