You may not give it much thought, but the IT providers you choose to support your business can significantly affect your bottom line. You’re losing money if you’re experiencing downtime due to poor support. Even worse, if you’re being overcharged for services you don’t need, that’s money that could be put to better use elsewhere in your business.
So how do you know which type of IT services provider is right for your business? Let’s examine the differences between technical support and IT-managed services.
What is Technical Support?
Technical support is a service that provides help with technology-related problems or questions. This may include troubleshooting issues, providing information, or fixing hardware issues like replacing broken parts on computers or other devices.
Technical support is a reactive model and can fix problems after they’ve already caused damage to your company. Technical support is like the traditional firefighter role for computers. When something goes wrong with your system, you call tech support and they run in to put out the flames.
It is offered to help businesses on a case-by-case basis. For example, if a computer or device malfunctions or stops working, technical support will be provided to help fix the problem. If a virus infects an entire system or individual machine, technical IT support will be offered so that the infected computer can be cleaned up and restored to its original state.
What is Managed Support?
Managed services refer to a service delivery model in which the service provider takes on full responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the customer’s infrastructure. This includes applying patches, updating software, installing new versions, and more. In most cases, this also provides access to a help desk that handles simple requests and escalates issues to more complex levels as required.
Managed services is a method of outsourcing day-to-day IT management as a strategic method for improving operations and cutting expenses. Through an IT consulting service, businesses can access resources they wouldn’t normally have access to due to budgetary or skill limitations. The company’s employees will be able to focus their attention on running the business while their provider takes care of the IT needs.
Technical Support vs Managed Services: Which One to Choose?
Technical support and managed services are two of the most common types of IT support, but they’re very different. Choosing one over the other can have a major impact on your company’s future success.
Technical support is a reactive service that responds to issues as they arise. IT managed services, on the other hand, are proactive. It anticipates possible problems and takes measures to prevent them from arising.
But which is the best for your business? Let’s find out.
When Do You Need Technical Support?
Technical support is a more generic way of describing IT services. The term can be applied to almost any aspect of IT services – from software installation and application maintenance to general troubleshooting and ongoing system management (including installing patches, updates, etc.). It can also involve other elements such as providing strategic guidance for decision-making or helping train employees on how to use new tools.
- When you need regular support: Your business needs regular technical support to keep your IT infrastructure running smoothly.
- When you require a highly experienced team to solve issues quickly: There are times when you encounter a particularly hard IT issue for which you need experts to handle. This is when a technical IT support team can step in and solve it for you with minimal downtime.
- When you handle tech that requires specific expertise, several technologies are pretty narrow and something that many IT technicians may not be exposed to. In such times, having access to a tech support team that’s expert in your tech is useful.
When Do You Need Managed Services?
On the other hand, managed services are usually provided by a third-party company that specializes in IT solutions for businesses. If a business has a problem, they simply call on the managed services provider (MSP) to fix it rather than trying to troubleshoot it themselves or calling a technical IT support specialist.
Since IT managed services are an ongoing partnership with your IT consulting firm, they can help you in numerous ways. Let’s look at some situations when you need managed services:
- If your systems aren’t properly maintained: Your IT infrastructure and systems require regular maintenance to ensure they’re running efficiently and securely. If they aren’t properly maintained, they can become slow, prone to crashing, or vulnerable to hacks and malware. A managed service provider will maintain all your systems so that you don’t have to worry about them crashing or getting hacked.
- When you have outdated technology: If you are still using legacy hardware and software, you may need to consider IT managed services. With the rapid pace of technological change, you need help keeping up so that your business can stay relevant and competitive.
- When you have plans for future growth: The right IT partner will help you plan for future growth. They will ensure that your current systems can handle the additional pressure of an expanding team or client base.
- When you want to save on costs: While managed services do come with a monthly fee, businesses often save money in the long run because their technology is performing optimally at all times. By regularly maintaining your systems and infrastructure, small issues are fixed before they escalate into bigger problems that cost more to fix.
When Do You Need Managed Services?
On the other hand, managed services are usually provided by a third-party company that specializes in IT solutions for businesses. If a business has a problem, they simply call on the managed services provider (MSP) to fix it rather than trying to troubleshoot it themselves or calling a technical IT support specialist.
Since IT managed services are an ongoing partnership with your IT consulting firm, they can help you in numerous ways. Let’s look at some situations when you need managed services:
- If your systems aren’t properly maintained: Your IT infrastructure and systems require regular maintenance to ensure they’re running efficiently and securely. If they aren’t properly maintained, they can become slow, prone to crashing, or vulnerable to hacks and malware. A managed service provider will maintain all your systems so that you don’t have to worry about them crashing or getting hacked.
- When you have outdated technology: If you are still using legacy hardware and software, you may need to consider IT managed services. With the rapid pace of technological change, you need help keeping up so that your business can stay relevant and competitive.
- When you have plans for future growth: The right IT partner will help you plan for future growth. They will ensure that your current systems can handle the additional pressure of an expanding team or client base.
- When you want to save on costs: While managed services do come with a monthly fee, businesses often save money in the long run because their technology is performing optimally at all times. By regularly maintaining your systems and infrastructure, small issues are fixed before they escalate into bigger problems that cost more to fix.
Want to hire an expert team to provide technical support or ongoing managed services? Reach out to our firm offering managed IT services in Corpus Christi to discuss your IT-related needs.