Do you have an action plan if disaster strikes?  Do you have the necessary resources to deal with disaster eventualities?  When critical systems are affected (by human or natural causes), Disaster Recovery services are used to help you recover.  Proper disaster recovery requires industry-specific expertise.

A 2009 Symantec report on Disaster Recovery Research indicates that disaster recovery is becoming one key factor in giving organizations an “edge” over others.

According to the Disaster Recovery Journal, an estimated $78,000 per hour is lost due to system downtime. Thus the losses incurred due to absence of proper disaster recovery service, approximately 40% of all businesses have now it an essential part of IT.

A good Disaster recovery plan should fit well with the needs of  your business. With a solid, tested disaster recovery plan, you can respond in an organized, deliberate manner to a disasters, restore systems integrity and resume operations in the shortest time possible. Chiefly, this will also help reduce potential damage to the reputation of your organization.

A good disaster recovery plan will provide at least the following:

• Minimizes disruption and operational losses.
• Protect against potential threats.
• Manage the recovery operation in a deliberate manner
• Restore and maintain confidence from the public, stakeholders, and clients

Disaster Recovery is an ongoing process.  It requires discipline to ensure your disaster recovery plan will be up to date and effective.

Yesterday, I received an email from a potential, new client that was preparing to let go of their in-house IT guy.  I am not sure what the events were that led to this, only that potential client was REALLY worried about what sort of chaos this ex-employee could cause.  I gave him a few suggestions:

The terminated person should not be allowed physically near a computer on the network, or even inside wireless range, if possible.  Box their belongings for them and mail them.

Change all passwords, here are some sample items:

ISP Account

Firewall / router

Web Hosting / Domain names

Emails

Server passwords

Phone System passwords

Letting go of an employee is never fun, but it is even less fun when the person has the potential to retaliate.

I am often asked about the future of managed services.  The simple answer is that it is only going to expand, as companies see the value in outsourcing their non-core, IT Service functions for its cost benefits.

As the damage from the 2008 recession begins to be alleviated, companies learned valuable lessons.  They streamlined operations and began to refocus on doing whatever it takes to make a profit.

Despite market variances, the Managed Service industry is expected to only grow.  It is expected that India will emerge from the recession faster than most nations, and much of the outsourced IT Services will go there.  The IT Service Industries of Eastern Europe and South East Asia are also expected to grow.

The results of the Vanson Bourne survey indicate many businesses are concerned with the complexity of the Software as a Service model that comes with the cloud.  The IT managers at these business also believe that they may lose full control over their systems, if they are offloaded onto the cloud.  What does this say about The Cloud? Anything?  Or does it merely speak to the natural fears we all feel when times dictate that we must change how we do things?  time will tell.

Today’s business climate is tough, and financial resources are at a premium.  It pays to be prudent and frugal in how you choose to allocate your resources.  One smart decision that many companies are deciding to make is to outsource non-core functions, like I.T. support to a so-called “Managed Services” company.  This has several benefits.  Among these benefits are getting a technological “edge” over your competition, potentially reduced costs, and easy access to expertise.

Enhanced Agility in Dealing with Technology Issues

NetworkElites will help you utilize the latest technologies to help you gain an edge over your competition.  One exciting, new product our clients are very happy about is Microsoft 365.  Microsoft 365 is a suite of cloud applications, from Microsoft, that allows businesses of all sizes to easily collaborate, and communicate from anywhere.  We are a certified Microsoft Partner, and have the expertise in installing, and supporting these products.

Costs Savings Arising From Your Technology

Not only can our services reduce overhead costs, we can also implement systems that result in direct, tangible cost savings.  For example, we have the expertise to implement virtualized, cloud solutions for your business.  We often find that our clients prefer Citrix.  This solution results in a reduction in the amount of hardware (typically servers), and a lowered need for the highest performance PCs, as the bulk of processing is carried over to the server.

Easy Access to Expertise in a Variety of Technological Fields

With the rapid changes occurring in technology, it can be difficult for in-house I.T. staff to stay up to date and to gain expertise in all the types of technology that may benefit your business.  This is another area where a Managed Services company can be very helpful.  With a large staff, we have expertise in a variety of key areas.  Some of our engineers are Network Engineers with several certifications.  Others are more geared towards hardware repair, others towards software and database development, and yet others in other areas that many businesses need.

Conclusion

Outsourcing your non-core business functions, in particular Information Technology to a Managed Services company can be a boon for your business.  A better ability to fix, and avoid technological problems, savings in costs, and access to greater technological expertise are but a few benefits.  In this extremely competitive business climate, it behooves companies to get the technological edge that Network Elites can provide.

Deciding if whether or not to hire a full time IT person (or persons) or to outsource your IT support to a managed services company poses a few challenges.  Monetarily, access-wise, knowledge-wise and other; the decision can have far reaching implications for your business.  Let’s look as a few pros and cons.

Outsourcing  IT vs Hiring In-House IT personnel comparison

Pros of outsourcing (Cons of hiring fulltime IT personnel)

1.      Reduced costs (It will cost more, generally to hire just one full time IT person)

2.      24/7 Support Ability (A full time guy still needs to sleep )

3.      Potentially greater consulting expertise (A managed services, IT support company can draw on more experience and expertise)

4.      Full utilization of resources (Often, in-house staff will have lots of downtime, and their complete abilities may not be fully used).

The primary con, of course, is that a managed service company will find it more difficult to give you an exact personalized response.  But, if the company is large enough, it can often assign certain staff top certain accounts, thus providing a more personalized response.  If a certain IT engineer that you prefer isn’t available, at least you can still have access to other knowledge staff, even at odd hours of the day.

The larger your company, the more sense it makes to go with a managed services company, rather than hiring  in-house IT support personnel.   With each employee, you have to factor in benefits, vacation time, as well as scheduling.  The costs can add up quickly.

As a side note, we often do find that many companies still like to have a semi-technical liaison that coordinates with us.  They can often handle very simple issues, and keep communication between the company and a managed service provider smooth.

This article really only touches the surface of this very important question for businesses.  If you’d like to get more detailed information on how managed services can benefit your business, please give us a call at 877.635.4837.