IT support is one of those essential services that, when done right, goes unnoticed. However, there’s a significant issue with your IT support that you might not expect. Often, the problem isn’t the stereotypical image of the disinterested IT worker, but rather that your in-house IT team simply doesn’t have the time to fully support your needs. This article will explore the challenges of in-house IT support and how engaging a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can solve these issues, ensuring your IT support is efficient and effective.
But there’s one big problem with your IT support—and it’s probably not what you’d expect.
When you think of potential problems, your mind probably goes straight to the stereotypical image of the bored, apathetic IT worker. The one that tells you to turn your computer off and on again. That condescending attitude you get when you don’t know how to join the VPN or how to “clear your cache”.
But it’s not this cartoonish attitude that’s the problem.
No, the biggest problem with your in-house IT support provider is that the team just doesn’t have the time to fully support your needs.
The IT support deficit
The issue is that your in-house IT support team is spread too thin across your entire business.
This means that they don’t have the time to dedicate to all your employees’ individual needs. They might only be a limited team, so they simply don’t have the bodies to attend to every tech need at once. They’re overworked. This can lead to long waits on the phone, a distrust in the service provided, and the nagging feeling that it’s an inefficient system, even when it’s not.
On the plus side, you get to know their hold music really well.
And as a thinly-stretched internal team, they don’t have the time to revise and refresh your IT support needs. So, they rely on offering quick fixes, instead of robust solutions
It also means that, typically, they won’t be available 24/7. In-house IT support are just that—in house—so they’re generally only available during business hours, when your staff are. They clock off when you do, so they’re not available to react to your business IT cybersecurity needs around the clock. And as we know, cybercriminals aren’t a strictly nine-to-five workforce.
A flow-on effect of your in-house IT support team being overworked is that they don’t have the time to specialise, nor the time to upskill into niche roles.
The biggest problem with IT support is that time isn’t on their side.
But there’s a way to fix it.
How to fix your IT support issue for good
As your business matures, so too do your needs. So it follows that your generalist in-house IT support team needs to mature, too.
So for a mature, complex business, you can solve the problem of time-poor IT support by engaging the services of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) instead. An MSP is there to do what your in-house IT support may not be able to: manage your entire IT and tech support suite for you.
Engaging an MSP has a number of benefits, and ensures your IT support service runs smoothly.
You’re speaking with a specialist
They know what they’re doing, they’re trained in all the necessary IT support measures and tools, and they’re up to date with the latest IT security threats and vulnerabilities.
It saves you time, too.
Instead of constantly following up with your overworked IT team, your MSP’s job is to be there on the phone when you need them. Instead of trying to figure things out yourself, just get in touch with them, no matter how big or small the issue, and they’ll help you sort it out.
They save you money
Instead of paying for a full-time resource to manage your IT support, you’re engaging an external team when and how you need them. So, the associated costs will reflect this. You save work hours, and reduce your spend, while maximising the value of that spend on IT.
They’ve probably encountered this issue before
Your MSP provides IT support and security services across multiple customers. So when you’re facing a “new” tech issue, there’s a high chance they’ve already experienced this elsewhere, and already have a solution available.
They have specialist tools
Your MSP has the latest, specialist, up-to-date tools and software to combat a wide range of IT issues, threats, and vulnerabilities. After all, being up-to-date on these things is their job.
It improves your business focus
For everyone. You’ll be able to stop worrying about your IT and security risks, and let your new MSP manage that for you.
It’s a 24/7 service
Your in-house IT team is just one team, working a typical 9-5. A specialist external IT support team is bigger than that. They’ll have staff on-call outside regular usual business hours to provide a reactive threat monitoring service, and ensure your business can fight back against security breaches against your network.
So to fix the biggest problem that plagues IT support today, contact Lanter Technologies to discuss our Managed Services. We’ll get to understand you, your business, and your needs, and help you develop a managed services plan to ensure your IT support needs are solved—for good.
