How the Managed IT Services Model Unlocks High-Level IT Strategy Consulting - Xecunet
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How the Managed IT Services Model Unlocks High-Level IT Strategy Consulting

For small-to-mid-sized businesses with limited IT resources, the idea of implementing a strategic approach to IT can feel like a pipe dream.

If there are internal IT people, they almost certainly feel that it’s enough to deal with IT issues on a day-to-day basis. Just putting out the fires that arise each week can feel like a win. If there aren’t internal IT people, then owners or employees are the ones juggling IT responsibilities, in which case they’re only worried about catching what comes next.

In these scenarios, the idea of proactive IT strategy is appealing in the same way that world peace is – great in theory, but a long way from being realistic.

There’s good news, though. There is an updated model of service that drastically empowers IT resources and unlocks access to high-level, strategic IT consulting.

It’s called managed services.

Here’s how it works – and how it finally unlocks proactive IT.

1. Fixed costs

Importantly, managed services are delivered at a fixed cost. Regardless of the IT issues over the course of a given month – support requests, on-site visits, server maintenance – costs remain consistent and predictable.

This is a major upgrade over the traditional break-fix model of IT service for a variety of reasons. First, break-fix motivates IT personnel to spend more time fixing more issues, because that’s how the money is made. Conversely, managed IT services incentivize providers to reduce the number of issues in the first place.

Second, break-fix is unpredictable. It may cost next to nothing one month and be devastatingly expensive the next. That makes budgeting difficult. Managed IT services, on the other hand, make budgeting simple, allowing businesses to transition IT costs into operational expenses.

But while managed services are predictable, they’re not inflexible.

2. Scalable resources

In fact, managed IT services also introduce the possibility of scalable IT support.

An internal resource is obviously limited. Hiring a new IT employee is a slow and difficult process that still puts a cap on IT capability (it’s just increased by a headcount of one). But the best-managed service providers offer the benefits of an entire team of knowledgeable IT personnel, available as needed, and accessible without the difficulty of the hiring process.

As a business grows, or as high-level IT considerations arise, it’s easy to level-up IT capability accordingly.

3. Access to experts

Scalability doesn’t just apply in terms of functional, time-based availability (going from 20 hours to 40 hours of support per week, for example). It also applies to the level of expertise that businesses have access to.

Put simply, the best managed IT services give businesses access to experts across areas of IT.

This is a huge advantage over strictly internal solutions because even the best IT people aren’t capable of acquiring expertise across every technological niche. An expert at managing server-side issues, for example, probably isn’t also an expert at dealing with Microsoft OS dilemmas. And the more skills an internal IT resource has, the more expensive they’ll be, regardless.

Managed service providers, contrastingly, are able to deliver expertise across a broad spectrum of IT services because they’ve already built up an entire team of technically-trained and knowledgeable personnel.

4. Proactive, strategic IT consulting

The aforementioned three factors – fixed costs, functional scalability, and access to experts – taken together are what allow managed IT services to offer proactive, strategic IT consulting.

Here’s how:

  • Because costs are predictable and there’s the capability to easily address day-to-day needs, managed providers have the practical ability to transition into a proactive IT stance.
  • Because providers are built on a team of experts, they have the depth of knowledge across IT areas that are needed to provide high-level consulting insight.

Managed IT services are the best way to eliminate IT firefighting and move to IT strategy-building.

Ready for strategic IT consulting at an affordable cost?

If you’re ready to move beyond IT firefighting and transition to IT you can trust, let’s talk.

At Xecunet, we’ve been serving the Frederick area with technology services for over 20 years. Over that time, we’ve seen too many local businesses to count struggle with subpar IT – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

At Xecunet, our managed IT service model finally unlocks strategic IT consulting at affordable costs so that small-to-medium-sized businesses can thrive.

And because we’re local (right down the street at 5744-R Industry Lane in Frederick, MD) we’re able to offer unmatched response time and customer service, built on years of serving Frederick businesses.

Want to learn more about how managed services can help your business? Get in touch with us today.