The pace of technology change continues to accelerate, providing opportunities for small to midsize businesses (SMBs) to transform their operations, enter new markets and create new business models. Business executives are responsible for developing the vision that will guide the organization’s efforts to take advantage of these new technologies. Trouble is, many SMB leaders struggle [...]
Technology breaks. Essential hardware and software components are predictably unpredictable — there will always come a time when something becomes unstable or just stops working. To minimize the impact of such failures, it’s important to have contingency plans for the repair or replacement of your IT systems. Managed service providers (MSPs) play a critical role [...]
We tend to talk about managed services from a technology perspective — after all, your managed services provider (MSP) takes responsibility for monitoring and supporting your IT environment and handling day-to-day operational tasks. These activities help to increase the performance, availability and security of your systems, ensuring that end-users have access to the applications and [...]
Virtualization in all its forms — including server, desktop and application virtualization — is the catalyst for a fundamental shift in the way small to midsize businesses (SMBs) choose, use and manage technology. As the key enabling technology underlying cloud computing, virtualization lays the groundwork for new and exciting ways to consolidate infrastructure, improve resource [...]
Managed services are all about efficiency. Rather than hiring staff with the skill sets necessary to manage and maintain your IT environment, smart organizations let their managed services provider (MSP) shoulder that burden. The MSP ensures that the right people are always available to perform day-to-day tasks, troubleshoot problems and handle support calls. MSPs do [...]
Whether you make software, sprockets or sandwiches, your business depends on information technology to one degree or another. As IT grows in both significance and complexity, managed service providers (MSPs) fill an essential need. For a predictable monthly fee, MSPs provide access to expertise, skill sets and intellectual property that can be cost-prohibitive to keep [...]
In the IT world, are there any problems that aren’t emergencies? From password resets and printer malfunctions to server crashes and security patches, IT issues almost always require immediate attention. This is placing a strain on IT professionals, but that strain can be alleviated through the use of co-managed services that supplement in-house staff. Most [...]
Most small business leaders recognize that strategic IT investments can help to increase productivity, streamline workflows and enhance the customer experience. Our last post outlined steps you can take to identify IT solutions that can achieve these objectives. Your managed service provider (MSP) is a critical partner in this process, bringing an in-depth understanding of [...]
In a previous post, we discussed the top business issues, IT priorities and challenges in the coming year for small to midsize businesses (SMBs), according to a recent report from Techaisle. The top IT priorities are cloud computing, collaboration, mobility, security for cloud and mobile, and digitization. We’ve also discussed data analytics, enterprise resource planning [...]
Techaisle just released its annual SMB (small to midsize business) and Midmarket Top 10 IT Priorities, IT Challenges and Business Issues report. The 2017 study examines 15 areas of technology, 20 IT challenges and 20 business issues. There are some major changes when compared with the 2016 SMB report. The top three SMB business issues [...]
