Small business owners often put IT support on the back burner when in reality it could make or break the livelihood of any business altogether. When a major catastrophe arises like a company-wide server crash, emails going offline, or a major data breach, it's the worst time to realize that you needed a preventative plan in place.
Unfortunately, that's when a lot of businesses realize the need for some kind of support. The fact is, IT support is not just an option if you want your business to run smoothly, it's a necessity.
But why go with a flat fee, fully managed IT service like Ripple? Why not just use someone in the office to troubleshoot problems as they occur? Or maybe an hourly help desk service would do the trick?
Yes, it’s true that these solutions are better than nothing, but having a dedicated team of IT experts watching over a company’s network decreases the likelihood of having another emergency situation arise in the first place. Not only that, but when there is a big problem, knowledgeable IT folk can get you back on track without taking time away from your employees or having to worry about the cost of being on the line with a “by-the-hour” IT service.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the reasons why small business owners not only need IT support, but how they can use a fully managed service provider to keep people productive and ultimately grow the business.
While the office manager is bogged down with their day-to-day tasks it's just not sustainable or efficient to also have them worry about IT.
Productivity can take a huge hit when your employee's attention is divided between what they need to do in order to keep your business running smoothly and making sure everything is working properly.
Obtaining the best IT support keeps your people doing what you’re paying them to do, and not fiddling with a malfunctioning printer or some software issue for an hour or more.
Constant hold-ups and wasting time on broken technology also costs money. The more smoothly things run, the more money is saved.
Not to mention the savings that add up from not having to hire a full IT staff in-house. This may be feasible for large corporations, but it's exceptionally hard and not financially sound for most small businesses.
When you have a dedicated team of professional IT Support, you can continue to grow your business, grow your profits, and maximize savings. Not to be cliché, but time really is money!
Here's what to look for as you narrow down your search for the best IT partner for your business.
Simply put, small businesses that invest in IT and get a consultation from experts in the field are more likely to thrive than those that don’t.
It’s for this reason that investing in IT support should be a prerequisite for any business, no matter what size. IT solutions for computer software, hardware, and more recent innovations like VoIP phone systems and cloud storage are pretty difficult to understand unless you’re a certified IT technician.
But when a company’s only job is IT, there’s nothing more important to them than keeping up with technology.
Providing good consultation is what keeps their clients happy, and ultimately helps small businesses grow.
Security can be a big problem for many small businesses, largely because hackers know that most companies of this size don’t impose tough security measures. Especially now that most businesses are facing work from home or hybrid work environments.
So many small businesses lack the knowledge about the threat out there, or they perceive the cost of being protected to be too high.
And internet bots don’t care how small the business is...
They’re just automated hacking programs going through a list.
If your server somehow makes it onto that randomly-generate list then the damage caused can be pretty extensive. Being up-to-date with security measures should be a huge priority no matter the size of your business or where you're working.
And again, unless you’re in the IT industry, it’s near impossible to keep up with all the latest preventative measures, especially in this ever-changing work-from-home environment. It's important to make sure your data is safe from wherever you and your team continue to work from this year.
When things work smoothly, everyone is happy. Work culture and employee retention is a huge part of keeping a business going. If you're anything like us, your people are the most important part of your business.
We all want to be happy and happy employees lead to delighted clients. Delighted clients then turn into fans and fans sequentially lead to more clients, which will probably make you happy too!
At Ripple, we love making our people happy and helping their companies grow!
Check out some of our case studies below!
Ripple and Pardot:
Helping a Marketing Automation Company Grow
Ripple and Matchstic:
Keeping a Brand Identity Company Productive
