Small business owners often find themselves in a position of trying to balance a limited budget while making sure they have the proper tools to grow their business. It is a challenge many business owners face, in that they recognize the need for additional products or services that will allow their business to continue to thrive, however funds are in short supply to achieve these goals. This is especially true today, when small business owners find financial institutions are less willing to extend credit in the current economy.

Faced with this challenge, many small business owners are forced to make difficult decisions as to where they can afford to spend money to improve their business. One of the areas in which business owners are on the fence is whether or not hiring a managed services provider is something they can afford. In some cases the cost is not worth the benefits, however there are many situations where cutting costs will end up costing you more money in the long run. Here are a few reasons why managed service providers may be more affordable than the alternative.

Technology- In order to be competitive in this day, small businesses must remain up-to-speed with current technology. The amount of money invested in this area can be quite large, making it necessary to ensure you have someone in your corner who can help manage and support the technology used in your business. While the average person is becoming increasingly well versed in the use of basic technology, there remains a need for experts in the industry to ensure your business can stay up and running on a daily basis as well as in the event of a natural or man made emergency.

Internal IT- Larger corporations have the budget necessary to support an internal IT department that provides expertise and support of the technology used by the company. Small businesses do not have the same resources and often find themselves either without backup or paying a high price when they have to bring in an outside expert.

Services provided by MSP's- When a small business enlists the help of a managed service provider, they will agree to a contract which covers specific services at a specific price. This allows the the small business owner to see upfront what they are paying for and how it will work in the budget. Some of the services provided by msp's include; computer and server support, data backup and disaster recovery, network security, custom software solutions, remote network monitoring and technology evaluation and planning. Depending on the business these services can be customized to meet the specific needs of the client, making it possible to reduce costs in certain areas.

There are many reasons why a small business owner might feel managed services providers are not something they can afford. Unfortunately the services provided are often not realized until there is an emergency, where small business owners quickly discover the amount of money spent to "fix" a problem or recover from a disaster is much more expensive than planning for it in the first place. In this case it is not a matter of if you can afford manages services, rather if you an afford NOT to have them.

Content by Managed Services Provider University

If you are a small business owner and considering whether or not managed services will benefit your company, the answer is almost always- yes. There is little doubt that most small businesses can benefit from managed services, yet that in itself does not always justify the cost of bringing on a third party provider. Accepting that managed services providers can offer solutions to common problems found in small business operation, the real question is when does it make sense to switch from in house IT solutions to the next level which includes managed services.

There is a good chance if you are already considering managed services the time might be near when you are ready to make the switch. Small business owners do not have the luxury of a never ending IT budget, therefore it is very important to recognize when your current IT management is no longer cost effective. For most small businesses this occurs when the business grows to the point of needing either a contract with a local service provider who is "on call" for IT needs or hiring a full time IT person to remain on staff. There is of course another option for small business owners to consider and that is hiring a managed services provider to oversee their IT needs.

If you are still unsure that your business is ready for the switch, ask yourself the following questions;

• Do you find IT costs are continually increasing?
• Is it difficult to find and retain quality IT staff?
• Is your network and workstation performance and speed decreasing?
• Are your employees spending more time dealing with IT issues than focusing on job they have been hired to perform?
• Do you have problems with viruses, spyware and other security issues that could threaten the confidentiality of proprietary information?
• In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, would your network be at risk? Would recovery be a concern?
• Do you find network downtime is increasing?

If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, then your business is ready for managed services.

Now that you have determined managed services are right for your business, the next challenge is finding the right provider of these services. This is a decision that should not be made lightly or rushed as the wrong provider can end up costing your company more money than your current situation. Before you begin the search for a managed services provider you should first consider your IT budget as well as issues or problems you want to be addressed. It is important to remember that managed services are not a one-size-fits-all type of solution to business problems. Each business and industry has their own issues to contend with and a qualified managed services provider will work with you to find the solutions that will benefit your company the most. If a potential provider is more intent on selling you services and not listening to the needs of your business, move on to another provider who is willing to listen to your concerns and offer customized solutions that address these needs. The point of outsourcing your IT management is to save money while freeing up time to focus on other business operations. For this reason it pays to put forth the effort to find the best managed services provider to oversee your technology needs.

Content by Managed Services Provider University

While it's impossible to plan for every potential computer disaster or emergency, there are a few easy and inexpensive measures you can put into place that will help you avoid the vast majority of computer disasters you could experience.

#1: Make Sure You Are Backing Up Your System

It just amazes me how many businesses never back up their computer network. Once it’s gone, it’s gone permanently! 

#2: Perform A Complete Data Restore To Make Sure
Your Backups Are Working Properly

Many business owners set up some type of backup system, but then never check to make sure it’s working properly. The WORST time to “test” your backup is after a disaster has happened and you desperately need it!

#3: Keep An Offsite Copy Of Your Backups

What happens if a fire or flood destroys your server AND the backup tapes or drive? What happens if your office gets robbed and they take EVERYTHING?  Having an off-site backup is simply a smart way to make sure you have multiple, redundant copies of your data!

For the absolute BEST offsite backup solution, go to:
http://www.1nsolutions.com/services/disaster-recovery

What’s the benefit of moving our servers to the cloud? What do we gain by making such a big change? It’s a question we get asked a lot, and the answers vary greatly, depending on the client. I have found though, that our clients end up focusing on three key areas to make their decisions. Availability, Resources and Budget.