Monthly Archives: February 2021

Improve Your Business Operations With A Managed Service Provider (MSP)

Three IT managers work together on technical projects

Your company has enough to manage. Let a Managed Service Provider help you increase efficiency, productivity, and availability.

Technology has structurally altered the capabilities of small businesses, mid-size businesses, and large businesses. Cloud computing has allowed businesses of all sizes to gain access to technology and resources at a cost they can afford. Today, IT providers have a greater ability to provide top-notch value than other services can offer.

Whether you are an executive in the business world or you are an IT professional, using managed services can definitely make your job a little easier. When properly executed, Managed Services can be like gaining the abilities of a full IT department with the skills and experience of the best IT professionals. The combination can lead to effective and efficient operations to every user within the business.

Managed Services have been designed to handle the basic and complex operations of your applications providing the proficiency to every end-user. Managed Services can lead to members of your IT team having more time and resources to focus on more strategic IT programs. With Managed Services(MS), your team members will also be able to focus on the key components that make the business.

Signs You Need Managed Services

There are several signs that will arise that will indicate a need for Managed Services. It is important to be aware of the signs before a major decline occurs. When a decline happens within your business or organization, the decreased quality of IT services will negatively impact your business or organization.

Here are signs that can indicate a need for Managed Services:

  • There was a lack of support that resulted in your business or organization not being able to achieve a bulk of your goals
  • There was no Backup and Disaster Recovery(BDR) plan in place and data was lost during an outage
  • There was a significant number of downtime and outages that were not repaired right away
  • Changes in the business lead to poor performances

The right Managed Services(MS) can help address the above challenges and any other challenges that may arise.

What Are Your Needs?

Businesses and organizations are under a significant amount of pressure to meet their operational and performance goals, as well as their expectations. A Managed Service Provider can provide the services your business or organization to improve your overall operations.

When you are ready to set new business-related goals or when you are ready to introduce new IT services, you may discover that speaking with a Managed Service Provider will allow you to gain a better understanding of your needs. A Managed Service Provider will help you assess your needs and determine the services you may need.

What Can An MSP Offer?

Managed Service Providers can offer a significant amount of benefits to your business or organization, including better cost control, better efficiency, better productivity, and more. There are several cost factors for a business or organization, and the average cost components of an IT department will generally be taken on by the Managed Service Provider(MSP).

A Managed Service Provider(MSP) can also lead to greater efficiency, productivity, and availability. It is important to have IT services that are readily available, and an MSP can ensure that the right resources will be in place to avoid downtime and outages. Customers and clients will experience high-quality performances with little to no downtime when there is a presence of Managed Services.

Managed Service Providers can deliver high-quality business services that will help your business or organization remain flexible, productive, and efficient. If you are looking to invest in new and improved services, we recommend taking a look at the benefits that a Managed Service Provider(MSP) can offer.

Contact SystemsNet today for more information.

Proving The Value Of IT With Monthly Management Reports

High angle view of a businessman generating a report

Thorough monthly IT reporting can improve your IT performance in the long run.

As difficult as it may be to say, IT does not always give people a positive impression. Technology has a tremendous amount of value to a business, but some IT leaders are having a difficult time showing how valuable IT is to a business. When IT leaders are not able to adequately express the value of IT, this can create a problem that may be difficult to amend.

While some Chief Information Officers have been able to make the transition from a lower department to a higher department, many other IT leaders are having a difficult time getting everyone to understand that the role of IT is much larger than many may realize. Unfortunately, many people only view IT as a department or function within the business or organization that does not have any value to the profit.

Since IT is not always seen as a value generator, IT does not always obtain the type of reporting it deserves. Without proper IT reporting, your business or organization can fail to identify how valuable IT is.

Create an IT Strategy

There are various things CEOs, board members, and IT leaders can do to prove how valuable IT is and how valuable their positions are. Your business or organization needs to have an IT strategy in place to ensure IT will still have an impact. However, we understand that changing one’s mindset or foundation is not an easy thing to accomplish.

IT leaders will need to prove how valuable IT is to a business or organization. The IT department should no longer be viewed as a department where money sinks. The IT department should be viewed as a department that can generate a tremendous amount of revenue on a yearly basis. In order to prove how valuable IT is, one will need strong and efficient IT monthly management reports.

IT reporting will not only involve showing how valuable IT resources and departments are, but it will also involve how impactful IT is to the entire business landscape.

There are various details that will need to be included in the monthly IT reports in order to create an effective IT strategy, including the following:

Reported Outages

Downtime and outages can greatly impact your business or organization’s ability to operate. If your business cannot operate as it should, your business or organization will struggle to bring in revenue. If people cannot access your website or if your help desk is not working properly, your entire business operations will be negatively impacted.

It is the job of the IT department to solve the problems, and not be the one responsible for the problems. The number reported outages and the length of time it takes to resolve the problems should be included in the monthly reports. When you have reports that detail the reported outages, you will have a clearer understanding of what issues are common and what solutions can be used to ensure the issues do not become a trend.

Reported Resolutions

One of the goals of your monthly IT reports is to reduce the number of problems that can have an impact on the business or organization. However, we understand that the same problem can occur in different forms. The problems can also have an impact in different forms and in different manners. Regardless of the issues, the IT department will need to resolve as many problems as possible.

The issues that need to be resolved should not be settled on a temporary basis. No one wants to have a problem that will be solved only temporary. The number of resolutions that have been solved permanently should be placed in the IT reports. When the number of resolutions are listed in the IT reports, the number of future issues can be reduced because there will be a better understanding on how to resolve any similar problems that may arise in the future.

IT monthly management reports are needed to prove how important and valuable IT is to a business or organization. There are various reports that can be used to prove how important and valuable IT is. What reports and information do you think will have the greatest impact on your IT strategy?

Contact SystemsNet today for more information on IT monthly management reports.

What Will Happen If I Do Not Have A Backup Disaster Recovery (BDR)?

A folder containing emergency/disaster recovery plans

Life is unpredictable. Backup Disaster Recovery (BDR) plans are essential.

Backup and Disaster Recovery is an archiving solution that is used to retrieve information that could have possibly been corrupted, lost, or accidentally deleted. Your Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan will instantly become your insurance policy against data breaches and data losses.

If you are operating a small business, your business will be at a higher risk of closing its doors completely within less than a year after the data breach or data loss.

On the other hand, if you are operating a mid-sized business or a large business, you will be at a greater risk of being one of the targets of cyber criminals because of the significant amount of data you possess. Cyber criminals will also target larger businesses because of the financial resources they have to pay high ransoms.

If you instantly lose access to your data, applications, and documents, it does not have to lead to the end of your business. With the right backup and disaster recovery plan, you can significantly reduce your downtime and get your business running again. What can happen to your business if you do not have a reliable Backup and Disaster Recovery plan?

Significant Downtime

We understand it can be difficult to understand the real cost of downtime for your business. Did you know the average cost of downtime to a small business can exceed $8,000? While two of the things you will lose during the downtime are efficiency and productivity, they are not the only things you will lose.

You will also lose a significant amount of data that may have already landed in the hands of the wrong people. You will spend a significant amount of time trying to recover data and trying to get your business operating again.

The Loss of Data

There is more than one cause of data loss. If you do not have a Backup and Disaster Recovery(BDR) plan in place, the data you lost may not ever be recovered. If you suffer a permanent data loss, the amount of data you lost could be worth between $150 to $250 per record. That is certainly a significant amount of money that you will lose once you calculate how many data records have been lost.

The End of Your Business

It is important for you to have an understanding of how important the value of eliminating risks. As mentioned earlier, if you operate a small business, the loss of data or a data breach can lead to the end of your business. Unfortunately, over 50 percent of small businesses that suffer from data losses and data breaches will never recover.

Unfortunately, the loss of data will lead to more than just the loss of money, It will be extremely difficult for your current customers and clients to trust your business. It will also be difficult for potential customers and clients to give your business a chance after learning about the significant data loss or data breach you experienced.

As we have witnessed this year, natural disasters can happen at any time and in any location. Natural disasters can completely alter the state of any business, regardless of the size. It is also important to be vigilant of cyber criminals who can attack at any time. Natural disasters, malware, ransomware attacks are happening every year, and you have to understand that these disasters and attacks can lead to irreversible damage to your business.

You need to have a backup and disaster recovery plan in place or you can find yourself in a difficult position to recover. If you do not want to put the current state of your business and the future state of your business in jeopardy, please do not hesitate to contact SystemsNet for more information on how you can implement an effective BDR plan.