Remote work is here to stay, based on a prevalent vision of a new normal after the pandemic. As a result, many Washington, D.C. and Charlotte small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are already exploring opportunities to maximize output and morale without harming tight budgets. One effective way is by giving your employees ample support, in the form of partnering with a managed services provider (MSP).
MSPs come in different shapes and forms, but most small enterprises enlist MSPs to support their IT frameworks. This is because IT MSPs provide powerful solutions that are cost-effective and scalable — which is ideal during times of uncertainty.
How can IT MSPs empower remote workers? Let us count the ways:
1. Having flexibility without compromising productivity
Outsourcing your IT to an MSP gives you greater flexibility in terms of equipment and expenditures. They provide scalable solutions that will help you cut down on your need for bulky, expensive hardware without sacrificing usability and productivity.
Partnering with an IT MSP may even be a smarter way to improve your entire information system than having everything on-site and managed in-house. With managed services, you’ll get to leverage new technologies as they come, without incurring additional risk. It’s a great way to test out the possibilities of cloud computing and out-of-office work arrangements, making work processes easier for your remote team.
2. Freeing up resources for what really matters
Many small businesses have an all-hands-on-deck culture, where all members of the organization fulfill their roles — and then some. That may work for a few enterprises, but for many, it means that certain personnel aren’t always immediately available to handle urgent tasks. Sometimes, this can make the difference in closing a new sale or pleasing an important client.
Having an IT partner can alleviate some of the burden on your in-house team’s shoulders. You can delegate time-consuming tasks to an MSP so your IT staff is free to focus on more urgent jobs. This keeps them from being swamped with simultaneous tickets from several remote workers — besides, your MSP partner is likely better equipped to work on out-of-office issues, anyway.
Partnering with an IT MSP doesn’t mean you have to let go of your in-house IT team. Having a hybrid IT team composed of both in-house and outsource personnel will give you the best of both worlds: you’ll have tech experts on the ready for your mission-critical needs and off-site IT for software updates, system management, and the like. And an MSP will cost you less than hiring extra IT workers to meet the same level of output.
Related: The Perks of Cloud-Based Enterprise Mobility
3. Improving work-life balance
Offices closed as workers shifted operations to their respective homes in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, more and more businesses are discovering (the hard way) that blurring the boundaries between home and work is putting a heavy strain on employees. For instance, while video conferencing app Zoom has proven to be a convenient solution for remote workers to convene, it has also given rise to an unintended consequence — “Zoom fatigue.”
Partnering with an IT MSP frees your workers from managing IT issues from home. Servers, for instance, may need to be managed at all hours of the day. Avoid having IT workers clock in from 8:00 to 5:00 PM and still need to respond to server issues at midnight — delegate those off-hours tasks to an MSP instead.
It may seem like a minor thing but work from home arrangements are a delicate balance, and if you care about the well-being of your employees, you should allow them the downtime they need.
4. Providing round-the-clock cyber protection
According to a 2017 study by the Clark School at the University of Maryland, one cyberattack occurs every 39 seconds. As more and more people shift to digital, the rate of cyberattacks will rise — but your business can avoid being included in that statistic. Take a proactive approach with your cybersecurity and enlist the services of a reputable network security MSP to help you mitigate your risk.
An MSP will ensure you have total protection 24/7/365. In contrast, relying on in-house IT alone will either cost you a lot of money in overtime pay or wages for an extra employee (for the same kind of round-the-clock protection) or force you to go for hours or even days with just minimal cybersecurity. This is more critical under a remote work setup, as your IT team is forced to manage your server and other equipment out of the office.
Take on the challenges of work from home arrangements with outsourceIT’s host of remote work-friendly solutions. We’ll help you get your home offices set up and ready to go, with as little disruption as possible. Call us today to schedule your appointment.
