The rapid evolution of technology, especially everything related to mobility and digital transformation, has brought many challenges to companies.

In Quebec, as well as the rest of Canada, many companies are at a turning point: they must make critical decisions for their transformation and to secure their future. Choosing which functions to keep internally and which to outsource is part of these critical decisions.

While companies have used IT managed services for many years, this practice has not yet fully become the norm, and it raises many concerns. [Read the free guide: The shift towards IT managed services. Why, how and is it right for you?]

Yet today, these fears are no longer justified. It’s important to note that the tools to ensure the monitoring and maintenance of IT infrastructures have improved greatly and the companies specialising in this service have optimised their business models and offerings.

Here are some answers to the top concerns we often hear about IT Managed Services.

Fear 1: The costs of IT Managed Services

In Quebec and Canada, wages for many IT positions are reaching an all time high. Often large companies are able to attract and retain specialised resources, yet many SMBs can not afford such luxury, or they have to make many compromises.

In the current context, having IT employees dedicated to day-to-day maintenance and extinguishing fires is becoming less and less viable for SMBs. While businesses must transform to ensure their sustainability, many are unable to do so because of the burden of daily IT management.

Outsourcing is becoming more the preferred choice because it reduces fixed costs related to IT. The level of service to be insured and the price is contractually defined. In addition, with managed services, there are no headaches with holidays or other absences.

Fear 2: Loss of control

Everyone has their own vision of the right way of doing things and this is all the more true for business leaders. Knowing that today, companies are both dependent on IT and can use IT as a lever of growth, it can be difficult to share control.

However, freeing oneself from certain constraints related to the functioning of IT systems (what is generally called "keeping the lights on") leaves more time to control the heart of the company's business. All executives end up as winners!

To ensure that you remain in control of key systems, we recommend that you build clear specifications that will be a good starting point for your discussion with a managed service provider. Define these by thinking of three essential elements needed for your IT assets:

• Visibility on your infrastructure

• The level of service for your applications

• Control on security

These points are the basis for the proper functioning of your IT infrastructure, but they don’t offer any added value. This is why, more and more companies are choosing to outsource the management of these elements.

Fear 3: The lack of an IT resource on site

In the everyday life of IT teams, there are many fires to be put out and little time to provide support to users. Incidentally, this is one of the greatest sources of frustration in many companies, both in IT and in other departments.

While a physical presence on site can be reassuring for managers and employees, in practice this solution is far from optimal. When IT managed services are considered by managers, the psychological fear of this absence will often hinder the decision to outsource.

However, IT managed service providers like Present provide access to a team of experts who compensate for the lack of on-site presence by a high level of expertise and widespread availability.

Moreover, with the increasingly complex technologies used by companies this access to additional skills is needed. And this is done without the need to add resources to the payroll.

Finally, the question you should be answering today is not "Should I outsource some IT management?" but rather "To whom should this management be delegated to?". Request a free consultation or download our complete guide on the shift towards IT managed services.

 Image credit: © afxhome - Fotolia.com