With the complexity of technology today, businesses find it difficult to have inhouse IT staff capable of supporting all the technology segments the business requires. As a business grows the technology gets more complex and the learning curve for staff becomes more critical. One solution for this is to engage help from external IT managed service provider with the depth of experience and training in a co-managed IT agreement. There are a variety of benefits a co-managed IT engagement can provide. One of the greatest benefits is that it is completely customizable to your needs and looks different for every company. So, what exactly does a CoMIT (co-managed IT) services look like in practice and what are the benefits in this model? Here are some of the basics to know when looking and discussing options with your desired co-managed IT services provider.
What Is It Exactly?
A common misconception is that there are only two options for IT management: internal staff or outsourcing to an external IT service provider. In today’s breath of technology requirements, this is just not the case anymore. As each company is unique, so are the IT services needed to function and thrive as a business. That is why co-managed IT program work for a variety of businesses these days. Co-managed IT provides a model that allows businesses to customize what IT services will be kept in-house and what services will be outsourced to a third-party IT service partner/provider. This method gives businesses the unique opportunity of up-to-date resources and allow your in-house staff to do what they do best and be mentored on other technology that the managed service provider brings to the table. Together it optimizes the efficiency of your IT needs. It truly gives business owners the best of both worlds. Having comprehensive IT management rarely turns out to be a one-man show; therefore, by essentially having two teams on your side, your business will reap the various benefits of what co-managed IT provides.
How Do Co-Managed IT Services Work?
As stated previously, co-managed IT services are customizable. Break down your technology requirements into sectors, such as user support, network monitoring, architecture/design of the enterprise, implementation if new technology (such as firewall/server/switches/clusters/etc.), cyber security, physical security (CCTV, access control, intrusion detection, etc.), and possibly compliance. On one hand, you look at the strengths of your internal IT staff and what they are best qualified for. Do you have an IT manager, someone who understands the business strategy, long and short-term goals, and industry trends?
The other hand, you have an outside service team that would have the experience in supporting most of the technology requirements and gives the staff a means for escalation or collaboration on issues. The service provider also will come up beside your IT manager to provide insight on the industry and a sounding board to help create a strategic IT roadmap for the business. Time and time again this method has proven to be an overwhelmingly favorable route for growing businesses. It allows your teams to focus on their daily tasks more efficiently and productively rather than being overloaded with constantly having to put out fires. You now have the ability to scale and have the resources to attack issues as they come up.
With a co-managed IT approach, having a partner to supplement those services needed and helps you build a stronger employee culture by improving IT support, training of existing staff, allows you to retain valued employees and giving them the proper support that they need to succeed in their positions. In the case where an employee decides to leave the company, you have a program that can support the organization while replacements can be obtained and trained.
Does This Method Fit My Business?
Chances are good that your IT department is either over tasked or struggling to keep up with new technology demands for the business. In either case, you’re putting the business at risk! Have your staff do what they do well and supplement that effort with a qualified third-party MSP team and use them as a mentor to expose your staff to new technology implementations. The depth and breadth of technology today is challenging for the experienced professional. It is not fair to the employee to stretch their capability and put the business at risk while the IT staff are trying to figure it out.
Your IT department is such a crucial part of any and every business. They handle a wide variety of tasks that take time, skill, resources, and experience to perform. Choosing to have co-managed IT service allows you to do things faster, become more proficient in and with resources/tools, as well as raising efficiency in your departments across the board. In addition, your selection of a service provider will likely bring additional tools that most companies don’t have access to. Managed service providers work with multiple IT environments which brings experience and resources to help monitor, implement time tested procedures and processes to make the business run better.
Conclusion
Since co-managed IT services are customizable, there are a variety of ways to accomplish a positive partnership. Speak to a professional to find out if their ways and methods in co-managed IT services will be the right match for your business.
If you want more information regarding co-managed IT services that will benefit you and your organization, contact us today. Regardless of your business size, the benefits of a long-term relationship with a knowledgeable and reliable provider are essential for creating a thriving company. RJ2 Technologies can provide that to you.
