CoreTech Blog

Quick - when was the last time your routers were updated? Not sure? How about your servers, or every other piece of technology in your office?

The truth is, maintaining a business’ IT requires more than just running a virus scan every once and a while, or updating a mission-critical program on each workstation. It requires an in-depth understanding of each component and its history, assisted by the use of specialized tools and extensive record-keeping.

How does your organization manage its mission-critical technology solutions? We know that most small businesses have some sort of trouble with this topic, either due to budget constraints or a lack of personnel. Either way, we know that there is a better way to manage your business’ technology, and it’s all thanks to managed IT services.

For the majority of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), finding the right technology solution is the key to growth. According to a recent study, businesses with 250 employees or less whose primary goal for 2018 is growth cited IT systems and technology applications as their top strategy for facilitating growth. However, in order for technology to provide the most ample amount of growth for your business, they must be the right selection for your individual needs. By working with an MSP, you’ll have a team of business technology solutions experts as your disposal, at a fraction of the cost of hiring an internal IT department to find and implement the IT required to accomplish your desired growth.

IT is meant to help your business function more smoothly, not hinder operations. This is the cornerstone of the way that most organizations need to think about technology maintenance. Unfortunately, there are some organizations that either don’t have dedicated IT support, or waste valuable time and resources working with break-fix providers who don’t have their business’s best interests in mind. To keep your organization from falling victim to these practices, you should consider managed IT for your technology maintenance.

When selecting which solutions, your business will need as a part of its information technology infrastructure, it helps to look to the future and your plans to advance and expand. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt to make sure that you and your needs are covered, just in case something were to go wrong. This is why it is important to be sure you know the answers to the following questions, especially when someone else is managing your IT solutions.

While maintaining any system can be a pain, your business can’t afford not to maintain your network. An MSP can help you to do so, delivering the benefits of regular network maintenance.

The traditional break-fix IT model has given way to a more comprehensive and hands-off approach called managed IT. Managing technology solutions can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right combination of outsourced IT services, your business can take advantage of enterprise-level solutions without dealing with the expensive costs and extensive resources required to do so. Here are four of the many ideal ways that you can leverage managed IT services for your business.

When your organization is suffering with failing computer hardware, you will almost certainly experience increased downtime that will result in operational inefficiency and an overall lack of productivity. In order to keep your business technology properly working for you, you will need access to knowledgeable technicians and their years of IT expertise.

Two problems that most organizations have with this is that either their IT department has completely maxed out its resources, or your organization doesn't have an IT department. Since easy access to an IT helpdesk may not seem like a necessary expense for the modern office, it is often overlooked; usually, at a detriment to the organization. As more technology gets introduced, IT problems are inevitable and CoreTech’s IT services can present real value to any small and mid-sized business struggling with downtime as a result of ineffective IT.

It’s a safe bet that you don’t think about most of the technology that your organization uses. Of course you have your computers (servers and workstations), and people are always on their phones, which if they are using the network, require Wi-Fi (routers). Your average employee doesn’t pay any mind to the other parts of your network infrastructure that all come at a substantial cost and will fail at some juncture. We understand the balancing act.

At CoreTech, we offer several IT-related services that hold value for any organization having problems with their IT. Our first consultation will be a complete assessment of your computing infrastructure. We comb over your technology to see that every essential component of your company’s IT is working as intended. Using the information that we gather from this assessment, we will then build a roadmap to provide you the support and innovation you need to get to where you are going.

Our managed IT services package includes complete remote support of your network and computing infrastructure (servers and workstations), IT consulting, hardware and software support, vendor support, comprehensive network security, and a potentially business-saving backup and disaster recovery solution.

If, after the consultation, you believe, as we do, that managed IT services can help your business see more uptime, higher degrees of productivity, and access to some of today’s most innovative technology, give us a call at (270) 282-4926. We can provide you with the peace of mind that with your network and infrastructure are properly managed so you can again focus on what’s important to you: your business.

There was once a time when businesses would only seek out technological expertise when it was necessary. This would be when a major component was on its last leg, or if they required new technology following a major hardware failure. Today, a better type of IT service model allows businesses to avoid the downtime and unexpected support costs associated with broken technology, by practicing proactive maintenance.

The break-fix IT model is one that has simply lost its flavor in the business environment. Organizations are leveraging technology in previously unprecedented bulk, and are now more reliant on technology than they ever were before. They want a more dynamic solution that doesn’t rely on them investing heavily in new technology whenever something breaks down. That, and the increasing amount of efficiency and productivity that organizations demand, requires a more conscientious approach to managing their technology solutions.

Thus, managed IT services were born. Designed to proactively manage and maintain technology, the managed IT service model seeks to take a more active role in the upkeep of your business’s technology. In comparison, the break-fix IT model takes a reactive approach, only stepping in when major problems surface. Managed IT prevents the problems altogether by handling minor issues at their roots, preventing expensive downtime.

Here are some of the top reasons that small businesses are choosing managed services as a quality alternative to traditional break-fix IT solutions:

• Fewer capital costs: Technology is expensive. There’s no getting around this fact. Naturally, you want to replace your technology as little as possible due to the immense up-front costs of doing so. This means that you need to take exceptionally good care of your technology if you want to limit your expenses in the long run. Plus, the amount of money that you invest in your managed services agreement can be recorded as an operating expense, further mitigating your capital costs.
• Reduced management responsibility: One of the key benefits of the managed IT service model is that your business doesn’t need to spend as much time dealing with technology repair problems, and can instead focus on improving business operations. In other words, the responsibility of handling your technology is taken care of for you, so you can concentrate on what matters most: running your business.
• Quality technology maintenance: If your team doesn’t regularly handle IT maintenance, and you don’t have an internal IT department, chances are that your technology isn’t getting the attention it needs in order to stay up to date. By outsourcing this responsibility to a managed service provider, you can rest easy knowing that your IT is being handled by seasoned professionals.

If your business is ready to start handling your technology the smart way, give CoreTech a call at (270) 282-4926.

The break-fix IT model can be exhausting and unpredictable. When your technology unexpectedly breaks down, you shouldn’t have to grasp at straws just to keep operations running. Thanks to the proactive approach of managed IT services, the break-fix model is on borrowed time. Will your business move on from this antiquated method of managing technology, or will it remain stuck in the past, unable to move forward?