Better Safe Than Sorry: The Benefits of a Proactive IT Maintenance Plan For Your Business

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In life, as in business, we tend to keep using something until it gradually stops working or becomes less efficient, because we rarely want to make what we see as unnecessary payments to replace it. However, when it comes to your IT assets, waiting until your server or devices grind to a halt is not a good idea, because this will threaten your business continuity and cost a lot more in the long run to fix. That is why it is always better to be safe than sorry, and to have a proactive IT maintenance plan in place.

Small businesses in particular may be tempted to keep using their IT assets for as long as possible in order to get the most value out of them, and take a reactionary approach to their machine maintenance. This does lead to short-term cost savings as IT support resources are not used up by making regular fixes or updates to hardware, and, using an OpEx model, are only called on when something is in immediate need of attention. But with it comes the risk of much greater costs when business-critical machinery suddenly needs to be replaced, leading to expensive downtime as machines need to be bought and integrated into the IT infrastructure of the company, and the loss of a significant portion of the IT budget.

When weighed up against such a large and unexpected expense, the costs associated with regular IT maintenance are relatively low, and the ongoing monitoring and upkeep of your IT hardware and software brings many benefits, including:

Less Equipment Downtime

The time and resources needed to do regular scheduled checks and updates to hardware and software is considerably less than that of having to undergo a major IT infrastructure overhaul, having run your devices and systems into the ground. Replacing and integrating new IT assets will almost certainly require a stoppage in business processes, and when your business is not up and running, it can’t make any money.

Better Asset Management

The more care and attention you give to your IT assets, the longer they will continue to work efficiently and effectively for you. Prolonging the lifespan of your devices means you can get as much value out of them as possible, reducing the costs of frequent replacements, and thus increasing your business bottom line. It comes down to the question of spending a certain amount of money on regular maintenance, or multiples of that to replace assets that have been worn out.

Increased Efficiency

Properly maintained devices and servers can continue to run efficiently for years, and the same goes for your software assets. Regular scans, updates and patches mean you can monitor software efficiency and implement the upgrades needed to ensure it stays up to date and your business stays ahead of the competition.

More Reliability

Ensuring your software is kept up to date also means that your cyber security measures such as your firewall and other security protocols are able to handle any new threats to your system or network. New viruses, methods of hacking and ransomware can all be kept at bay by regular scans and security audits that can detect and act upon the latest cyber threats. This means you can rely on the safety of your systems, which in turn means your business becomes more reliable.
You may think that while the cost of regular low-key IT maintenance may be small, there is still the matter of having to pay out for a permanent IT support team to carry out these tasks, but this cost can also be reduced by hiring an outsourced IT support team. They can act as not only your IT service desk, managing any and all tech maintenance issues, repairs and upkeep, they can also act as a virtual CTO, overseeing every aspect of your IT assets to ensure that everything is working to its maximum efficiency levels.

They can put an IT maintenance plan in place for you, detailing exactly what they will do and when, so that you can concentrate on running your business, safe in the knowledge that everything will remain in working order.

Your outsourced IT support team in London should provide a proactive maintenance package that includes most, if not all, of the following:

  • Security scans and updates, including firewall, virus and spyware protection
  • IT asset management for servers, hard drives, workstation, device and software
  • Backup and data recovery testing, business continuity planning and disaster recovery
  • Software and hardware procurement (often at lower prices due to volume licensing and leasing)
  • Secure integration of all mobile devices
  • Remote monitoring and analysis of server event logs to detect potential issues
  • Break-fix call out services
  • Secure remote access by certified IT experts to ensure immediate diagnosis and resolution of tech issues
  • Around the clock call logging service with efficient ticket management
  • Full phone or email support
  • Reporting and auditing service
  • Advising on, deploying and managing cloud and virtual services

In line with taking a proactive approach to IT asset maintenance, your outsourced IT support team can not only help with keeping your business running as effectively as possible today, they can also help you work towards the future by developing an IT roadmap that will outline the tech solutions you need to future-proof your business. This will ensure you stay ahead of the competition and ready to meet the demands your industry presents.

Discover how the team at Optimity can deliver a proactive IT maintenance solution that looks after your entire IT infrastructure around the clock by getting in touch, and find out what we can do to get you started by booking an IT audit with us:

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