The Most Important Managed IT Services for Small Businesses

Have you ever noticed the revolutionary changes in the corporate world? Even government offices are giving up their traditional methods of managing office tasks. Overall, the advent of managed IT services has cornered typical methods of securing documented information. Certainly, it is simply to secure data, which is luxurious. Its accurate and deep analysis can fill the gap in performance, improve efficiency and productivity, or whatever is your goal associated with data insights. Managed IT services keep the world of intelligence going on and on.

This post will introduce you to the most important managed IT services for small businesses. Let’s learn which services are vital.

Most Important Managed IT Services for SMEs

For sure, multiple categories of managed IT services are crucial. Here, we bring the most sought-after services.

1. Network Security and Monitoring

Network security refers to surveillance networks. Their monitoring is crucial for small businesses because cyberspies are everywhere on the internet. They commit malware, phishing, and ransomware-like dangerous cyberattacks to target sensitive information. This can be personally identifiable information, account credentials, and other sensitive bits of data. These details help them win the jackpot overnight by seeking ransom or access to their bank accounts. That’s why the incidents of cyberattacks are not going to stop.

According to a 2021 Verizon Data Breach Investigations report, 43% of the victims of these attacks were small businesses. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020 clearly states that these businesses bear an average cost ranging from $120,000 to $1.24 million.

So, small companies must focus on firewalls and antivirus solutions, intrusion detection systems, regular security audits, and real-time monitoring and alerts. The continuity of these monitoring services is also important because it can help in counteracting these threats immediately and without delay.

2. Data Backup and Disaster Recovery

The University of Texas studied and found that 94% of companies succumbed to dire data loss. As aforementioned, data is pivotal for all businesses, including SMEs. Managed data backup and disaster recovery services play key roles in securing and retrieving business-critical information. These services can prevent sudden data loss, which might be happening because of hardware failures, cyberattacks, or natural disasters.

A report by Aberdeen Group highlighted that businesses endure an average downtime cost of $8,000 per hour. This is a massive loss, which can be avoided by minimizing downtime and ensuring quick recovery. This step can help in maintaining continuity and winning customer trust. Overall, businesses, especially SMEs, should consider automated data backups, offsite storage solutions, disaster recovery planning, and rapid data restoration services to prevent data loss.

3. Cloud Services

Cloud services bring a ton of benefits. Specifically, these solutions allow you to leverage scalability, flexibility, and cost savings. That’s why 92% of small businesses are relying on at least one cloud service, as per Flexera’s 2021 State of the Cloud Report. This practice results in 26% faster growth and also increases profit by 21%, according to a report by Deloitte.

Businesses achieve this state through managed IT services. These service providers have deep knowledge of cloud migration, optimization, cloud infrastructure management, cloud computing services, SaaS, or Software as a Service, integrity, and regulating performance optimization through regular monitoring. Their assistance can guide you on how to leverage cloud technology for seamless collaboration. These services also help in managing costs effectively while guiding SMEs to scale operations efficiently.

4. IT Helpdesk Support

IT help desk support is another crucial service. It refers to assisting by swiftly addressing day-to-day technical issues so that employees can work seamlessly. An expert-managed IT services provider handles a wide range of IT problems, like managing software updates, removing bugs from systems, installing network and communication channels remotely, and more, to keep disruptions at bay. A survey by Salesforce revealed that 82% of small businesses confirm that IT help desk support has significantly enhanced their operational efficiency.

Businesses want enhanced efficiency for more profit. It can be achieved through minimum downtime, which 24/7 IT support services can achieve for them. Investing in in-house IT engineers is a major concern, which can be minimized by hiring IT helpdesk support. According to MetricNet, the average cost per helpdesk ticket is $22, which managed IT services can minimize. It can provide remote troubleshooting, on-site support when necessary, and regular maintenance and updates on chat and emails. Overall, the IT help desk can provide assistance via chat, email, and troubleshooting.

5. Managed Email Services

Emails are widely used for communication. Businesses rely on them to express critical concerns and get solutions accordingly. Considering Radicati Group’s Email Statistics Report 2021-2025, you will find that over 80% of small businesses consider email as their primary communication tool. Furthermore, managed email services are also pivotal services that help secure emails. This is simply because Mimecast’s State of Email Security 2021 report has it that 70% of SMEs are the victims of email-based cyberattacks. So, these services are necessary to minimize spam mail, phishing attacks, and downtime by managing email hosting. Overall, these service providers efficiently manage emails securely through encryption, especially for small companies, at the best price.

6. Managed VoIP Services

Global Market Insights found that the VoIP market is likely to expand at a CAGR of 10% from 2021 to 2027, indicating that small businesses are adopting it rapidly. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services are actually affordable and also provide flexible communication solutions. These services ensure high-quality, professional, and reliable voice communication. This is actually required for regular operation tasks.

Majorly, these services include VoIP system installation and management, quality monitoring, integration with existing systems, and regulating updates and maintenance. Small businesses can utilize seamless and cost-effective communication solutions for strong and reliable business connectivity and customer service.

Conclusion

The most significant and vital managed IT services for small businesses include managed voice over the internet protocol, managed email services, IT help desk support, cloud services, data backup and recovery, network security, and monitoring. These are some of the most sought-after managed IT solutions that almost every small- to large-scale industry or business requires.