When you consider the investments in your business that you can make as a CEO, you probably think, “Which investments will give my company the best ROI?” With that in mind, would you consider investing significantly in bolstering your IT department?
Many CEOs are understandably hesitant to throw a lot of money into their IT department because the ROI is more difficult to estimate. That said, though, consistently updating your company’s IT services is becoming increasingly crucial to the continued success, and indeed safety, of your company. Ransomware and other cyber-attacks that steal company data are becoming more frequent and costly, while IT departments continually get the short end of the budgetary stick.
While that all undoubtedly sounds horrible, you might wonder what you can do about it. After all, you only have so much money you can invest back into your company’s IT department, and it might not be sufficient to keep your IT staff from getting burned out, disgruntled, or making costly mistakes – even when they’re performing their responsibilities to the best of their abilities.
What if there were a way that you could have access to the most up-to-date IT knowledge and software while also not having to shell out the funds necessary to update your systems and hire more knowledgeable employees? Well, that’s where co-managed IT can be your company’s life preserver.
Co-managed IT is a flexible system for keeping data for your company, employees, and clients safe from cyber-attacks and assisting in your daily operations where needed. Think of it as “filling in the gaps” that your current IT department (try as they might) struggles to fill.
For instance, say your current IT department is excellent at handling the day-to-day fires that inevitably arise in a typical workday. Still, they struggle to get to the “important but not urgent” task of updating your company’s cyber security and creating data backups. Maybe it’s the other way around, where your IT department is very focused on safety, but they struggle to find time to assist employees with password resets and buggy programs. Maybe neither of these cases describes your IT department. However, they still need better access to the tools and software that would allow them to reach their full potential in protecting the company’s sensitive information. Or maybe your company is going through a period of rapid expansion, and you don’t have time to build the kind of IT infrastructure that would best serve your needs.
Regardless of what your IT department’s current needs are, co-managed IT is the solution. We’re here to do the tasks and provide the tools your current IT department can’t offer. Please make no mistake, however: our intent is not to replace your existing IT leader or team. Instead, we rely on your IT department’s expertise in your systems. That makes up the “co” in “co-managed IT.”
For co-managed IT to work, your company’s IT department will need to see us as an ally in doing their job, not as an adversary. At the same time, they’ll also need to be open to new ways of doing things. The world of cyber security is constantly changing. Suppose your IT department is set in its tracks and unwilling to budge. In that case, your company will be left with an antiquated system chock-full of valuable data that hackers and cybercriminals can easily exploit.
Finally, however, for co-managed IT to work, your company must still be willing to invest in its IT department. We know that the ROI might not be as straightforward as it is for some other investments, but trust us, the consequences of not having up-to-date IT services if (or when) hackers steal your sensitive data could financially devastate your company – or even end up together.
So, with that in mind, we hope you’ll consider the benefits of co-managed IT and how it can make your company safe from cyber-attacks and bring you peace of mind.
