

How much of your IT do you accomplish yourself? If the answer is nothing at all, don’t worry! You’re not the first nor the last business owner that relies heavily on their IT managed services provider. However, don’t be that business that outsources their IT (which is a very good thing), only to never use them for what they are there for!
The sad truth is, lots of small businesses are not proactive about their IT needs. It’s evident when the only time they call their IT provider is when something goes horribly wrong – there’s a network failure or their website loads up with a ton of viruses, perhaps nothing at all. Worse yet, there are plenty of IT companies out there who aren’t proactive whatsoever. They wait until YOU pick up the phone and call them for help, when in reality they should be helping you ALWAYS.
This isn’t how your relationship with your IT should be! You should be working with a team of dedicated IT professionals, who are there to make your life as a business owner much easier by not having to worry if your systems are running as they should be. They should also be doing their best to stay in touch with you and address any impeding problems before they turn into full fledge emergencies.
Here are 3 things your IT services provider needs to be doing for you.
Keep Your Business Safe
Locked doors, closed-circuit cameras and a private security team sounds great for security, but sadly none of these items will ever stop a cyber-attack. This year alone, hackers have targeted a little over 50% of all small businesses in the United States. With the right protection, you may never even realize you were on the end of an attack unless your IT told you so. If not, you’ll be scrambling for answers on how to restore everything back to normal.
Your IT services provider needs to put your network security on high priority. The last thing you want is to have your customer data stolen away from you, because the consequences can be devastating. They should be maintaining your firewall, managing your malware protection and making sure your hardware and software are up-to-date and operating as they should be. Your IT should be doing everything they can be doing to make sure your business’s data is secure and have multiple backups in the rare case of data loss or corruption.
Minimize Costs
When you work with an outside team of IT professionals, the whole point is to save money having to hire your own internal IT personnel, which many small businesses cannot sustain. In return, you’re literally paying your IT to save you even more money. This is especially true if you do a lot of e-commerce, as they can help you avoid costly disasters such as data loss or network downtime.
Keep in mind, hackers are always on the lookout, waiting for the perfect opportunity to try and take control of your systems and steal/sell your company data. Your IT should be doing everything they can to patch any weaknesses in hardware or software before hackers are able to take advantage of it. By maintaining your network and associated hardware and software, your IT is an intangible asset that’s ultimately saving you thousands of dollars in irreparable damage down the road.
Help You Stay Proactive
Don’t come into work and be surprised by none of your computers working. That’s the last thing you want to happen. Your IT needs to be able to spot an issue well before it actually becomes a problem for you. This is easily accomplishable by having them keep your network updated and maintained.
When you keep up with your IT needs, you’ll be able to stay ahead of all your competitors. Establish a good work relationship with your IT by opening up your schedule to include regular calls concerning your network security. Make sure to ask about any issues that may impact your business, especially any equipment concerns or potential hacker threats.
By staying proactive about what your IT is doing and how they’re protecting your company data, you can tell your customers that their personal information is safe, secure and in good hands.
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If your IT company isn’t doing any of these things, contact us at Biztek Solutions today and let our team of IT professionals protect your business starting today. Don’t wait until after a worst-case scenario has happened before investing in your business’s network maintenance and security. Not only is this a dangerous way of thinking, it’s a costly one as well. It’s time for you to be proactive and build a strong relationship with your new IT company. Contact us online or by phone at (951) 638-0502.