You Can Shift Risk With Managed IT — Here's Why That's a Big Deal

By: Dustin Bonn
May 9, 2022

A lot of business decisions come down to risk management. What are the risks involved in each potential decision, and how do they stack up against each other? While risk will always be present in some form or another, you can still be proactive about managing your business’s vulnerabilities.

When I talk about shifting risk with Managed IT Services, it's about how risk changes when you decide to have all or part of your IT functions managed externally. As organizations grow, it's becoming increasingly common to outsource routine maintenance tasks and help desk functions instead of hiring additional IT staff. Similarly, when IT personnel quit or retire, filling those positions with an external IT provider can reduce the overall risks to your organization.  

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Internal IT Risks

Having just one internal IT employee is a modern example of putting all of your eggs in one basket. It leaves your company dependent on that single employee to be your source of technological advice, support, service, and innovation. Those are some pretty important eggs. 

What happens when your internal IT person quits, requires a leave of absence, or faces some unforeseen circumstances? Finding a temporary or permanent replacement takes time and resources, oftentimes thousands of dollars per hire once you account for recruiting, training, benefits, and workplace integration.

If you haven’t yet struggled to recruit and retain your talent, you’ve been lucky. But it probably won’t be so easy in the years ahead. Recruiting IT personnel has become more challenging recently, and it’s only likely to get worse as demand is growing faster than schools can produce new talent. Currently, many companies are already finding themselves with too few IT talent to respond to staff needs in a timely fashion, maintain infrastructure and regularly patch and update software.

Unfortunately, whenever an IT department is short-staffed, it puts a greater burden on remaining workers until a replacement is hired and trained. The additional workload can put unnecessary stress on an IT department as a whole, which can ultimately lead to further employee attrition. If you’re curious about how your IT staff’s time is being spent, this survey can shed more light.

External IT Risks

Cybersecurity risks have escalated dramatically in the past few years, and it causes a significant amount of stress for internal IT staff. Keeping up with cyber threats is overwhelming, and according to a survey by the Ponemon Institute, 73% of cybersecurity experts said their workload is causing burnout.

Furthermore, according to Ponemon Institute’s State of Cybersecurity Report, 45% of small to medium sized businesses said that their processes are ineffective at mitigating attacks. Not surprisingly considering the previous statistic, 66% say they experienced a cyber attack in the last year.

Considering 60% of small companies close within six months of being hacked, failure to keep up with cybersecurity threats puts your entire business at risk.

How To Reduce Risk With Managed IT Services

With Managed IT Services, you have a team taking care of your business's IT needs. Your processes are streamlined, and you're not dependent on a single person. Any change within IT can be alarming, but a Managed IT provider has the people, the resources, and the experience to keep everything moving smoothly

When you work with an external Managed IT provider, you don't have to worry about the following IT risks: 

  • Losing IT staff to another business or a competitor
  • Hiring, training, delegating to, managing, and promoting internal IT staff
  • Delaying projects or processes due to absence or medical leave
  • Uncovering problems that were hidden or mismanaged
  • Staying up-to-date and compliant with industry regulations

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Marco's Managed IT Services

Working with a professional organization like Marco keeps things easy. We stay up-to-date with IT regulation changes across all the industries we serve. Not only does Marco align its cybersecurity guidance with recommendations from the NIST CSF, Marco completes a SOC2 Type 2 report annually, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to security and system controls. SOC, short for System and Organization Controls, is a program established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to evaluate service providers based on key criteria. 

When you partner with Marco, you won’t have to scramble when someone in your IT department needs time off or finds employment elsewhere, and your business will not incur risk as a result. Furthermore, partnering with a Managed IT provider for routine functions like maintenance, patching, and help desk support frees up your internal IT staff to work on higher-order concerns within your organization. We like to say around here that if you let us focus on your IT, you'll have more time and freedom to focus on your business. 

We’ve put together a helpful guide to answer frequently asked questions about managed IT services. However, our experts are also on hand to chat about your organization, where it might be vulnerable, and how Marco’s experts could reduce your risk. Learn More About Business IT Services Contact a Marco Rep

Topics: Managed IT Services