Computers break at challenging times. Always. And there’s no worse time than the holiday season. Your employees want to spend time with family and friends, relaxing and reminiscing. They do not want to wait around for a fix or to find a replacement. That’s one reason a managed service provider (MSP) is a good choice year-round.
Many businesses have more work at the end of the year. An employee saddled with a laptop that won’t load necessary business applications is not productive. A wider system problem is even more costly. According to Gartner, “the average cost of network downtime is around $5,600 per minute.” Do you want to lose about $300,000 an hour during your busy season?
Even businesses that close the office for the holiday season have employees trying to get work done before the vacation. A broken computer is not going to help them meet their deadlines.
Relying on the break-fix model of computer care isn’t going to serve you well during the holiday season. Even those companies with a dedicated IT person could struggle when something goes wrong if that individual is already away for the holidays.
At many times of year, you’re patient: you can wait for someone to come in and fix that desktop or deal with the printer that’s acting up. But, if you’re calling a company in sporadically, they have no obligation to be available when you need help. If they’re backed up, you’ll need to try the next option for computer repair that came up in your Google search.
Also, computer help hired at short notice won’t know your particular setup or business needs. Their focus is on getting you up and running now. They won’t weigh short- and long-term approaches that fit your specific objectives.
Prepare for the Worst with MSP Support
Partnering with an MSP gives your business a different experience. For one thing, there is always an IT expert on call to assist you. They have also learned your IT setup and may even have installed your computers in the first place. That means there’s no steep learning curve to figure out a unique system configuration. They can quickly identify the problem and get you back up and running.
Additionally, an MSP will understand your business objectives and your unique technology considerations. For example, they’re not going to suggest you replace a broken laptop with a desktop, not when your people move around to meet clients and brainstorm with colleagues.
Contracting with an MSP, you won’t have to worry about exorbitant fees for computer help during holidays. You’ll pay a fixed monthly fee that offers financial and strategic predictability.
Your MSP partner is also invested in your business success. Knowing you are approaching a peak period, they can prepare your setup to be more resilient. They will also know to scale up cloud computing services when you’re bringing in more people to get the job done. Or, recognizing your business is on a break, they could schedule time-consuming upgrades or integrations for the lull.
At any point in the year, an MSP can also help your business reduce costs. By providing the best technology for your tasks and putting disaster protection in place, an MSP doubles operational efficiency, too.
Sign on with an MSP early, and go into every holiday season knowing there are IT elves on call if you need them. Don’t wait until disaster strikes to start looking for help. Learn more by calling us at 931-542-9327.
