A Helping Hand: Fully-Managed vs Co-Managed IT Services

With businesses taking the necessary step toward digital transformation, organizational structures must adapt to be more accommodating to Information Technology (IT) systems. In addition, since a robust IT framework is the backbone of an efficient business, company owners need to address the need to have a dedicated team to maintain, develop, and monitor their business's IT solutions.

Not all businesses have the benefit of being large enough to have dedicated hires for an in-house team. This is a fact that's most notable in small businesses and local entrepreneurships. However, these enterprises can still receive IT support through a co-managed or fully managed IT service.

Setting Your Sights on the Right IT Service Model

It's vital to assess how choosing your IT model will affect the different aspects of your business. Most business owners look at the cost of any business decisions first and foremost, with good reason. The overhead cost and effort of onboarding, training, and maintaining an in-house IT team are considerable. Besides the capital you'll lose throughout this process, you should also consider the time you'll spend committing to this endeavour. Although medium enterprises can handle the transition of creating a brand new department, smaller entrepreneurships may not have the same privilege.

Besides the decision of opening an in-house IT department, you need to consider that different positions will have varying impacts on your new team. For example, a desktop engineer has different roles to a Chief Information Officer (CIO). Depending on your company's business model, you may need more specialists with distinct skill sets to handle various aspects of your operation.

Considering a Co-Managed Solution

A co-managed solution means that you should have at least one desktop support engineer in your team. They will be responsible for handling the majority of your company's IT processes, from desktop support tickets to coordinating workstations. A co-managed IT service covers any work that goes beyond these responsibilities.

Co-managed IT services are usually preferred by businesses that have more than 300 active users. By coordinating with an in-house team of 2-4 engineers, the co-managed arrangement maintains regular communication from onsite and outsourced departments. This allows the team to streamline processes from ticketing, documentation, and monitoring platforms across all IT staff.

Opting for a Fully-Managed Solution

A fully managed solution is simply what it implies. It means you're delegating your business's IT processes through an outsourced department. Although it can seem like a risky business choice, it does come with several benefits. For example, you won't have to worry about miscommunication issues that could occur with a co-managed setup. Additionally, you can skip the onboarding and training process significantly with a fully-managed IT solution. Instead of orienting recruits to your business model, you just need to coordinate with an IT service firm to streamline your internal IT infrastructure.

Another benefit of getting fully-managed IT solutions is getting the proper specialists for your needs. Instead of determining a specific IT expert for your team, a firm with well-rounded experience and expertise in your industry's needs will handle it for you.

Conclusion

The need for digital transformation demands businesses to recognize the importance of robust IT infrastructures. Without the right IT experts by your side, you'll have a glaring disadvantage against competitors in your industry.

Finding IT solutions for your business requires sifting through hundreds of vendors available online. This is why you need to pick the right service that will match your operation's needs.

At Bracer Systems Inc., our IT experts are ready to implement modern business solutions to accommodate your company's digital transformation. If you need professional managed IT services in Alberta, contact us now at 587-400-9573.