Managed Services Archives

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.

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.