If you’re hoping to successfully implement and leverage technology across your business, then you need the support of a Chief Information Officer (CIO). The good news is that there’s no need to employ an in-house CIO. Here’s what you need to know about partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) for your IT needs and how your MSP can also act as your virtual CIO (vCIO).
Why you need an MSP
Whether you’re in healthcare, finance, or general commerce, you can benefit from partnering with an MSP in the following ways.
Increased productivity
One of the biggest challenges and cost pressures faced by SMBs is downtime. The average company loses over 500 hours of productivity per year due to downtime, and a typical employee spends at least 30 minutes per week on IT-related troubleshooting.
An MSP provides 24/7 IT support and has the expertise to not only get you up and running again as soon as possible, but also provides proactive support to prevent those downtime-causing problems in the first place. MSPs reduce downtime and minimize wasted resources.
Increased cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a huge issue for every business. A study, conducted by Michel Cukier, Clark School assistant professor of mechanical engineering profiled the behavior of “brute force” hackers, who use simple software-aided techniques to randomly attack large numbers of computers. It was discovered “There was at least one hacking attempt every 39 seconds, on average, 2,244 times a day”.
With an MSP’s support, you can protect your vulnerable infrastructure and receive the education and training staff requires to help spot and prevent phishing scams. These scams are usually emails or text messages that appear to come from a trusted company. Employees will unknowingly contribute to these scams without proper training. An MSP can help you stay one step ahead before these scams infiltrate your systems.
Increased value
An MSP adds real strategic value to your company because they help you access and implement cutting-edge IT solutions, such as cloud-based platforms and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). With the right IT, you can get ahead of your competition and generate sustainable growth for your company.
How your MSP can be your new vCIO
Since a CIO is responsible for overseeing a company’s overall IT strategy and assessing the role that IT plays in the organization, it makes financial and commercial sense to turn your MSP into a virtual CIO. Here’s why.
Budget and risk tracking
The IT budget is a major concern for all companies, and no one understands this better than the CIO. An MSP can serve as your vCIO by providing IT strategies, products, and training that align with your IT budget.
What’s more, your vCIO can give you comprehensive advice on the risks associated with failing to upgrade systems or monitor your networks, and they can help you prioritize where to invest your budget according to a risk profile.
Infrastructure monitoring
For most companies, purchasing, upgrading, and maintaining IT infrastructure can put a major strain on the IT budget. When you partner with an MSP as your vCIO, you can get remote access to the latest servers and IT infrastructure. This means you can reduce costs and free up valuable office space.
Expertise sharing
With a vCIO, you’ll have access to comprehensive, expert IT advice on demand. Your MSP is dedicated to helping your business succeed, and they’ll offer you IT advice specifically tailored to your own corporate needs and goals. An MSP has the expert knowledge to serve as a partner in any IT-related challenge.
Find your ideal CIO
Whatever niche you operate in, you’ll always benefit from introducing a vCIO into your hierarchy. By leveraging the industry knowledge and expertise of an IT consultant who fills that CIO role, you gain access to a staff of people who can guide your IT planning and strategy in a way that’s tailored to your goals. For more information on why an MSP is the ideal vCIO for modern businesses, or to work with us, contact us today.