Why businesses should reconsider co-managed IT services in 2022
The last two years have been a roller-coaster of surprise, shock, and excitement, most of which was bad news for businesses worldwide. To recap, here’s a highlight of the events that unexpectedly shaped the business landscape in 2020 and 2021.
- The COVID-19 pandemic
- Talent shortage across all labor markets
- Social and political instability
- Supply chain disruptions
- Frantic shifts to remote and hybrid work
- Mass migration to the cloud
- Spike in cybercrime
These developments caused widespread chaos, panic, and uncertainty in the business world. Many enterprises coped with these challenges by pivoting to new business models, while those that couldn’t end up closing shop.
The bad news is that we’re not out of the woods yet. The post-pandemic world still poses many of the same hardships to businesses. One of the ways you can boldly face the new year is by teaming up with a supportive IT partner. Below are five reasons why you should consider having a co-managed IT services provider by your side in 2022.
Fill IT talent gaps
The co-managed IT support model combines the convenience of an in-house team with the strategic expertise of a professional IT services provider. This is an easy way to instantly fill empty IT labor positions and relieve overburdened employees amid the ongoing talent shortage. Hiring and retaining qualified talent is still a big problem today, and it’s not going away any time soon.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are 10.4 million unfilled job positions in the country. Most of the 7.6 million unemployed Americans are not actively looking for work.
Save costs
The cost of IT labor is currently at an all-time high. The median annual wage for IT occupations hit $91,250 in May 2020, much higher than the $41,950 median yearly wage for all occupations. And remember, this figure doesn’t include the cost of hiring, onboarding, or employee benefits.
A co-managed IT services provider can help handle some of the IT responsibilities, such as ticketing and routine maintenance, at only a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee. This solution gives you the ability to downsize your internal IT department to trim redundancies and enjoy significant cost savings.
Improve IT and business agility
Over the last two years, business flexibility and agility have become critical success factors. Co-managed IT enables businesses to adapt to disruptive changes by fine-tuning various aspects of their IT processes. For instance, you can decide which processes to keep in-house and those to outsource to achieve the best outcomes efficiently. In addition, an IT partner can help your business develop a practical, goal-oriented IT strategy or roadmap.
Reinforce cybersecurity
The COVID-19 pandemic, rapid workplace digitization, and the rise of remote work led to a sharp spike in cybercrime throughout 2020 and 2021. 2020 was a bad year for cybersecurity, but 2021 turned out to be even worse. By the ITRC’s calculations, the number of data breaches reported in just the first half of 2021 surpassed the total number of incidents reported in all of 2020. We can make an educated prediction that 2022 will probably tell a similar story.
A co-managed IT partner can help you prepare for an ever-worsening cyber threat landscape by equipping the business with robust proactive and responsive cybersecurity measures. By augmenting your IT staff with an IT provider, you can leverage managed IT’s arsenal of powerful security tools and immense threat intelligence to protect your digital assets.
Augment your IT support infrastructure
Outsourcing IT services allows you access to highly skilled IT expertise and the latest, cutting-edge IT solutions. Such resourcefulness augments not only your IT labor force but also your entire IT support infrastructure. With the right tools and skillsets, your IT operations can run more smoothly — no more downtime, unattended tickets, or unexpected costs.
An IT partner will undoubtedly be a welcome addition to your business to face the IT challenges in the coming year. GDR Group is a competent, skilled, experienced IT provider and a perfect fit for your business. Let’s talk about helping your organization overcome its technical challenges and achieve its goals.
