It’s July 4th. Are you free from tech worries? A new trend in network support services is intended to do just that – free you from the stress and concern of computer problems, breakdowns, viruses, and security threats.
It’s a concept known as managed services. Companies like ours fully manage your network using sophisticated tools that watch over your systems 24/7 and alert us to any looming issues, usually before they become serious.
This approach has many advantages, but the biggest by far is limited downtime combined with no-surprise fixed price billing. If you think about it, traditional tech companies are rewarded when your systems break. That’s when they get to bill you a ton of money.
With managed services, we’re rewarded for preventing your systems from going down in the first place. In fact, the more proactive and efficient we are, the more money we make. That means we go out of our way to keep things running smoothly, and isn’t that exactly what you want?
There are many flavors of managed services, which makes it difficult to do an “apples to apples” comparison. Some companies manage your server onsite; others host it in a data center. Some companies bundle a broad array of options to provide a complete subscription package. These include items such as anti-virus, intrusion detection, and high-end backup services. And of course the tools different companies use vary widely in capabilities.
If you go this route, you may see less of your tech. This is another efficiency of managed services – with the right tools, up to 90% of your maintenance can be done remotely. Not only does it make scheduling more efficient, it saves us drive time and gas, and we can pass that savings on to you. We have to come onsite for hardware changes but not much else. We like to plan in monthly reviews and quarterly strategy meetings to ensure we’ve covering all your needs, but not everyone does that.
Some people shy away from managed services because costs are perceived as higher. When we sit down with most business owners, we find that averaging their costs over the course of a year or two illustrate that the difference is not that great. Combine that with the value of quick response, limited downtime, and predictable costs, and most find it to be a bargain they can’t afford to pass up.
Most small businesses that have more than one computer start out with a peer-to-peer network. This means there is no server – the computers talk directly to one another, as peers. If you have Windows XP or Vista, setup is fairly easy and can be done entirely through wizards. With older versions of Windows, the mechanics are a little more complicated, especially for the novice, but it certainly can be done.
Aren’t servers just souped-up desktop computers? Not exactly. If you are in charge of your company’s technology, you need to know what makes them different.
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