There is nothing more exciting than your business growing. However, as you grow, certain factors come into play in your business’s IT setup. If you have 10 employees, you may have everything you need, but once you grow to 40-50, you will need more than the basics. 

Many companies find that once they outgrow their current IT setup, their tools can’t provide the speed, security or financial stability their business requires. Here are 7 signs that your business has outgrown its IT Setup and it’s time to look into managed IT services.

1. Your non-IT employees are wasting time fixing common IT problems.
2. Your systems are down or running slow, and you’re used to it.
3. You have backups but have never tested if they can fully recover.
4. You’re using basic antivirus and have no security measures in place.
5. Adding new employees or locations takes days or weeks to get up and running.
6. Your servers and hardware are aging out and no longer supported.
7. You’re spending money on technology that doesn’t help your business.

Do Your Employees Know More About Your IT Setup Than You?

As a business grows, it may not have anyone in place to help with IT. You may have one employee who knows everything about your IT setup. This person is usually your office manager or whoever is most computer literate in your company.

As your business grows, this can become very costly. You are paying this employee to do things outside their job description. They may be taking time away from working with your customers or completing your business tasks. A proper help desk can resolve these issues and let your employees focus on what they do best.

With Managed IT Services, you can have a help desk that is available to your employees 13×5 or even 24×7. This lets your employees get issues resolved quickly and get back to work.

Are You Used To Your Computers Being Down?

Most companies without Managed IT in place run their IT setup on a break/fix model. That means your computers will keep working until they don’t. Once your computer stops working, you have to call someone to fix it and pay an hourly rate. Managed IT helps you stay proactive and avoid these issues.

Your company can suffer from a lack of IT in many ways. If your computers are slow, your employees can’t work as fast as they should. This can mean customers don’t receive products or services on time. According to the Uptime Institute, IT Outages can cost your business thousands of dollars an hour.

With Managed IT, you can have your network monitored at all times. This lets your IT provider see when something goes wrong with your hardware and fix it before it becomes a problem for your employees.

How Much Are Your Outages Costing You?

Take the number of outages your employees had last month. Then multiply that by the time your employees were down and how much they make per hour. This will give you an idea of how much your outages are costing your business.

Can You Recover Your Data If Your IT Setup Goes Down?

Having backups is great, but do you know if they will actually recover your data? Many businesses have backups but don’t know whether they will actually work. Or they have backups that only cover part of their IT Setup.

A proper Disaster Recovery plan will let you know how long it will take to recover your data. Keeping your data on multiple unmonitored drives can put your business at risk. If your server goes down or you get hacked, you may not be able to recover your data.

To stay proactive and keep your data backed up, consider Managed Disaster Recovery. When Belmont Wealth Management had an outage in their area, they recovered their data and kept their business running with no downtime.

Are You Relying on Antivirus to Keep Your Company Safe?

Most small businesses will have antivirus on their computers and feel safe. As your business grows, you will have more devices that need protection. Antivirus will not protect your company from every cyberattack.

You should have several things in place to keep your company safe. Cyber Insurance companies will require certain security measures before they will insure your business. You should enable multi-factor authentication on all accounts and have endpoint protection in place.

Without these measures, you put your business at risk of being hacked. Once you outgrow your IT setup, you should consider a proper cybersecurity plan.

Are You Struggling With Adding New Employees or Locations?

As your business grows, you’ll want to add more employees or open new locations. If your IT setup isn’t ready, you will find it difficult to get new employees up and running.

You will want to have a system in place that will allow you to add new employees quickly. Whether they are working from home or in a new location. You want to make sure your devices are managed, and your employees have access to what they need.

With Managed IT, you can have your devices managed from a central location. This lets you add new employees and get them up and running quickly.

Are Your Servers and Software Slowing Your Business Down?

If your servers and software are outdated, you will start to notice your business slowing down. Microsoft updates its lifecycle and stops supporting older software versions. Once your software is no longer supported, you’re at risk of viruses and hackers.

As your business grows, you will want to keep your software up to date and avoid paying for things you don’t need. You may also want to move some of your data to the cloud.

A mix of cloud and on-site can benefit your business. You can virtualize your servers and maintain less hardware.

Why Spend Money on IT That Isn’t Helping Your Business?

If you are spending money on technology that isn’t helping your business, you need to review your IT Setup. You may be paying for things you don’t need, or you may face emergency repairs that cost more than expected.

Technology should be helping your business reach its goals. With an IT roadmap, you can plan for your business’s future. You can also explore Managed IT Services to help keep costs low.

Managed IT gives you a set monthly cost for your IT. This will help you budget for your technology and know what you are paying for.

What Can You Do When You Outgrow Your IT Setup?

Once you have determined your business has outgrown its IT setup, you will need to decide which route to take. You have many options for your IT Setup.

Below is a quick comparison of what each option can offer your business.

 

	Best For	Pros
In-House IT	100+ Employees	You have someone in-house who knows your IT Setup. This can get very expensive, and you only have one person to rely on.
Managed IT	15-100 Employees	You have a flat monthly cost and can get 24/7 support. You will have to trust someone with your IT.
Co-Managed IT	50-250 Employees	You can have someone in-house and have Managed IT help out. Will need to make sure you have good communication between the two.

 

If you are a Dallas-Fort Worth or National Business and are looking to outgrow your IT Setup. You can schedule an IT Upgrade Assessment to see what your business may need.

Do You Need Managed IT Services?

1. Do your employees spend more than 2 hours a week fixing other employees’ problems?
2. Have you had any outages or slow computers in the past month?
3. Do you know if your backups can recover your data in 4 hours?
4. Do you have multi-factor authentication on all of your accounts?
5. Does it take you more than 48 hours to get a new employee set up?
6. Do you have any hardware or software that is over 5 years old?
7. Are you spending most of your IT budget on emergency repairs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to look into Managed IT Services.

Intelinet Systems Can Help Your Business Outgrow Its IT Setup

Once your business has outgrown its IT setup, you need the right tools to keep it running smoothly. Intelinet Systems has helped businesses for over 40 years with managed IT Services. We can help your business outgrow its IT Setup and keep your employees happy.

Contact us today to schedule your Network Security Assessment.

FAQ

Q: How do I know if my business needs Managed IT?

If your business experiences outages, employees waste time fixing problems, and you don’t have proper security in place, consider Managed IT Services. Managed IT helps you stay proactive and keep your employees happy.

Q: What is the difference between Break/Fix and Managed IT?

Break/Fix IT only comes to fix problems after they break. You will be charged an hourly rate for their time. Managed IT keeps your systems up and running, and you pay a flat monthly rate.

Q: How much does Managed IT cost? 

Managed IT can vary depending on how many users and servers you have. You will have a flat-rate monthly cost for your IT. This will help you budget for your technology and know what you are paying for.

Q: Can I have outsourced IT and still have someone in-house?

Yes, you can have outsourced IT and have someone in-house. This is called Co-Managed IT. Your outsourced IT can handle day-to-day tasks, while your in-house IT can focus on larger projects.

Q: How long does it take to switch to a new Managed IT Provider?

It can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to switch to a new Managed IT Provider. We will need to assess your network and make sure we have all of your information. We will also need to install our monitoring software and make sure your security is up to date.