Technology has evolved so much and changed business operations in the past decade. For small or medium businesses, it is difficult to keep up or manage the day-to-day technology change without a dedicated team and a sizeable investment, such as specialized staff or software licenses. Your internal IT team should prioritize aligning your technology capabilities to support and achieve your strategic business goal.    

As SMBs thrive and focus on driving their business forward, it takes a village to ensure all aspects of your technology needs are covered with available internal resources or the required expertise. Partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) enables the internal IT team to focus on their core business. There are some areas that SMBs can engage with a trusted technology partner in 2020.

Cybersecurity 

Cybersecurity is a real threat in today’s business landscape. Cybercriminals no longer target only large enterprises and roughly two-thirds of the world’s SMBs experience cyber-attacks, according to the Ponemon 2019 State of Cybersecurity for SMBs report. 45% of the SMB owners of key business decision makers feel their cybersecurity is “ ineffective” while 39% of them do not have a response plan to react to potential cyber-attack or data breach. A cyber-attack can translate to more than $188,000 in a financial loss to SMBs and there are reasons that SMBs are particularly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. 

Microsoft suggests the reasons that SMBs are vulnerable to cyber-attacks: 

• SMBs can’t afford dedicated IT staff due to training and budgets
• Inadequate or non-existent computer and network security 
• Lack of a routine back up plan 
• Employees unknowingly help cybercriminals attack businesses 
• Small businesses are comparatively easy to attack due to the absence of protection 

Cybercriminals work around the clock and your IT staff don’t. That’s why engaging a specialized managed service partner to be proactive for cybersecurity prevention can significantly alleviate the burden from the internal IT staff, so they can focus on what matters most to your business.

Cloud Management 

New technology and tools are released every day to help businesses achieve various goals and purposes. To leverage what these new tools can offer, it is vital to understand what and when those new tools or cloud solutions are right for your unique business needs. Moreover, you want to make sure these solutions are properly supported, implemented and your users are trained to adapt the new technology. 

Cloud hosting enables businesses and users to access data, information with no geographic boundaries and collaborate in real-time for greater productivity. However, hosting a cloud service in-house can be expensive to maintain and scale. Engaging with an MSP help SMBs to be more cost-effective to enjoy the benefits of cloud solutions instead of allocating the resources and expenses to maintain it.

As cloud technology matures, companies of all sizes turn to various software solutions to streamline business processes and boost efficiency. Researching the fitting software can be a time-consuming and daunting task. Evaluating which software is right for your business also requires the right approach to access business needs and technical requirements. 

Working with a trusted technology partner bridges and identifies the missing gaps of businesses’ software needs with specialized and certified specialists. Based on your business goal, they can develop a technology stack that will best automate redundant and time-consuming tasks and help SMBs to optimize business processes.

2020 should be the year to lead your business forward with technology. Find out how Springthrough can get you there.