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Why choose Solaris managed services from WTL?

IT managed services provide a way for your business to stretch its IT budget and ensure your systems deliver maximum benefits. When you partner with WTL for Solaris and Linux-managed service you can expect the following five benefits:

1. Increased operational efficiency

By optimising your Oracle Solaris/Linux systems for performance, WTL immediately helps you realise the maximum available benefits from your systems. Our experts work to ensure you can achieve more from existing investments, reducing TCO and improving ROI. And as systems perform better, so do your processes and people.

2. Reduced operating costs

Under-optimised systems create bottlenecks and delays that reduce efficiency and increase costs. WTL’s optimisation experts not only ensure your Oracle software has been optimised for efficiency, we will also help to reduce the amount of resources required to ‘keep the lights on’.

3. Enterprise-level support and services

Oracle and Linux skills are in high demand, creating a shortage of experienced engineers for your team. Worse still, supply and demand is pushing salaries ever upwards. With managed services from WTL, hiring skilled Linux / Solaris engineers is our problem; but we make sure you always have access to the right people, skills and experience you need to keep systems up and running.

4. Minimised downtime

Because of the importance of IT, uptime SLAs are typically measured to ‘five nines’ (99.999%). Downtime is expensive and to be avoided at all costs – but how can you meet your obligations when your IT team is already stretched to the limit? By optimising your systems, WTL can help to address many of the issues that cause system failures in advance. And our helpdesk team is available round the clock to help you quickly recover Oracle servers after unexpected failures or disasters.

5. Improved strategic focus

Although vital, keeping the lights on is a significant drain on available resources and budget – Gartner once estimated that as much as 80% of IT budgets are spent on maintaining existing infrastructure and assets. WTL managed services can help reduce some of that burden by taking over many routine maintenance and administration tasks. This then frees your internal team to focus on the strategic projects that will help your business achieve its strategic goals.

Contact us to learn more

WTL tailors managed services to your needs, ensuring you have the correct coverage to help your business meet its digital transformation goals. We work alongside your stakeholders to implement a plan that maximises value from your Oracle Solaris / Linux systems – and which will help carry your organisation forwards.

To learn more about Linux / Solaris managed services from WTL, please give us a call .

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Another 5 Reasons Why You Need Managed IT Services

Managed IT services used to be reserved for big-spending blue-chip multinationals. But as the world goes increasingly cloud-enabled, any business can begin outsourcing at least some of their operations – and reaping the benefits of doing so.

Here are five more great reasons why you need managed IT services:

1. Zero capital outlay

Staffing remains one of your biggest operating costs – and in-demand IT skills entail salary premiums. Adopting the new technologies required to drive digital transformation requires the right skills and experience for successful implementation and operation – and usually means hiring new talent at a significant cost.

With IT-managed services, those costs are borne by the provider. So you get the skills and experience you need from day one without any additional capital outlay.

2. Converged services

The cloud has accelerated development and increased operational agility – but it has also led to infrastructure sprawl and complexity. The pay-as-you-use resource billing model ensures you never pay for unused capacity, but those savings are squandered if the environment becomes harder and more resource-intensive to manage.

IT-managed services can help to bring your infrastructure back under control, migrating and converging services to reduce complexity, simplify administration and reduce operating costs.

3. Future-proof services

Cutting-edge skills are important for not only starting your project in the right way, but also for ensuring it continues in the right direction. Starting a digital transformation program incorrectly will mean incurring technical debt from the outset.

Again, the expertise and experience of an IT managed services provider (IT MSP) ensure that the project begins with future-proofing as one of the guiding principles. And because they are expected to stay abreast of the latest technologies, they can also advise on how best to invest and upgrade for future success.

4. Streamlined operations

Dealing with multiple vendors, particularly during an IT disruption, can be slow and frustrating. Bouncing between support engineers to resolve issues seems to take far longer than it should.

With an IT MSP, you have a single point of contact for any issue or query. Depending on the type of agreement in place, your MSP will then see the issue through to completion themselves or become the coordinator where several parties need to be involved. This centralisation makes everything simpler and quicker for your business.

5. Increased capacity for innovation

“Keeping the lights on” is essential for ensuring operations continue undisrupted – but these low-level tasks also draw important resources away from the strategic projects that will help your business grow.

An MSP can provide people and resources that ensure that operations continue smoothly, freeing up people for other digital transformation tasks. In effect, you can increase headcount – without increasing headcount – to ensure you have everything you need to reach your strategic goals.

Ready to learn more?

Ready to learn more about IT-managed services? Contact the WTL team today to discuss how we can help your business realise all these benefits – and more.

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Break-Fix vs Managed Services – Which is right for you?

When it comes to IT support services, there are two main choices – Break-Fix or Managed Services. So how do you choose which is right for your business?

What are Break-Fix IT services?

Break-Fix – when something breaks, you contact an IT support provider to fix it. Under this type of agreement, your supplier only gets involved when something goes wrong – the rest of the time you retain responsibility for keeping your IT systems running.

What are Managed Services?

Managed Services are much more hands-on; your provider assumes day-to-day responsibility for keeping your systems, applications and databases running. This means that they are always working to optimise your systems, not just when something breaks.

Which is the smartest choice for my business?

It is important to acknowledge that break-fix services tend to be cheaper, but there’s a good reason for this. Because you only contact your support provider when you have a major problem, they do not have to dedicate as much time and resources to your account, allowing them to reduce their overheads. However, a break-fix provider will also charge extra for anything that falls outside the scope of the contract, such as applying software updates or optimising databases.

An IT-managed services provider (MSP) is proactive, working to optimise your systems for maximum uptime and performance. Their efforts help to reduce the chances of something breaking in the first place. Although the headline charge for an MSP contract may seem higher, once the cost of downtime (or lack of it) is considered, they offer greater value than a break-fix alternative.

Stop accepting downtime

Given the importance of IT to their operations, businesses simply cannot afford to have unscheduled downtime. An MSP monitors your IT environment, constantly on the lookout for warning signs of an imminent failure or poor system performance. Once a potential issue is identified, they can schedule the necessary remedial work before there is a catastrophic outage or impact on operations.

The proactive efforts of an MSP significantly reduce the risk of system downtime, making them a smarter strategic choice for all but the smallest of organizations.

It’s also important to note that MSPs do more than simply prevent system outages. By proactively optimising software and databases, they help to improve operational efficiency and maximise ROI from IT investments for instance. Similarly, by taking ownership of software patching, they can help to improve the overall security posture of your systems and data – vital for compliance and data protection requirements. A break-fix provider does not offer either of these benefits – unless you are willing to pay a premium on top of your standard agreement terms.

To learn more about our Solaris and Linux Managed Services  (and why break-fix services simply aren’t good enough for your business), please give us a call

 

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8 Great Reasons Why You Should Be Using IT Managed Services

There are many reasons why businesses choose not to adopt IT managed services. Some may be concerned about the potential costs. Others may believe it shows a failure with their in-house IT. And others are simply too busy to properly identify the right partner for their needs.

But struggling along trying to manage and maintain all of your IT operations in-house could be a serious strategic mistake. Why divert important resources away from your strategic goals just to ‘keep the lights on’?

Here are eight great reasons why an IT managed services provider (MSP) delivers much more value than you might expect:

1. Greater control of your own resources

Keeping corporate IT ‘running’ is not the core focus of your own business. But if you are pulling people and resources away from the projects that will grow your business, you are already delaying or limiting future success.

A good managed IT partner will free up your resources so you can deploy them where they are really needed.

2. Solve the skills shortage

Cutting-edge technology is essential for your digitally transformed future – but the skills required to adopt those technologies are hard to find (and expensive). A managed IT services provider will ensure you have the people and skills you need to meet your obligations and objectives – so no more staffing headaches for you.

3. Improve cost control

By eliminating hiring, firing and training costs, your business is better placed to contain staffing costs. This helps to significantly reduce IT operational overheads, freeing up cash to be spent on other strategic activities.

4. Improve scalability on demand

One of the goals of digital transformation is to increase the elasticity of operations. Where cloud platforms enable infrastructure and software scalability, an IT services provider allows you to scale internal resources (like people) in the same way. So you can grow and shrink your team as required without ever compromising the quality of service provided to customers and internal stakeholders.

5. Support on tap

IT service providers offer a range of support options to ensure you have access to help whenever you need it. From Mon-Fri 9-5 to 24x7x365 coverage, there is a support contract choice to meet your operational needs (without incurring overtime payments to your staff).

6. Reduce downtime (and costs)

The additional resources provided by an IT MSP allow you to take a more proactive approach to your IT operations. Your partner can help to identify and rectify issues before they take your systems (and operations) offline.

7. Build a mutual relationship

An MSP works hard to understand your IT systems in the context of your strategic business goals. This allows them to tailor services to your business needs – and ensures that you are both working towards the same outcomes. A shared, long-term view builds a mutually beneficial relationship so you can trust your partner and their recommendations.

8. Enhance security and compliance

Cybersecurity is a constantly evolving field of expertise which many businesses struggle to manage in-house. An MSP can apply industry best practice principles to help ensure your systems remain secure and compliant – and that your developments and enhancements adhere to the same strict standards.

A good IT MSP provides much more than just resources – they should be a trusted partner who helps your business grow quickly, securely and efficiently.

Our Solaris and Linux Managed Services can resolve skills, resources and budget constraints you may have. Our managed services will allow you to focus on supporting the business and not the technology.

To learn more about IT managed services and how WTL can help you meet your strategic goals, please get in touch.

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The 5 Key Benefits Of Solaris & Linux Managed Services

Outsourcing is a popular tactic used by large businesses to control costs and reduce their operational IT overheads. But what do they get from it? And can any organisation use Linux and Solaris managed services?

Here are five key benefits of outsourcing your Linux and Solaris management:

1. Optimised systems

As your processes become more reliant on data, speed of access is increasingly important. To ensure you have the right information whenever you need it, Linux and Solaris systems must be optimised for maximum performance.

Your IT team is probably tied up doing day-to-day activities; with managed services, your outsourcing partner can take proactive action to improve operations without adding to their workload.

2. Improved uptime and availability

The other benefit of Linux / Solaris optimisation will be improved uptime and availability. By identifying issues early, your managed services provider will be able to resolve them before they become critical or significantly affect operations.

3. Reduced costs

IT skills are in high demand – which makes them expensive. Sourcing, training and paying a skilled Solaris / Linux administrator will take a significant chunk out of your budget.

Using a managed service gives you access to all the skills you need to maintain and optimise your servers – but without the headaches of actually employing an expert yourself. This will help to significantly reduce your salary, training and tax bills.

4. Access to experts

These savings become exponential when you consider the range of specialisms required to manage a diverse Solaris / Linux environment. You have to consider servers, storage, networking, support, administration etc.

A managed service provider has their specialists, allowing them to deploy the right person for each task at a fraction of the cost of building your team in-house. This also ensures that you can rely on their comprehensive industry and technology knowledge to help you define a workable, future-ready IT strategy

5. Simplified administration

The IT environment is increasingly complex which has a knock-on effect on administration. Keeping all the various elements running optimally is a major drain on resources.

With a managed Solaris / Linux service you can outsource at least some of your admin operations to a more experienced partner. They can then streamline support and management processes for your benefit, freeing up internal resources for other tasks.

Historically managed services have only been an option for the largest businesses. But as technology improves, virtually any business running Linux or Solaris can afford to take advantage of managed services – and to realise all five of the benefits listed here.

To learn more about Linux and Solaris outsourcing – and exactly what it will do for your business – please give the WTL team a call.