All businesses, either small or large, operate on a day to day basis finding to cut costs, growth yield and gain profit. One undeniable necessity for businesses of today remains to be computers and technology. Can you name a enterprise that does not use computers as part of it's day to day operations...besides the "Paleta guy" on the corner? No You Can'T!!
Let's focus on small businesses today; clubs that have fewer than 50 employees, and a range of 1-30 computers (or servers, or workstations). Due to the nature of computers and their likeliness to fail, many enterprise owners have industrialized the "break/fix" mentality. What is the "break/fix mentality" you ask?
In other words many enterprise managers and owners, feel that there is no need to worry about the maintenance of their computers or data until something "breaks" or fails to work properly. Unfortunately, there is a serious problem brewing, for most enterprise owners and managers, who are not pro-active about maintaining their technology.
Not applicable to all enterprise types, businesses that furnish services to clients and sustain sensitive information such as credit card numbers, public safety numbers, mortgage records, health information etc, can not afford to cut corners when it comes to their technology, network, and sensitive data.
Let's visit a scary fact: agreeing to the manufacture for enterprise and Home Safety, an estimated 25% of businesses do Not reopen following a major It disaster.
We all understand that statistics can be skewed, but realistically speaking; does Your enterprise serve customers that would lose trust in your safety if they received proclamation that their personal information stored on your company's computer(s), had been compromised or stolen; or even worse - used in identity theft?
No, they wouldn't!
Let's envision a distinct scenario, that is of course tasteless in the enterprise world. The owner of an accounting enterprise decides to streamline his allocation and call his "neighbor's son" to address his computer network when there is a problem. One day, a hard drive failed on their file server, and the company's financial records stored on that server/drive, were not longer accessible. "No problem" said the enterprise owner.. "we have backup of this drive so we are fine." Unfortunately, the backup was never tested, and the "neighbor's son" soon realizes that the backup copy that they have been using - does Not restore. The considerable financial data is lost for good!
To make matters worse, an audit of the company's books by the shareholders - is scheduled for the next week. The enterprise owner mentions that the financial records have been lost. Some of the share holders enunciate that the owner has "cooked the books" and is plainly hiding the data from them. The shareholders conclude to sue in court, and are awarded a large sum of money. The enterprise owner files bankruptcy and goes out of business. Who ever concept backing up data was That important?
Managed Services is a proven solution to many of the current technology problems that plague small enterprise owners, and can cause their businesses to close their doors unexpectedly. Also known as Pro-Active Maintenance, Maintenance Plans, Maintenance Agreements, ageement enterprise Tech Support, or Network Tech Support....the list goes on.
In a nutshell, this aid is in case,granted by It aid providers or computer/network consultants, to keep networks, computers, servers and hardware working in optimal health as well as preventing problems that "regular computer users" (most enterprise owners), would fail to notice.
Just the same as an automobile requires maintenance to avoid catastrophic engine failure (which in many cases the repairs cost more than the car is valued), so do networks and hardware. Some of the benefits that a maintenance plan can offer are:
* 24/7/365 monitoring the health of servers, workstations, computers and hardware; to study and mitigate inherent problems that could ruin a business.
* Managing (adding/removing) staff/employees on a network, preventing people without valid credentials, from gaining passage to confidential and privileged information.
* Assuring that the anti-virus software installed on servers and workstations, updates properly and contains the newest malware detection signatures.
* Monitoring internet traffic to detect hackers attempting to gain unauthorized passage to the network; in hopes of using the company's network to strike other businesses - while concealing their true identity and location. Also, monitoring traffic to detect hackers that will compromise a company's network for illegal financial gain (credit card info theft, etc).
* Implementation of backup solutions. Ensuring that all data is being backed up to preclude data loss, as well as testing the backup for integrity, to ensure the backup can of course be restored successfully if needed.
* Implementation of power furnish solutions. Ensuring that in case of a major power outage, all computers, servers, printers etc, will continue to stay powered on to allow the users to save all of their current projects, with no loss in productivity, or loss data.
* Network safety implementation. Ensuring that a procedure for network and internet passage is put into place. Wireless networks are secured to preclude unauthorized users from "stealing" considerable data, or connecting to the network to share it's internet connection. As well, putting into place a procedure that will not allow obvious users to jeopardize the integrity of a network (i.e. Connecting to the company's wired network using a wireless router and a laptop, thus exposing sensitive information to the "outside world," due to an unsecured connection).
The cost and terms of Managed Services Plans, vary depending on location, enterprise needs, infrastructure and more. Costs can vary from a flat fee of 0.00 per month, per enterprise - to Some thousands of dollars, per month per business. It's recommended to palpate your consultant or consulting company, ask a approved "audit" of your network, and allow your trusted It consultant to recommend what kind of plan is needed, what is covered, and what the price and terms will be.
If your enterprise depends on computers for it's day to day operations, you can't afford Not to have some type of maintenance plan in place. Digital computer data is not necessarily reliable, and it's not a matter of If your hardware will fail.....but of When your hardware will fail.
Hopefully you have learned what Managed Services are, and how your enterprise can thrive with this service, or falter without it. Until next time....Happy Computing!
What Is Managed Services and How Can It Help Your Business?
