Your business’s IT infrastructure needs regular maintenance to run smoothly, but that’s not enough. To stay ahead of the competition and protect against cyberattacks, you also need the latest technology and updates.
Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) is a service model that addresses this problem while at the same time improving your flexibility and scalability, enabling you to respond to shifts in the market quickly and efficiently. Let’s take a look at how TaaS accomplishes this and gives you a better alternative to buying and upgrading IT every year.
What is Technology-as-a-Service?
TaaS typically involves partnering with a managed IT services provider (MSP) that supplies hardware, software, and network infrastructure for a monthly subscription fee.
Under this model, you do not own your servers, printers, software, or other IT components, the MSP does. However, this means that all maintenance, upgrades, and updates are the responsibility of the MSP, and all these are included as part of your monthly fee.
Furthermore, you don’t need to fork over high capital expenditure to acquire the technology, you just have to start paying your monthly fee. If you no longer need the IT in your TaaS agreement or need different or new technology, you can simply adjust your subscription instead of selling assets and starting from scratch.
Common types of TaaS models include:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – hardware including servers, storage, routers, workstations, printers, etc.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) – IaaS elements as well as the software infrastructure needed to operate them, such as operating systems and cloud platforms
- Software as a Service (SaaS) – individual as well as bundled software apps, such as customer relationship management software, email server, productivity, and many other kinds of programs
The benefits of TaaS
Is switching to TaaS worth the trade-off of giving up IT ownership and committing to a subscription model? Let’s explore.
Scalability
Your business will hopefully grow over time, but leaning out is also not a bad thing, especially if you deal with seasonal demand. When your computing needs increase or decrease, you must either buy new technology or sell off your old IT to make room in your office and your budget.
With a TaaS model, however, scaling your IT up or down is as simple as contacting your MSP and adjusting your subscription. Next month, you’ll have the right amount of IT you need without excess money and time being wasted.
Flexibility
Imagine identifying software or hardware that could benefit your operations, investing in it, and integrating it into your workflow. The next year, this IT is made obsolete by a new technology, forcing you to repeat the process and tanking your ROI.
With a TaaS model, that scenario looks more like this:
- Your MPS provides you with the technology you need without the high initial purchase costs.
- The next year it is made obsolete.
- You arrange for your old IT to be replaced by your MSP, who installs the new solution for you.
- Your business stays on the cutting edge of your industry without a significant expenditure or increase in your monthly costs.
With TaaS, your technology infrastructure can change with the market and the times quickly and easily so you always stay competitive.
Affordability
Avoiding steep initial investments is only one way that TaaS can save your business money on IT costs. Under TaaS agreements, your MSP is responsible for the maintenance, upgrades, installation, and in some cases the supplies for your technology (e.g., printer ink and toner). This slashes your monthly maintenance costs and frees up your IT staff to focus on driving up revenue.
The IT provided by your MSP is also managed and configured by their professional technology consultants, meaning you will experience higher levels of cybersecurity. This reduces the risk of costly and potentially business-ending data breaches.
Want to find out if the Technology-as-a-Service model is right for your company’s needs? Get in touch with outsourceIT for a free consultation. We have decades of experience meeting the IT needs of businesses just like yours, and we’ll show you in real terms how TaaS can reduce your costs while improving your company’s agility.
