Reliable and effective IT support for small businesses is vital when trying to succeed in the competitive market of the capital.
All business owners know that productivity is crucial. An IT issue that brings your workforce to a standstill could have disastrous consequences, both for your clients and the morale of your team. Good IT support reduces downtime and ensures the smooth running of your business.
What to consider before looking for small business IT support
Small businesses considering their IT support options also have to consider questions of flexibility – the ability to accommodate growth. It is imperative for the success of your business to adopt an IT support strategy that will ensure that your current and future needs and the best ways to meet them.
It can be difficult to know how to approach the issue of obtaining sufficient support, especially if the primary focus of your company does not relate to IT.
Small businesses in London are advised to seek out a local company who can use their knowledge and skill set to provide the best possible IT solutions.
A business’s proximity to the IT support company to which they are outsourcing should also be considered, especially by small businesses.
Outsourcing IT support locally has multiple advantages:
- If the company is paying for a block hours service, there are fewer transportation costs and less time paid for overall
- If the company is paying for a fully managed service, it means that problems are fixed much more swiftly and easily
What type of small business IT support should you choose?
So how does a small, London-based business go about finding the right kind of IT support? The first thing that may occur to businesses when they think of IT support is to hire one or more specialists full-time. This is often a problematic approach for small businesses.
Having an in-house team of IT specialists is an excellent solution to the IT requirements of a large company, but it often isn’t feasible for a small business. If your company has less than than 150 staff members, it’s likely that hiring a full in-house IT team will be an unnecessary expense.
Outsourcing IT support is therefore a better option for a many small businesses. This is due to the fact that it gives the company access to a wide-ranging specialist skill set for comparatively little money.
Highly experienced IT professionals command high salaries, which small businesses in particular may find difficult to afford. A fully-managed IT support service offers the same degree of expertise without the large investment of employing a team of full-time IT personnel.
Small businesses also have the option of combining both approaches. Many small businesses employ one or two IT specialists to oversee and maintain their IT systems on a day-to-day basis while outsourcing any problems that might arise to an IT support company.
This hybrid structure is often a good approach for tech-savvy small businesses, or those that employ IT staff for other purposes, who are prepared to step in and fix minor problems that do not require serious professional intervention.
Ultimately a small business’s decision regarding IT support should reflect the nature of their company, their future aims and the technological know-how of their existing staff.
At Cheeky Munkey we offer both proactive and reactive IT support specifically tailored to the needs of small businesses. Our IT consultancy service, fine-tuned over nearly a decade of industry experience, is first-class.
If you are a small business based in London, get in touch for advice on the kind of IT support package best suited to your needs.
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