The 6 Extraordinary Benefits Managed Network Services Provides Your Business

The benefits of ANY type of outsourcing remains simple -- someone else can perform a task better than you can do it yourself (and usually for less money).

This is especially true of managed network services.

As office networks have become a commodity, they still require time-consuming effort by IT staff to manage them -- the software must be patched and upgraded to prevent security holes, you need to identify bottlenecks and causes, server maintenance, backing up data, and more are all needed to ensure the maximum amount of uptime.

The more time your in-house IT staff spend performing these tasks, the less time they have to plan for the future or work on projects that add value to your business. Let’s face it, a working network is dial tone.

You expect your network to work. When you pick up a phone, you expect to hear a dial tone. When you log on to your computer, you expect access to the Internet and office apps you need to work.

Why Managed Networks?

There are two basic risks that outsourcing your network management can help you overcome.

First, the risk of a security breach. Ransomware is a constant threat to all businesses. When upgrades and patches to your firewalls and security software lag, you make it easier for hackers to successfully attack you. An MSP partner proactively monitors your network for attacks and other issues 24x7, and proactively updates software -- leaving no cracks for cybercriminals to slither through.

The second risk is more lost opportunity. As mentioned above, when you IT staff is spending half their week managing your network (when you could outsource it) gives them less time to plan, troubleshoot other issues for users, and creatively apply IT to solve business challenges like automating processes. It’s easy for a small, in-house IT team to be overwhelmed with a growing network and competing support needs.

The Benefits of MNS

Granted, there are plenty of technical moving parts, but essentially when you enter into an MNS contract your partner manages all aspects of your network. Your involvement is calling the help desk if you need support.

You can read more about the specifics of MNS here.

Let’s talk about the benefits.

1. Better Security. Cybercriminals aren’t going to stop anytime soon -- non-technical criminals can even outsource ransomware on the Deep Web. Your network is monitored non-stop. Patches and updates are applied quickly. Unexpected events on your network can be investigated quickly to check for hacking activity.

2. World-class technology on an affordable budget. An MNS provider has access to more resources than individual SMBs do. The software and the experts behind the software are top-notch.

3. You don’t need to worry about hiring. Especially for cybersecurity experts, there’s a large and growing gap between open positions and qualified persons to fill them. Instead of hiring additions to your in-house team, you hire the MNS partner -- they have to worry about staffing.

4. A strategy for your IT. The virtual CIO piece of MNS helps identify what you need to support your business on a continuous basis. This means you’re never scrambling at the last minute to support a business initiative with the right IT infrastructure. It’s one fewer thing for you to worry about.

5. Data backups that work. Data backup is your last line of defense against ransomware. It’s also not always well-executed by smaller IT teams due to lack of expertise and time. With an MNS partner, you know your data is going to be there when you need it.

6. Focus. As a business owner, you don’t want to worry that your business is going to go down because of network downtime. As an over-stressed SMB IT leader, you know your team is running full speed to only be slightly behind. The support each receives from an MNS partner means an IT strategic roadmap to meet the business growth needs of an owner. At the same time, an in-house IT team can breathe a sigh of relief at no longer having to manage the network and can focus on improving business processes and other strategic initiatives.

The benefits of managed network services are real and simple to attain. It all starts with a conversation. Coordinated can help.