As your manufacturing company grows, you’ll experience increasing technology demands which can overwhelm your IT department. And most IT departments stay pretty busy as it is. This leads to costly overtime, which can really hurt a company’s budget. In addition, overworked techs can make mistakes that cost you even more.
Maybe you’ve tried hiring contractors to help out when things get out of hand. But this, too, is an expensive solution. Hiring new IT people can also cost too much when you figure in the salaries, insurance and vacations. So what is the answer?
Today’s manufacturing companies are now turning to outsourcing their IT needs. This takes a huge technology burden off their shoulders. But many wonder what type of managed IT services are available for manufacturing companies. Below we go over a few of the most common IT services available.
Proactive IT Management
You’ll have a well-experienced tech who knows how to handle the problems that manufacturing companies commonly have with their IT infrastructure. When requests and incidents occur, they get quick response. A great IT company will implement a solution that helps to detect issues and remediate them before they cause downtime. You’ll have the hands onboard to ensure the responsiveness you need. Less downtime and unplanned outages mean that your manufacturing business will benefit from higher productivity and better business results.
IT Security Support
As your business grows, your cybersecurity requirements do as well. A managed service provider can provide the up-to-date IT security solutions required to prevent intrusions or data theft. They can set up a managed, enterprise-level security platform with next-generation firewalls, data leak prevention, intrusion detection, encryption, dark web monitoring, two-factor authentication, single sign-on solutions, Security Awareness Training for your staff and more. Manufacturers are becoming a more common target for hackers because they just aren’t prepared for a cyber-attack.
Project Support
There may be times when your IT staff needs help with special projects. Perhaps you need to migrate to cloud solutions like Microsoft Office 365, or you need IT specialists when moving your company to a new location. With managed services, you gain access to a whole team of IT specialists who can jump in and help out as needed.
What Other IT Services Can Be Included?
Below are just a few of the IT services an outsourced tech can provide:
- Desktops & Laptops
- End User Support
- Microsoft Office 365 Support
- SQL Server
- Microsoft Exchange & SharePoint
- Firewall/Routers
- Network Services
- Virtual Servers
- Cloud Resources
What About Co-Managed IT Support?
If you’re not ready to fully embrace managed IT services, then choosing a co-managed IT plan is a great solution. This approach combines the skill sets of your team with another IT professional. You can augment your IT staffing on many different levels and maximize your capabilities.
An outsourced tech will work with your team to map out who should provide what and the services that are critical to your manufacturing company’s success. You can benefit from proactive IT administration for things like maintenance, monitoring, help desk services, account management and more.
You stay in control of your IT strategy while leveraging the experience and skills that a managed IT provider can offer. If your needs change along the way, you can add an additional tech or two, or cancel this service at any time.
What Benefits Will Bringing On An Outside Tech Provide?
- Controlled IT Costs & Predictable Budgeting: You’ll have the extra services you need at an affordable monthly rate that makes for easy budgeting.
- Improved IT Management: Your IT department won’t struggle to keep up with their daily duties. The tech will work together with your IT staff in harmony. Your important projects will be completed on time, and you’ll have another person to handle day-to-day computer glitches and network issues.
- Proactive & Responsive IT Management: You’ll have a responsive tech who handles requests and incidents quickly and provides the results your business needs.
- Fewer Unplanned Outages: And unplanned outage can really hurt your manufacturing firm’s overall performance. That means a decrease in profits and an increase in overhead.
- Mobile Device Management: When employees bring their computing devices to work, you must ensure they’re used securely. The same is true when they work from their mobile devices offsite. Mobile Device Management (MDM) ensures that your workforce will use their device in a secure and controlled manner. It can locate, wipe or lock a stolen or lost device, thereby protecting your data.
Other Reasons To Switch?
There are lots of great reasons to choose managed IT services for your manufacturing firm. You’ll have the professional help you need to ensure less downtime. Your manufacturing business will benefit from higher productivity, greater efficiency and better business outcomes. An outsourced tech can support your IT department and elevate your manufacturing business to the next level. And you can get back to running your company and forget about your IT infrastructure running properly.
