Who Do You Turn to For IT Support?

When you’ve got your own business, you’re often juggling a lot of balls in the air at the same time and keeping everything afloat can be a challenge.

This is made all the harder when you’re not an expert in some of the fields of your business that demand the most attention. Perhaps the one that’s hardest to keep an eye on, but is the most crucial is your IT provision.

When things are going well, you don’t think much about it but when your network crashes or you need some support with your software, who do you turn to?

In this blog, we weigh up the benefits of having on-site support versus external support and what’s going to work best for your business.

Support in Your Team

Hiring an IT support worker can mean that you know your team is covered with someone who can respond right away. Having someone on-site means you don’t have to wait on the phone for a consultant or have the worry that they won’t be able to fix the problem remotely.

Instead, you have peace of mind knowing your IT expert is ready and waiting in the wings should things go wrong.

But what if things rarely do go wrong? How many software updates can your IT install before you realize that the majority of the time they’re not doing very much at all? It’s great to have them there but is it really necessary and more importantly is it cost-effective?

External Support

On the other hand, you have the option of managed IT Support Services from outside your organization. Not all services are created equal and you’ll need to shop around to make sure you’re getting the best deal but could it be that having 24-hour a day support at the end of the line is going to work better for your business in the long run?

Quite possibly. Most issues with either your network or individual computer stations are relatively easy fixes. With remote access from your external provider, you can hand over control to them and have the problem fixed in minutes, usually.

The great thing is their availability. There when you need them with a team of experts on hand to give you the best advice and their best resources.

But there are two considerations worth noting. The first is the issue that arises when the problem can’t be fixed remotely when you need a body on the ground to really see what’s going on. How long are you prepared to wait around to make that happen?

The more pressing issue is that of security. How much do you trust an external provider to have full access to your systems? How safe are their own networks?

Either option works. Both have their advantages and disadvantages when it comes to providing you with IT support. The main criteria is to find an option that offers you both value for money and the security measures needed to keep your business safe.