For many small businesses, IT support traditionally meant having someone to call when a computer stopped working, emails disappeared or the internet went down.

That approach might have worked when technology played a smaller role in day-to-day business. Today, most businesses depend on technology for almost everything they do.

Email, Microsoft 365, cloud applications, internet connectivity, cybersecurity, backups, phones and business data all need to work reliably — and securely.

That’s where managed IT services come in.

What is managed IT?

Managed IT is an ongoing approach to looking after a business’s technology rather than simply waiting for something to break.

A Managed Service Provider (MSP) takes responsibility for monitoring, maintaining and supporting agreed parts of your IT environment.

Instead of only asking:

“How quickly can we fix this?”

managed IT also asks:

“What can we do to prevent this from happening in the first place?”

That difference is important.

Break-fix IT vs managed IT

Traditional break-fix IT is relatively simple. Something goes wrong, you contact an IT technician, they fix it and you pay for the time involved.

There is still a place for this type of support, particularly for very small businesses with simple IT requirements.

The problem is that the provider is usually involved only after something has already gone wrong.

Managed IT changes the relationship.

Your IT provider becomes involved in the ongoing health of your technology environment, including maintenance, monitoring, security and planning.

The objective isn’t to generate more support calls. It’s to reduce the number of problems that become support calls in the first place.

What does a managed IT provider look after?

Every business is different, but managed IT will typically cover several important areas.

Computers and devices

Business computers need ongoing maintenance.

Operating systems and applications require updates, security patches need to be installed, hardware needs to be monitored and problems should ideally be identified before they cause significant downtime.

Remote monitoring and management tools allow an IT provider to monitor supported devices and perform many maintenance tasks without interrupting the user.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 has become a critical business platform for many organisations.

But buying a Microsoft 365 licence doesn’t automatically mean the environment has been configured appropriately for your business.

A managed IT provider can help administer services such as Exchange Online, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint while also managing users, permissions, licensing and security settings.

When an employee joins or leaves the business, access to company information also needs to be handled correctly.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is no longer something that only large organisations need to worry about.

Small businesses hold valuable information and rely heavily on their systems being available.

Security should therefore involve multiple layers rather than relying on a single antivirus product.

Depending on the business, this can include:

• Multi-factor authentication
• Endpoint security
• Email protection
• Managed firewalls
• DNS and web filtering
• Security updates and patching
• Access controls
• Monitoring and alerting
• Backup and recovery

The appropriate level of protection depends on the business, the information it holds and the risks it faces.

Backups and disaster recovery

Having data in the cloud doesn’t necessarily remove the need for backup.

Businesses should understand what information is being backed up, where the backups are stored, how long information is retained and — importantly — how that information would be recovered when something goes wrong.

This can include Microsoft 365 data, business servers, applications, databases and other important company information.

A backup that has never been tested shouldn’t simply be assumed to work when it’s needed.

Internet and connectivity

Internet connectivity has become critical infrastructure for many businesses.

If your phones, email, Microsoft 365, accounting system and other applications depend on an internet connection, an outage can quickly become a business outage.

A managed IT provider can help businesses understand their connectivity requirements and determine whether services such as a secondary connection or 4G/5G failover are justified.

The goal isn’t necessarily to eliminate every possible outage. It’s to understand the risk and put sensible measures in place.

Business phone systems

Modern business phone systems are increasingly connected to the rest of the IT environment.

Cloud phone systems, VoIP services, Microsoft Teams integration, mobile applications and internet connectivity all overlap.

Having one technology provider involved across these services can make troubleshooting considerably easier when a problem isn’t clearly an “internet problem”, “phone problem” or “computer problem”.

Working with other technology vendors

One of the less obvious roles of a managed IT provider is dealing with other technology suppliers.

A typical small business may have separate providers for its:

• Internet
• Phone system
• Website
• Printers
• Microsoft 365
• Accounting software
• Industry-specific applications
• Domains and DNS
• Cloud services

When something goes wrong, it isn’t always obvious which provider is responsible.

A managed IT provider can become a central technical contact who understands the environment and can work with other vendors to help resolve problems.

For a business owner or manager, this can remove a lot of unnecessary complexity.

IT planning is just as important as IT support

Good managed IT isn’t only about today’s problems.

Computers eventually need replacing. Servers reach end of life. Software vendors change their requirements. Businesses grow. Employees start working from different locations. Security threats evolve.

An IT provider that understands the business can help plan for these changes rather than dealing with them as unexpected emergencies.

This allows technology decisions to become part of normal business planning.

Does every small business need managed IT?

Not necessarily.

A sole trader with one laptop and relatively simple technology requirements may be perfectly comfortable using IT support only when required.

But the equation changes as a business becomes increasingly dependent on technology.

If several employees rely on Microsoft 365, shared business information, cloud applications, internet connectivity and other systems every day, the impact of downtime or a security incident becomes much greater.

At that point, the question isn’t simply how many computers the business has.

A better question is:

How dependent is the business on its technology continuing to work?

Choosing a managed IT provider

When comparing IT providers, don’t look only at the monthly price.

Ask what is actually being managed.

Does the service include monitoring? What happens to security alerts? Are backups monitored? Who manages Microsoft 365? What happens when an employee leaves? Who looks after the firewall? What support hours are included? What isn’t included?

Most importantly, find out whether the provider is simply offering unlimited support or is actively taking responsibility for maintaining the environment.

There is a significant difference between the two.

A practical approach to managed IT

At itX365, we work with small and growing businesses across Perth to simplify their technology and provide ongoing IT support, security and management.

Our approach is straightforward: understand how the business operates, identify the technology it depends on and put appropriate systems in place to keep it reliable and secure.

That can include Microsoft 365, computers, cybersecurity, backups, internet connectivity, business phone systems, cloud infrastructure and ongoing technical support.

Technology doesn’t need to be complicated for the people using it.

It just needs to work.

Looking for managed IT support for your Perth business?

Talk to itX365 about your current IT environment and where we may be able to help.