But just because you have an in-house team, doesn’t mean that you won’t also benefit from working with a managed IT professional. Co-managed IT support provides multiple benefits to an in-house team and can ensure a company doesn’t have vulnerabilities in its network security or reliability.
The need for technology to run efficiently is expected to increase the market for managed services by 80% between 2020 and 2026.
Using co-managed IT support gives companies the best of both worlds. They have someone onsite that can immediately help if there is a computer issue, keep devices updated, and address any IT emergencies.
But companies also have an expert outsourced professional as a resource to go to when they need additional help beyond what their in-house team can handle.
If you employ your own IT team, here are some of the reasons you should consider working with an MSP company for co-managed services.
Co-Managed IT Is Flexible
How your co-managed IT relationship looks can be completely different from another company. This type of partnership is designed to be flexible and scalable to fit your needs.
Some companies may want monthly assistance from an outsourced IT provider to handle certain functions for their in-house team. While another may simply choose to use co-managed IT support for special projects or to cover vacation and sick days.
You can choose the way you’d like to work with us.
Vacation Coverage
When your IT team members (or member) go on vacation, it can leave your systems vulnerable to attack or cause an important maintenance update to get missed.
With a co-managed IT service relationship, you have someone that knows your technology and your business and can easily step in to fill in during vacations. This keeps your team from getting urgent IT calls while away when they should be allowed to recharge.
Fill-In Knowledge Gaps
In-house IT teams will typically have less knowledge and experience than the staff at a professional IT services firm. For example, Data First Solutions has worked with 1,000’s of customers over our 35-year history.
Having a co-managed IT provider gives your in-house tech team a valuable resource to turn to when it runs into a problem outside the team’s scope of knowledge.
Your outsourced IT partner can even help train your in-house team members and increase their knowledge.
IT Help During Unexpected Absences
People are out unexpectedly due to illness or another urgent issue all the time. Having help when your IT person is suddenly gone for a few days is an important safety net to ensure your business can continue operating effectively.
Another situation where you may need a knowledgeable pro to step in and help is when your in-house IT person quits unexpectedly. Co-managed support can ensure smooth operations while you’re looking for a replacement.
As an Important Check & Balance
In-house IT teams have a lot of power and responsibility when it comes to your operations. If you have an IT person that claims to know more than they do, you might not realize an important security protocol isn’t being followed.
There is also the chance of an insider attack, where someone with access to company systems steals confidential data.
Using a co-managed IT provider to help with network monitoring and cybersecurity can be an important check and balance to ensure too much power over your data and hardware isn’t put into too few hands.
For Help with a New Technology Project
Co-managed IT professionals can work side-by-side with your IT team to do the heavy lifting on a new project. Companies may be transitioning to new software or trying to reopen their office post-pandemic.
Having an expert outsourced team on hand to help with project planning and implementation can reduce the project timeline and improve the outcome.
To Keep Your IT Team from Being Overwhelmed
In-house IT teams can easily get overwhelmed with user support calls, putting out IT fires, and trying to keep all devices maintained.
Having a co-managed IT partner can reduce the burden on your team and keep them from getting overwhelmed. When people are asked to do more than they can handle, mistakes can easily be made. IT mistakes can have devastating consequences, such as a ransomware infection, data breach, or server crash.
Ask About Our Flexible Co-Managed IT Support Plans
Data First Solutions has an expert team that can work with your Toronto business in any capacity you like to support your own in-house IT team.
Contact us today to discuss our co-managed IT options. Call 416-412-0576 or reach out online.
