Fractional IT: How You and Your MSP Can Divide and Conquer
Fractional IT Means SBT Is Your Hybrid Technology Partner
Over the last couple of decades, the term ‘outsourcing’ has evolved into negative terminology among professionals. But outsourced work isn’t just a means to reduce costs and increase efficiency. When there is too much work to do, outside help makes perfect sense.
The IT field is unique. Managed service providers like SBT have become the gold standard for how an outside company can serve an important role within another company and still provide a seamless experience. More often than not, an MSP finds itself handling the day-to-day tasks like network monitoring and a 24/7 help desk as a fraction of a business’s total IT, leaving the high-level, strategic direction in the hands of the existing IT staff.
This blog will discuss how a professional MSP enhances your existing IT department and common signs that your business needs some outside help.
Outsourced IT Is Great News for Your IT Staff
A common misconception of an outsourced service provider is that their main focus is to change things. Typical outsourced services consult with you and provide a service back. They own the strategy and the infrastructure; you simply pay for a service.
A professional MSP understands that the opposite should be true, and they strive to fill in the gaps in your technology and change as little as possible. Clearly, if something isn’t working, it needs to be changed, but a functioning partnership doesn’t change the overall culture and direction of existing processes. But how does this work? Why else would an existing IT staff welcome an outsourced option?
- MSPs bring the best out in your IT staff. Let’s face it, IT professionals are more interested in high-level solutions like increasing security or streamlining processes. This isn’t possible when they are too busy helping users with basic technical support. When an MSP handles the nuts and bolts of everyday business, your staff is free to work on more strategic aspects of information technology.
- MSPs make the most of limited resources. When a business grows, so must the infrastructure that supports it, and IT is a prime example of this. But when an IT manager looks at their department and sees the need for multiple people, that represents an enormous expense. The main reason a company hires a managed services provider in the first place is to reduce cost and avoid hiring a full-time employee.
- MSPs are security experts. Enhanced security and compliance are critical business issues by today’s standards, and a forward-looking MSP has the tools and knowledge necessary to stay ahead of an ever-changing cyber security landscape.
- MSPs handle automatic updates and patches. It’s amazing how such a simple and mundane task is so critical to maintaining a secure IT environment. MSPs handle all updates, so you are using the latest and most secure versions.
Signs You Need Some Outside Help
Some businesses worry about trusting an important business function to a service provider. But the beauty of fractional IT is that your business can delegate tasks to an MSP without relinquishing control. The key is knowing when to call for outside help. Here are some signs it may be time to outsource:
- It’s clear you’re not using your technology to its fullest potential. Small IT departments may not be equipped to handle advanced technologies. Business tools are expensive, and when vendors don’t include operational management, businesses are left to figure out how best to incorporate them.
- Downtime is increasing. Network outages should never feel like the norm, and when they do, it is a huge red flag that your IT staff is operating in crisis mode.
- IT costs are also increasing. When you lack scale, the common fix is higher cost because it takes more time and money to do simple things.
- Users complain they have better service at home than at work. Home networks should never outperform an IT infrastructure that is designed to handle business demands.
- Customers complain about technology issues or leave for competitors because they offer higher service levels. If you’re losing customers because of difficulties keeping up with technological advancements, it’s time for a change.
It’s Time To Add SBT to the Equation
A partnership with SBT is precisely that: a positive relationship between two companies to share knowledge and resources that achieve a goal. We offer hybrid managed services such as IT help desk, network monitoring, and cyber security not as a replacement for your existing IT department but as a way to fill in the gaps. We are a technology partner that fully aligns our IT solutions to your exact business needs, at a fraction of the cost.
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