Managed Services – The Benefits.

Managed Services is the practice of outsourcing day-to-day IT management and computer network technical support as a cost-effective method for improving business operations, instead of having a full-time on-staff IT personnel. A company like ourselves, that provides such services are called Managed Services Provider (MSP).

In any kind of business, it’s important to be as cost-effective as possible. Especially in IT, where unbridled or poorly managed systems cost way more that they’re worth, it’s essential to have a system that works with your budget but doesn’t compromise on quality. Managed Services is the most feasible and practical way to accomplish that, especially in the long term.

With both hardware and software components of IT systems constantly evolving, businesses with limited resources may very well find themselves left behind after a while. But with Managed Services, you are able to enjoy the advantages of the latest IT solutions at a fraction of the cost enabling you to provide the best possible service to your clients.

Especially for smaller businesses, it can be tedious to maintain an in-house IT arm; and you run the risk of stretching resources too thinly, which can compromise the quality and output of your IT department. Managed Services allow you to have a stable and dependable IT arm that’s dedicated to meeting your specific needs in a cost-effective manner.

In partnering with Aussie IT, businesses are provided with regular and ongoing reviews based on current and future technology utilisation, risks and future requirements.

Aussie IT believes in building trusted and beneficial partnerships with our Clients. Aussie IT generates awareness of Information Technology opportunities as well as ensuring businesses are running cost effectively, efficiently and with as low risk as possible.

Aussie IT’s proactive approach to maintaining IT systems ensures less unproductive downtime and allows businesses to focus on current and new strategic business endeavours.

Aussie IT’s proactive maintenance schedules ensure business continuity, stability and efficiency ensuring that core business technology and processes are maintained and available.

As a trusted business partner, Aussie IT assumes the role of in-house technical support and will directly interface to third party technology providers to co-ordinate services and act as a single point of contact for the resolution of any technological related issue that is covered in the MSA.
With the marketplace becoming more and more competitive, meeting different regulatory compliances has become a fundamental need.

IT Budgeting.

Budget

As a small-business owner you’ll be used to drawing up budgets for marketing and staff costs. With IT budget planning you’ve got to balance the initial expense of hardware and software with the cost of ongoing support whilst factoring in the changing needs of your business.

How much does your existing IT hardware (PCs, laptops, servers etc) costs to maintain annually? This will be the baseline figure to start with as initial infrastructure and upkeep rarely change year on year due to one-off purchases and active service agreements
If your business has grown to the point where you need more complex connectivity (offsite working, for example), it’s time to upgrade. Look at the cost of the latest IT packages and factor in installation and maintenance fees.
A Managed service will give you cost effective management of all aspects of your Information Technology resources and processes – at a fixed, monthly fee.
In-house training is the cheapest option. Also check out the online tutorials on YouTube.
Technology can be obsolete very quickly. The down time of IT failure can be costly; Also think of the indirect costs of an employee’s frustration with using technology that is not up to the job.

Cardinal rules

Do

  • Review previous years’ IT costs to calculate your IT budget.
  • Keep IT at the heart of your business planning. If it stops working, so do you.

Don’t

  • Ignore the pace of change. Use the same technology as your customers and competitors.
  • Invest time and money in IT projects without specific goals as costs will spiral.
  • Forget to consult and train your staff ― they need to understand and use your systems on a daily basis.