When it comes to running a business successfully, the first few years are crucial for a business owner to really set up and establish a strong foundation for the business. Coupled with the fact that most startups fail in the first few years of their inception, it's more important than ever before for entrepreneurs to make sure that their business manages to succeed and hold itself stable. Especially when it comes to small and medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), it is important for business owners to look at the best market practices to keep the business afloat in its first crucial years as a fully fledged organisation. One very common best practice that is recommended for SMEs is to employ a third party service provider to run and take care of their IT needs. Not only do third party service providers end up being a more cost efficient alternative to hire in an entire IT team, but they are more reliable and their collective experience from working with other clients is reassuring for first time business owners as well. There are very few downsides to hiring a third party service provider to take care of the IT side of your business, and here we list a few crucial services that these IT service providers can help support your SME with today.
Cyber Security
Cyber security is a crucial aspect to consider for business safety and continuity for your SME. Many businesses find it hard to ever recover after a serious cyber security breach, so it's simply better to be safe than sorry and have the appropriate cyber security safeguards in place. However, cyber security by itself is a costly expense. As malicious hackers come up with numerous ways to infiltrate businesses, IT professionals also develop the latest precautionary measures to actively combat hackers. That being said, it's difficult for business owners and even inhouse IT teams to keep up with all the latest cyber security safeguards. Simply downloading and purchasing all the latest safeguards will only result in unnecessary costs to the business. Also, there is no way of knowing if your inhouse IT team will have extensive knowledge in knowing which cyber security software is most relevant to purchase for your particular business.
A managed service provider knows the best market practices to use in order to make your business as secure as possible. You won’t have to worry about what licensing to purchase, or if the software your company uses is up to date or relevant. Managed service providers simply take care of those nuances and end up being more cost efficient in the long run compared to maintaining a fully fledged inhouse IT team.
IT Infrastructure
Besides offering cyber security protections, a great plus point that managed service providers offer is the curation of IT infrastructure, tailor made to your industry needs. Instead of purchasing multiple operational assets such as networks and servers, having a managed service provider run and maintain the technology will be a more affordable option for your business.
IT infrastructure has a tendency to become irrelevant quickly over the years as advanced devices become available on the market. It’s difficult for in house IT experts to keep up with the latest and most industry appropriate tech out there as they don’t have as much exposure working in house. Again, managed service providers are more advantageous for the fact that they work with multiple different clients and they know exactly what kind of infrastructure is needed for your business.
In conclusion, third party service providers take care and offer start-ups and SMEs the products and services to help them keep a competitive edge over other businesses without breaking the bank. Along with cyber security guidance and IT infrastructure management, third party service providers can also give business owners insightful advice to run their business as well as offering 24/7 tech support when needed. In a competitive business market like Dubai, it’s important to cut corners where necessary to stay afloat without sacrificing quality of the work delivered.
