Why You Need A Specialized Technical Support: Getting the Most Value from a Managed Help Desk

why you need a specialized technical support getting the most value from a managed help desk

In this digital age, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any business that does not rely heavily or entirely on information technology. Whether for advertising, communication, or their actual core businesses, all business owners make a significant investment in installations and development of appropriate technology for their line of work.

While there are many tech-savvy people in the workforce nowadays, there is still a need for technical support specialists to handle the more specialized aspects of technology management. For instance, not everyone can create a code for a specific program, or troubleshoot certain functional issues within software.

Therefore, you definitely need a trained and experienced individual or team to handle these issues. It is also essential to get the professionals because IT installations can be quite expensive and you wouldn’t want to risk getting them damaged by a well-meaning, albeit unqualified, individual.

Your Options

There are various ways of getting technical support. The more traditional approach has been to hire an individual or team to deal with all things IT; from software to hardware installations and troubleshooting.

However, in recent times, technical support has been outsourced to companies that specifically offer this kind of service. Referred to as Managed IT Services, this has become quite popular both as a business model and as a requested service.

There are various ways to engage with managed IT services:

Tandem

Here, you retain your IT staff while hiring managed IT services. You then divide the labor, as it were, between your two teams. Most businesses prefer to have the in-house IT team focus on the company’s core business while the managed IT services team will handle the recurrent or mundane, yet time-consuming jobs.

Troubleshooting

In this arrangement, the managed IT services team only show up when the in-house team is unable to address a particular problem sufficiently. Think of it like calling the fire department; they only come when they are needed and in emergency situations. 

Total

Within this total engagement, there is no in-house IT team. Everything, large or small, is handled by the outsourced IT team. The rest of the staff simply call a designated number when they come across some tech difficulties, and they will be assisted.

Making the Most of It

As a business owner, most decisions are made with the impact on the bottom line firmly in mind. So, naturally, you want to ensure that this outsourcing of IT services will be worth your while (at the very least) and possibly lead to increased profits (which is the best scenario). So, how do you maximize your partnership with a managed tech help desk?

1. Know what you need

What exactly do you need? There are many services offered by managed tech services, but these can be tailored to the specific needs of your business. For example, you may only need your system continually monitored with alerts being sent to your in-house IT team for management. Alternatively, you may need the outsourced team to do the actual troubleshooting alongside or in the absence of an in-house team. So, first, be clear about what you need.

2. Run the numbers

Once you know what you want, calculate how much it would cost an in house IT department to deliver vis-à-vis an outsourced team. Remember to take into account all the easily overlooked issues such as downtime and the ensuing loss of productivity. You may need a professional to do this for you but make sure you get it done so you can see just how much money you will be saving by outsourcing.

3. Do your due diligence

This kind of partnership is critical, mainly due to the tech-reliant times we are living in. So, you want to do your research on each managed IT service provider that meets your specific needs. Ask around for recommendations, check out their portfolios and recent audit reports, critically examine their strengths with regard to what you specifically need, and then make your decision.

Talk to Us

If you are in Long Island or New York City, and you’re looking to get the best possible managed tech service, you should go ahead and give us a call. You may also contact us and we will answer all your questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

What is IT Support?

what is it support

ae-support

When small businesses sign up for IT support, they get access to a variety of services. Tech support isn’t any one product or service that you can buy. It’s a complete package that can improve several aspects of your business.

What is IT Support?

We posted a white paper not too long ago outlining all of the features that come with tech support. Here’s a list of some of the standard features:

  • Networking control
  • Email & messaging services
  • Total backup
  • Absolute security
  • Complete server monitoring
  • Unlimited network support
  • Vendor relationship management
  • Hosting services
  • Wireless Networking
  • 24×7 Response

Typically when we talk about our services, we break them down into four main groups:

Network security

One of the biggest challenges small businesses face today is network security. Contrary to popular opinion, small businesses are a popular target for hackers because they don’t typically have advanced security. With IT support, you don’t have to worry about network security, other than training your employees. All of the hardware and equipment are taken care of.

Support

Not only do we constantly monitor your network, but we also offer 24/7 support. That means that if you ever have any problems with your network or technology, you can just call us and we’ll fix whatever’s wrong.

Data backup

In addition to protecting your data from hackers, you also have to back it up to prepare for data loss. Even if you already practice data backup, you may want to consider other options such as cloud computing. We help businesses set an automatic data backup plan so they can set it and forget it.

Communication

IT support also can be used for email and mobile messaging. In addition, although it’s not offered in the package, businesses can also ask about VoIP, a cost-effective alternative to landline phones.

To learn more about IT support, or anything else, please contact us.

Start Your Relationship with Outsourced IT New York

start your relationship with outsourced it new york

Outsourced IT New York

For years, small to medium sized businesses thought of IT management as something that only large corporations needed. However, increasingly, smaller companies are starting to realize why professional IT management is something that every business needs. In fact, in today’s technological climate, you could suffer great financial losses if you go without IT management.

Modern Business Needs IT for Communication

If your business is like most, it is more than just a few desktop computers in an office. You likely have several printers, faxes and other devices. In addition, many of your staff members use laptops, tablets and smartphones to do their work; or just to complete small tasks. It is important for all of these devices to communicate. In addition, many businesses are taking file storage; customer service management and other tasks like HR managment to the cloud. When you have a New York outsourced IT company monitor every part of your networking, (from your hardware to the cloud), this also helps to improve productivity for your workers and increase network security.

Modern Business Needs IT to Avoid Downtime

Most mechanical things do have an issue or two from time to time. However, most would consider it a nightmare to have seven computers down at a small outdoor clothing catalog office for three hours on a Saturday afternoon. You can lose a great deal of sales when you experience even just 30 minutes to one hour of business down time.

In addition, why just call in one IT guy every time something goes wrong? Why opt for a temporary fix for a possibly larger problem?

Lastly, backup is essential. A good IT department will help you to select the right sized backup for your business. An out of the box solution might not be the most secure for your business model; or the simplest one for your staff to use.

More Affordable Than You Think

One of the main things that keeps small to medium sized businesses from hiring an outsourced IT staff is that owners and managers are worried about cost. However, AE Technology Group offers 24/7 monitoring at a monthly flat rate that you agree to up front. There are no additional fees. In addition, it’s much cheaper to pay for preventive maintenance than it is to pay for data recovery. In some instances, you might not even be able to recover your lost data; so the cost of that is often immeasurable. Contact us to learn more!