In today’s business world, technology plays a role in just about every facet of a business’s operations. Sales. Marketing. Customer success. Officer operations. You name the department and there’s some kind of technology affecting the day-to-day of the organization.
But you already know that you need technology to keep up with the competition. But have you ever thought about what you need to do to optimize your technology usage and keep it as efficient and productive as possible?
If not, then we’ve got three words for you: IT infrastructure management. The right infrastructure management service can take your company’s information technology operations from good to great.
In this article, we’ll explain what IT infrastructure management is and why you need it
What is IT Infrastructure?
Before you get into infrastructure management, let’s first make sure that you understand what IT infrastructure itself is.
You should already know the term infrastructure. It’s defined as the physical and organizational structures that make up an entity. For instance, transportation infrastructure would include roads and highways (the physical component). The organizational component would include the DOT and police departments.
It’s an analogous story with information technology. IT infrastructure refers to all of the hardware that powers your technology requirements. It also includes the software that uses the hardware to execute your operational goals. Think of your hardware as the physical services, data storage facilities and the like. Think of your software as your cybersecurity measures, network systems, SAP tool, and such.
What Are IT Infrastructure Management Services?
Now that you know what IT infrastructure is, we can start exploring IT infrastructure management services.
In a nutshell, a managed services provider oversees all of your hardware and software needs. It will take care of all hardware and software maintenance to keep your networks operational. It will also make and implement recommendations to improve their efficiency.
For instance, let’s say that you have certain hardware requirements in order to support the customers of your SaaS platform. A managed services provider could provide all of that hardware needed. They’ll plug your users’ software interface into that hardware, and maintain the hardware. They’ll take care of any server maintenance and upkeep and will also be the ones you call when you need to troubleshoot an issue.
There are several positives to hiring a managed services provider. In the first place, you don’t experience the shock of the upfront cost of buying a bunch of hardware. This is particularly favorable for small businesses.
Second, you also don’t have to hire in-house staff in order to take care of your technology operations. In-house staff can be far more expensive than a services contractor after accounting for recruiting and training costs, not to mention salary.
Is a Managed Services Provider Right for You?
There you have it. With this information regarding IT infrastructure management under your belt, you should now be far better equipped to decide whether or not you need a managed services provider at your company.
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