How IT Managed Services Have Evolved To Become The Comprehensive Industry We Know Today
Sitting at your desk right now, surrounded by the tools you need to do your job, it’s most likely pretty hard to remember a time when your day-to-day life wasn’t directly tied to the use of various technologies. Emails, texts, presentations, excel sheets, video calls etc. etc. the list goes on and on. Tech plays an integral part in how we communicate, interact, relax, learn, and most notably here, how the world does business.
The majority of companies would be unable to function without the use of such technologies. However, it really wasn’t too long ago that all this modernization of business became the norm. If you need evidence of that, just reference this classic. Even with the surge of technology in the workplace being relatively recent, the way we manage and maintain our IT has undergone multiple evolutions over the past couple decades.
In The Beginning….
As businesses began to embrace the use of new communication platforms and technology in the early 90’s, they quickly realized that someone would have to maintain these systems. Thus, IT as we know it was born. The typical model for IT during this period was known as the practice of “break it, fix it.” As you probably guessed, this method involved addressing problems only as they occurred. If something broke, it was time to fix it. Companies would call their IT representative, usually someone from the manufacturer that made the broken system, and the manufacturer would then send someone to fix it. This method was sporadic, unpredictable and often times very costly.
IT Enters The Managed Services Realm
Throughout the course of the 90’s, break it, fix it was the status quo of the IT industry. As the new millennium dawned on the horizon, technology in the office place was quickly becoming more complex and widespread. As a result, the break it, fix it model was not only unable to keep up, but also becoming financially irresponsible for businesses. Having a large, unexpected IT bill hit your budget without foresight is enough to make any accounting department scream. Not to mention the detriments of long periods of downtime and waiting to have someone come in and fix an issue in an economy that was becoming faster paced by the second. The reactive process of break it, fix it could no longer sustain itself with a proactive world.
Here is where we begin to see a shift towards the managed services model of IT. Companies that were previously running on the break it, fix it method began to see the benefits of having flat rate fees that guaranteed a certain amount of on-going service. Regularly scheduled service days became the norm, allowing for the identification of issues before they became critical. Think of this as a hybrid approach. IT was becoming more proactive, but if a problem arose outside of your scheduled visit or pre-arranged contract, it was back to the old ways of break it, fix it. Much of the early 2000’s used this approach, but with technological advances occurring at exponential rates, this hybrid method was never going to last for long.
With wireless and eventually cloud technology becoming more prominent in the early and mid-2010’s, full 24-hour IT managed services became the solution to the bottleneck slowdowns occurring with the old ways of managing networks.
Modern Day Solution
Nowadays, through Cloud technology, large and small companies alike benefit from the use of off-site managed IT services. Whether you’re a start-up that can’t afford a full-time IT staff, or a top player in your industry that wants your tech department to focus on larger picture business initiatives, you can leave the server management and operations to a third-party expert, knowing issues will be actively identified and resolved.
Utilizing managed services instead of the antiquated method of fixing problems as they arise allows your business to plan ahead, both financially and technologically. No more one-off solutions with unexpected fees. No more patching holes while the ship is still sinking. No more downtime while you wait for help. Managed services incentivize solving underlying problems by actively searching for issues and long-term strategies for your IT. Rates are fixed, response time is instantaneous, and plans are catered to your company’s individual tech needs.
iConvergence Managed Services
Managed services through iConvergence gives your company 24/7 access to a complete and experienced IT team. Infrastructure management, help desk support, cybersecurity prevention & monitoring ensure your network is protected, backed-up and operating at full efficiency. Our Virtual CIO enables your business to strategically plan, budget and carry out smart practices across your network, so you can quickly adapt and implement the latest technologies to keep your company at peak performance. iConvergence ensures that your business’s network is efficient, productive and able to advance with the ever-changing world of technology. Reach out to iConvergence today to learn more and give your company the competitive edge in IT.