4 Ways That IT Support Can Positively Impact Your Bottom Line

Most business owners and CEOs can agree that technology is a critical component of business wellbeing. Nearly all modern companies can’t operate without the use of computers, Wi-Fi, mobile devices, business software, etc. When a company’s technology has problems, so does the company itself. This means evaluating your bottom line is very important.

The UK has become one of the leading digital nations in the world. It has the largest data market in Europe and is a leader in tech investment. What this boils down to is that companies operating in London, St Albans, and the home counties are aware of the importance technology plays to business growth.

With so much riding on the many components of a technology ecosystem, organisations need a holistic plan to ensure they don’t suffer from cyberattacks or downtime. A single hour of downtime for a small to mid-size business costs an average of ₤77,000 in lost revenue and productivity.

Trying to handle your technology infrastructure yourself may initially sound like a good economical decision. But it can end up costing you more than enlisting the help of expert IT support.

What’s Included in IT Support & Managed Services?

IT managed services provide a holistic package of support solutions that are designed to keep your technology running efficiently. They also address cybersecurity and all the tactics needed to help protect your business from a data breach, ransomware infection, or another type of attack.

Some of the types of managed IT support services included are:

Network setup & management
Managed updates
IT support for emergent issues
Proactive maintenance of IT equipment
Help desk support
Digitisation and transformation assistance
Cybersecurity management
Data backup and recovery
Software support (such as Microsoft 365)

So, how does that package of services represent a benefit to your bottom line rather than an expense?

How Managed IT Support Can Save Your Company Money

Reduce the Risk of a Data Breach

Enabling antivirus on your company computers and putting a firewall in place on your network is not enough to protect your business from a breach. Cyberattacks have only become more sophisticated over the last two decades. Large criminal groups also employ the use of AI to enable them to launch more targeted attacks in higher volume.

In just 12 months, ransomware attacks impacted 73% of UK organisations.

Just a few of the cyber risk areas that using a UK managed IT provider can address are:

Firmware security
Network security
Device security
Cloud security
Employee security awareness
Identity & access management
Disaster response and recovery
Phishing & email security

This helps your bottom line by reducing the risk that your organisation will fall victim to a cyberattack, the cost of which can be devastating for smaller companies.

The average cost of a cybersecurity breach for UK businesses:

Small businesses: ₤861
Medium/Large businesses: ₤8,040
Average of all businesses: ₤1,200

Address Cloud Waste

It’s estimated that one-third of all cloud spending is wasted. That means for every ₤1,000 a company spends on cloud software, about ₤333 is spent unnecessarily.

Cloud waste occurs for several reasons. Companies often use redundant applications for the same process. An organisation may also invest in a new cloud tool, only to have employees find it too difficult to use.

An IT provider looks at all areas of a company’s technology environment, including its use of the cloud. They can help companies eliminate overlap in tools, integrate tools for better efficiency, and ensure they are getting the most out of the tools they subscribe to.

Improve Employee Productivity

When employees are interrupted by computer issues, they can’t work as they normally do. Downtime, even for just one device, can mean a company is losing money each minute someone can’t be productive.

One of the aims of managed IT support is to keep your technology environment running like a well-oiled machine. Proactive maintenance of equipment and managed software updates help ensure that employees hit fewer road bumps in their digital workflows.

They also have the help desk support they need to ask questions and get quick assistance with using their digital tools.

Mitigate Costly Downtime

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, downtime is costly to the tune of an average of ₤77,000 per hour for small and mid-sized businesses. It costs even more for larger enterprises.

Downtime costs add up throughout all the small and large downtime incidents you have. While you may not feel that losing 15-minutes here and 45-minutes there is that big of a deal. When all that downtime is added together, it can mean thousands of pounds lost each month due to productivity challenges and missed client opportunities.

IT support gives you a safety net that helps mitigate downtime by keeping your technology well managed. In many cases, just eliminating all or most of those downtime incidents can more than match the investment of working with an IT pro.