
Many business owners are weighing outsourcing IT workflows to minimize the plight of frequent cyberattacks and meet the overwhelming compliance regulations of today’s IT standards. Striking a balance between cost efficiency, scalability, and specialized expertise remains an important discussion going forward.
Although traditional IT service frameworks have proven worthwhile solutions to common IT challenges, a third option exists – co-managed IT. In a nutshell, co-managed IT support services offer the internal oversight capabilities and convenience of a dedicated in-house team while leveraging the expertise and advanced resources of an external IT provider.
What is Co-Managed IT?
Co-managed IT is an IT service delivery framework that leverages the specialized expertise of an external IT provider and the internal business-specific knowledge of an in-house IT department. This framework offers greater control over your systems and data.
In a co-managed setup, your outsourced IT partner assumes most of the non-strategic, redundant, and technical IT duties. On the other hand, your internal IT department focuses more on the strategic duties that fuel growth and success. The result? A robust team, backed by productive technical capabilities, resources, and expertise that they need to help your business grow.
Key Benefits of Co-Managed IT for Small Businesses
The economic impact of traditional IT on small businesses is far-reaching. The average cost of a fully equipped IT department could range between $60,000 – $150,000 per hire. This excludes equipment and other resources (stationery supplies, allowances, and so on).
In a co-managed setup, this cost drastically drops by up to 40%. However, cost is not the only benefit. Partnering up with a co-managed IT service provider opens your business to an array of benefits.
- Access to specialized expertise – With an in-house IT department largely exposed to issues native to your business, it’s likely that there exists a knowledge gap with broader IT issues affecting your industry. Co-managed IT vendors offer the skills to fill in existing gaps across cybersecurity, cloud monitoring, server setup, and much more.
- Stringent cybersecurity protocols – With 43% of cyber attacks targeting small businesses, having a co-managed IT provider with diverse experience, expertise, and advanced cybersecurity tools can help take your cybersecurity posture to the next level.
- 24/7 monitoring and support – The cost of downtime can be detrimental to small businesses’ revenues. Just one incident costs $137 to $427 per minute. Because co-managed IT providers watch over your network 24/7/365, they’re able to respond swiftly and avert downtime.
It’s worth pointing out that co-managed IT thrives on the collaboration of both your in-house and external managed IT provider. Issues are addressed swiftly, and this keeps your customers and employees happy.
In-House vs Outsourced IT Management and Support
If complete control over your IT functions is important to your company, then a co-managed IT approach is worth your consideration. What’s more, swift response and service customization can be expected when employees are hired and trained to meet the company’s needs.
Since your IT team is dedicated to one IT ecosystem, support solutions can be delivered faster and more comprehensively. However, this support is limited by working hours, lacks flexibility with multiple locations, and often faces limited access to advanced expertise.
Outsourcing IT responsibilities to a managed IT provider such as Spectrumwise, on the other hand, is highly scalable. You can pick and choose what service levels you need and pay for what your business needs. When technical and repetitive IT roles are covered by outsourced IT support, your team can focus more on more strategic initiatives productively as noted by 57% of organizations.
While outsourced IT support offers 360-degree support, decision-makers may be locked in unhealthy long-term contracts with an outsourcing partner. Your ideal support framework will largely depend on the specific needs of your organization.
Choosing the Right Co-Managed IT Provider
The ideal co-managed IT services provider will focus on forging a partnership that pushes your business to new heights and a shared commitment to driving your organization forward. The right co-managed IT provider should clearly understand your business needs.
When choosing the right co-managed IT provider, have a clear outline of your business’s needs. This helps you identify areas in need of additional support and expertise. With this in mind, you can choose a provider that aligns with your business objectives.
Your ideal co-managed IT provider will also have demonstrable experience serving other companies in your industry. They should have a proven track record supported by certifications and customer feedback.
Considering the range of services they offer and the size of their partnering SMBs, co-managed IT vendors can upsize or downsize services whenever it’s deemed necessary. This has a profound impact on cost control, ensures seamless integration with existing infrastructure, and has the capacity to support all your IT infrastructure.
Co-Managed IT in Different Industries
Different industries have varying support needs. Existing IT support can be customized to ensure that your IT meets your industry’s specific needs. The main question is, how is co-managed IT support applied in different industries?
Co-managed IT vendors in the healthcare industry work closely with your IT department to protect sensitive patient data from loss or breach. Vendors also watch over your systems 24/7 to prevent a slowdown in patient service delivery and ensure compliance with The Healthcare Portability and Accountability Act.
Manufacturing and finance sectors benefit from advanced security protection, antivirus, and antimalware solutions designed to protect your business against costly breaches that could lead to heavy financial losses. Co-managed IT vendors further develop a reliable data backup and recovery plan that enables swift data recovery during and after an unforeseen event. It also ensures compliance with industrial regulations.
Conclusion
Adopting co-managed IT services enables you to supplement the strengths of your in-house team with the expertise of the external team. Its scalability, cost efficiency, and flexibility make it a suitable IT service delivery framework for both small and large enterprises to adopt. Ultimately, it’s important to choose a co-managed IT provider that understands your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does co-managed IT Impact cybersecurity protocols and compliance?
Co-managed IT equips your business with robust cybersecurity defenses backed by regular awareness training, advanced firewalls and anti-malware solutions, backups, and disaster recovery. These measures add an extra layer of protection, keeping your business in compliance through shared responsibilities.
Can co-managed IT be scaled up or down based on business needs?
Co-managed IT can offer the flexibility to scale up or down based on your business needs. This means users can pay for only what they need while receiving the best IT services from in-house and outsourced teams.
How is data privacy maintained in a co-managed IT setup?
Data privacy is maintained through employee training, strict data access control, and round-the-clock monitoring and response. Regular software and hardware patch updates and security audits are important workflows fueling your data security.
What training is required for in-house staff in a co-managed IT environment?
In-house staff in co-managed IT environments need to be trained on cybersecurity protocols, network management, and threat response plans. A proactive training approach should be adopted with frequent updates on emerging cybersecurity issues.