Searching for “Managed IT near me?” Here’s what to look for

Here at SumnerOne, since it’s early in the year, we’re thinking a lot about trends for 2020—and beyond—and how they’ll affect our customers in the small business and corporate spaces alike. We recently wrote about making time to create business resolutions and how to implement a mobile workplace strategy. There are several technology solution trends that we’ll be discussing in later blogs, but two trends that are exciting us right now are metamorphic design and corporate burnout.

Tackling the second term first, most of us have suffered from burnout. From the grey weather to being overworked, the struggle with burnout is real. A term less familiar, however, is metamorphic design. In simplest terms, metamorphic design is a culmination of two even earlier trends—evolving digital streaming services and the convenience of having everything as a service—think delivery groceries and subscription box services where you can have everything from makeup to house plants delivered monthly.  Metamorphic design is the ability to adapt services to the customer—bringing them exactly what they want how they want it.

What do we get when we combine metamorphic design with burnout? We get any kind of customizable managed support services that help make the lives of small and medium size businesses easier. Instead of continuing to take on everything yourself, leading to burnout, follow some 2020 trends, and find a managed services provider (MSP) for your computer support, network management, and disaster recovery solutions. In short, apply metamorphic design to your business model; treat yourself, although without a lot of addition, to streamlined workflows with more time for customer satisfaction.

How Do I Choose a Managed IT Near Me?

Combatting burnout in your small to medium sized business starts with managed IT services. Allowing a company to support, safeguard, and update your technology, not only keeps your business current, but it saves you all that time in researching how to do it yourself, implementing upgrades, and troubleshooting. Before you jump into partnering with an MSP with both feet, however, you’ll want to do some smart shopping. First, analyze the scope of your computer service’s needs.

• Would your business grow more quickly if you used managed IT services?
• Are you too busy with other tasks to continue to manage your IT needs yourself?
• Do you feel like your business has grown passed your IT management skills?
• Are you troubleshooting the same issues again and again?
• Are you able to keep up with patches, updates, and features like you would like to?

After answering some of these questions, you probably realize that managed IT services is a full-time job—freeing yourself from these responsibilities would allow you to focus on attracting and retaining customers.

Once you’ve decided to rely on the management and support of IT services, you’ll need to start searching for, “managed IT near me.” What do you look for in specific companies in order to narrow the search?

1) The services should be cost effective.

Managed IT services should be straightforward about the services you’re receiving for the cost, and there shouldn’t be any confusion in your billing.

2) The services should be secure.

There should be mention of network management and email security in the services managed IT provides. Since bad actors are always looking for ways to attack your company’s system and e-mail. Having a managed IT provider who is dedicated to monitoring your network is much safer than having someone check in from time-to-time. Consistent monitoring is essential for e-mail security as well—to keep it safe from phishing and other scamming attempts.

3) The services should include recovery and continuity.

Your data is worthless if it’s lost. A disaster recovery and business continuity plan needs to be in place should anything happen—from lightning strikes to hurricanes.

4) The services must include help desk support.

When you were managing your own IT, you could always get in touch with yourself, right? Managed IT near you needs to be reachable when you need them, and they need to be knowledgeable enough to solve your problems.

5) The support services should provide same-day on-site support, when necessary.

Sure, you answered some questions earlier about your IT wants and needs, but don’t you want a local partner who can get there where you need boot on the ground? Someone who can answer questions about your current setup, make recommendations, help with training, etc.? Having a local managed IT provider can provide those boutique services when you need extra help or just prefer to speak to real people, either in person or on the customer service phone line.

Staying well ahead of 2020 trends, SumnerOne has been helping clients avoid burnout by providing customizable solutions since 1946. Contact us for an assessment of your IT needs today, and we can get started building a plan together. With 12 locations across the Midwest, you don’t have to look far for “managed IT near me.”