By Paul Stoessel, MCA Communications
It always costs more to react to a problem than to proactively prevent one. Yet, business managers tend to resist investing in a Proactive Service Agreement to ensure their systems are well maintained. Through the illusion of saving money, organizations end up assuming all the liability for the moment their network goes down or they suffer a security breach. When a disaster event happens and they realize it is beyond their scope to respond properly, business managers call for help.
It is not a question of whether something will happen to cause disruption in your business, but when.
The average cost of IT downtime is $5,600 per minute (July 2021; the20.com). While that number will either be higher or lower, depending on the size and operational structure of your business, it is a staggering number, to say the least. This does not include the cost of lost revenue potential or your organization’s reputation and trust with your staff and clients.
Even the best-maintained businesses can face downtime due to circumstances beyond their control. Disney, among other gigantic service providers, was down for nearly twelve hours in 2021 when Amazon’s Web Service (AWS) went offline. There are many small and medium-sized businesses that also utilize AWS that also had operations suspended. Disney might be able to weather an outage like that, but most SMBs – and many enterprise clients – would struggle greatly to recover from that kind of loss.
What is a Managed Services Provider (MSP)?
Enterprise and medium-sized businesses typically have an in-house IT department. Most small businesses do not have room in their payroll for full-time staff. Regardless of the business size, all organizations have gaps in their ability to maintain their technology needs. This bleeds right into physical security, cybersecurity, special projects, and disaster recovery. What happens when these gaps are left alone can be catastrophic. But the more common “silent killer” is the loss of efficiency as the workforce finds their own shortcuts/workarounds because they lack access to qualified and timely technical help.
A Managed Services Provider will identify the gaps in a company’s technology and security needs as well as proactively maintain the existing infrastructure, all while providing subject matter experts in those respective areas of opportunity.
MCA’s Managed Services will proactively ensure your network has appropriate redundancies in place to reduce downtime on your most critical assets. Our experts become your business partners. We learn your operational model and provide solutions to overcome risk. We educate your workforce and trading partners. Our help desk does not just wait for calls to come in from your team but reaches out and monitors for safe behavior. Should there be a breach or outage, MCA’s team is your team.
We can start by managing your security software, workstations, and firewall while providing a comprehensive, easy-to-read report with action items that can be carried out at low-to-no cost. Over time, MCA’s Managed Services team will propose newer and more secure technologies to refresh or replace various components that are reaching the end of their lifecycle.
After your team works with MCA, you will see how we have earned the trust of our clients for more than forty years. Our technicians are certified in major manufacturer products and follow industry best practices to provide friendly and efficient support.
With MCA Managed Services, our team becomes your team. The cost-benefit to your business in proactively addressing technology needs will pay for itself with a productive workforce, a safe environment, and your client’s satisfaction.
For more information, visit MCACom.com or email Paul.Stoessel@MCACom.com to schedule a consultation.
Serving as MCA’s Director of Managed Services, Paul Stoessel holds more than 20 years of experience in Information Technology and Managed Services. His primary focus is partnering with clients as an expert consultant in managed services and working with them to design and implement customized solutions. He is responsible for the growth and development of MCA’s Managed Services Division and ensuring it meets and exceeds customer needs. He works closely with MCA’s Project Managers, Account Managers, and their clients.
Source: MCA Communications
