10 Essential IT Support Services Every Business Needs On An Ongoing Basis
There is a growing importance for modern businesses to capitalise on the benefits offered by IT support services. Outsourcing essential IT support services is not only a more cost-effective solution than maintaining an in-house IT department but it also grants you access to highly skilled and experienced professionals who specialise in various aspects of business IT.
In many cases, a managed IT support team works alongside your internal staff. This can provide a number of benefits including the ability to get access to specialist knowledge of new technologies your in-house team may not have, and also to handle routine tasks so your IT team can focus on more important matters.
This article details some of the ways that essential IT support services can help your business to succeed and grow. More precisely, we have selected 10 IT support services that we feel are the most essential for businesses of all sizes.
24/7 IT Support Help Desk
With the advent of remote working, flexible hours and employees operating in different time zones, your employees need access to IT professionals 24/7.
IT Help desks provide end-users with a single point of contact for technical assistance, troubleshooting, and issue resolution. This service ensures that employees can quickly resolve IT-related problems whenever they encounter an IT issue and subsequently improve productivity.
A 24/7 IT support help desk offers both operational and strategic advantages, including continuous support, reduced downtime, improved productivity, and enhanced customer satisfaction.
Most essential IT support services also include proactive monitoring of IT systems as part of a 24/7 help desk service. This allows for early detection of potential issues and the application of preventive measures before they become problems.
Knowing that support is available at all times provides peace of mind to business owners, IT managers, and employees. It reduces stress and worry related to technical issues and helps you to maintain a competitive advantage.
Cloud Services
Cloud services are a cost-effective way for employees to access data and applications from anywhere. This supports remote work and offers robust data backup and recovery solutions together with an extra layer of IT security that helps to reduce the risk of data loss due to hardware failures, disasters, or cyberattacks.
However, because cloud services are a relatively new technology, experienced IT professionals who are accustomed to traditional servers do not always have the relevant skills to manage cloud services effectively.
It’s no surprise to find that a large percentage of data breaches are caused by misconfigured cloud API settings — as much as 40% according to a Google Cloud report. Moreover, exploited cloud misconfigurations are not always easy to detect using traditional security analysis tools.
Cloud services often include collaboration and productivity tools such as email, document sharing, and communication tools. These enhance teamwork and communication among employees.
However, that also means business networks are exposed to things that can go wrong including susceptibility to threat actors and potential conflicts between third-party software.
To avoid network disruptions, cloud IT support providers handle system maintenance, updates, and security patches, reducing the burden on businesses to manage these tasks. This ensures that software and infrastructure are kept up-to-date and secure.
Network Maintenance and Monitoring
Network maintenance and 24/7 monitoring services provide businesses with the tools and expertise needed to keep their networks secure, reliable, and optimised.
These services help prevent network downtime, improve user experiences, and ensure that the network can support the organisation’s operational needs.
Network maintenance includes patch management, software and firmware updates, network optimisation, data backup, load balancing, configuration management and Quality of Service policies to prioritise network traffic and optimise network performance for critical applications or services.
In addition, network monitoring tools are used to track network performance metrics, such as bandwidth utilisation, latency, packet loss, and error rates, in real-time together with network traffic to look for suspicious or malicious activity, detect anomalies, and respond to security incidents.
Network monitoring can also provide deeper insights into network logs and event data to identify patterns and security incidents, as well as maintain compliance with industry regulations.
Our IT support professionals can analyse network performance data to identify user trends and usage patterns to make informed decisions about network upgrades, hardware replacement, and traffic management. The data can help you to optimise resource allocation when planning for network expansion.
Network Security Services
Network security services are essential for protecting a business’s digital assets and reputation. They offer comprehensive protection against a wide range of cyber threats and provide the foundation for secure and resilient IT operations.
Businesses that experience data breaches or other security incidents may face legal liability for damages caused to customers, partners, or other stakeholders. Network security services help mitigate these risks.
Surveys show that many small businesses collapse after a data breach because customers do not trust businesses to protect their data and move to a competitor.
Effective network security helps maintain the reputation of your business by preventing data breaches and security incidents that can lead to public embarrassment and loss of trust.
These services include implementing and maintaining security solutions, including firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection systems, and access controls, to protect against cyber threats and data breaches.
Data Backup and Recovery
Businesses need to back up data to protect against data loss due to hardware failure, accidents, or cyberattacks. Ensuring that data recovery solutions are in place and tested regularly helps to ensure you remain compliant with data protection laws such as GDPR.
Data backup and recovery are also critical components of an organisation’s IT strategy. They provide assurances that data will be preserved and accessible and thus support business continuity by maintaining productivity, protecting your reputation, and ensuring the safety of your data assets.
While investing in data backup and recovery solutions incurs costs, the potential financial losses due to data loss or extended downtime are typically much higher.
Not only that, but regular data backups ensure that employees have access to the data they need for day-to-day operations. This prevents workflow interruptions and supports efficient business processes.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Traditional landlines in the UK are being phased out. By 2025, Britain’s Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) will be entirely replaced by digital landlines.
The best solution for businesses is to install Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. However, because digital landlines are entirely reliant on network stability and can be vulnerable to hackers, businesses can benefit from the experience and specialist knowledge of outsourced IT services.
VoIP systems can encounter issues related to hardware, network, software, or configuration. IT support can troubleshoot problems, identify their root causes, and provide timely resolutions to minimise downtime.
It may also be the case that you want to integrate your VoIP system with other business applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software or call centre solutions. IT support can ensure seamless integration for efficient workflows.
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
The proliferation of mobile devices and cloud-based applications has helped to enhance the user experience by ensuring that mobile devices function smoothly and securely, leading to higher employee satisfaction and efficiency.
However, digital channels also create challenges that make it harder for businesses to secure sensitive data and protect against data breaches, unauthorised access, and malicious threats.
MDM helps businesses enforce security policies, such as password requirements, encryption, and app whitelisting, to safeguard data on mobile devices.
By partnering with IT support services in London, companies can effectively manage mobile devices, enhance security, and maintain control over their mobile ecosystem, ensuring that mobile device usage aligns with their business objectives and security standards.
Vendor and Third-Party Management
Modern IT stacks typically include a variety of third-party software. Whilst tech companies offer IT support, the customer service they offer is not always the best. Anyone who has had to interact with Microsoft customer support, for example, will be aware of how frustrating IT support channels can be.
Managing vendors and third parties is essential for ensuring that external partners deliver the expected services, products, and support in a manner that aligns with your business goals and standards.
Outsourced IT support services play a critical role in helping businesses manage vendor and third-party relationships effectively. First and foremost, we help to identify and resolve issues with third-party software promptly facilitate communication, manage escalations, and track issue resolution to minimise disruptions.
In addition, we can assist businesses in identifying potential vendors and third-party providers through a structured selection process. This includes evaluating vendors based on their offerings, pricing, reputation, and track record, negotiating contracts, monitoring key performance indicators
IT Auditing and Compliance
IT audits assess and determine an organisation’s preparedness. They identify areas that may require attention and improvements to meet compliance and security requirements.
Our experienced professionals can identify areas where a business falls short of regulated compliance standards and document IT policies and procedures that align with compliance regulations for your industry.
Firstly, we conduct security assessments to identify vulnerabilities and potential risks to data and systems. This will establish data protection and privacy measures that need implemented to comply with regulations like GDPR.
We also prepare regulatory compliance audits by ensuring that documentation, security measures, and policies are in place and continuously monitor practices to track and report on security and compliance events.
Patch Management
Software is always subject to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by threat actors. This is why you always have to perform system updates on your mobile devices and desktop computers. But this can also pose a problem for businesses that have a large and widespread user base.
Essentially, businesses generally have to rely on staff to perform system updates. The problem is that system updates typically cause downtime which can be annoying and frustrating for employees that simply want to crack on with their work.
So, can you trust every member of your staff to perform a system update? Probably not! And if you have a distributed workforce, this can be difficult, if not impossible to monitor and manage. Subsequently, your entire network could be susceptible to a data breach.
Patch management is primarily about applying security updates to software and systems. These updates are released to fix known vulnerabilities and weaknesses that could be exploited by cybercriminals engaged in malware attacks, including viruses, worms, and ransomware.
There are also knock-on effects. Business continuity is protected, together with system performance, compliance with data privacy, and potential cost-savings by avoiding GDPR penalties. In short, patch management is considered a fundamental security best practice and is a standard component of a robust cybersecurity strategy.
Essential IT Support Services in London
Micro Pro is an outsourced IT support service in London. We also have offices in the southeast and Glasgow that provide UK businesses with cost-effective IT solutions provided by an experienced team of IT professionals covering the spectrum of specialist IT dependencies.
Whether you intend to utilise essential IT support services to enhance your in-house team or replace IT professionals to save overheads, our knowledgeable and highly skilled professionals offer impartial and objective advice, helping businesses make informed decisions about technology solutions without vendor bias.
Our goal is to help businesses succeed by tailoring IT services to your specific needs, making it easy to adapt to changing circumstances, take advantage of market opportunities, compete with competitors and support business growth.
Working with managed IT support services in London enables your in-house IT team to focus on your core competencies, enhance security and compliance, respond to evolving technology needs and dedicate more time to strategic initiatives, innovation, and core business goals
To learn more about the essential IT support services we offer, contact us today and speak to a senior member of our team to talk through the essential IT support services your business needs on an ongoing basis.
