What is IT as a Service (ITaas) and why does it matter?

We’re part of a generation that prefers to rent than buy. This behaviour extends past the way we behave as consumers, into our working lives. Traditionally, businesses purchased IT hardware and infrastructure outright, whether upfront or over a payment term, but increasingly we’re moving towards an ITaas subscription-based services, where we don’t buy equipment.

A subscription model allows businesses to upgrade and upscale their IT capabilities to maintain the most advanced, comprehensive, and secure networks delivered at a predictable cost. With IT as a Service (ITaaS) businesses can outsource elements of their IT needs to a third party, for example, a Managed Service Provider (MSP).

Perhaps you’re sceptical about the benefits of outsourcing some of your IT operations, but in the following, we will highlight some of the major reasons for seeking out an MSP.

Round-the-clock coverage

Customers can log in to your business’ website at any time of day, so your business has to function at its best at all times. An MSP can cater to your needs 24 x 7 x 365, taking care of tricky issues such as out-of-hours working and shift allowances.

Do you have the workforce to maintain your infrastructure and resource your helpdesk in case anything goes wrong at any time?

Most businesses operate on core hours, so to support your business’ infrastructure with your own IT team could mean increasing your headcount and IT expenditure or risking that out-of-hours support levels deliver a poor customer experience.

With ITaaS, you can outsource any support or maintenance functions, and know that whatever time of day, your IT services are supported by a specialist external team that’s in top form at all times.

Monopolizing skills

Whether through your own experience of trying to fill vacancies in your IT team or just owing to the lack of skilled technical candidates, you’ll be aware that it can be difficult to maintain an IT team with the level of knowledge and expertise that you need.

When we’re talking about businesses and their security measures, it’s vital to have the resource to maintain your security whilst also keeping you financially afloat.

MSPs have their own teams of experts who are cross-skilled and specialist within their own areas. Rather than you hiring an expert when you might not need them to maintain your network other than on an ad hoc basis, by using your MSP, you can get the benefits of access to experts on demand.

An MSP lets your IT team be more proactive

Your in-house IT team often has to be reactive to business-critical issues and needs to be focused on bigger strategic projects.

This leaves little time for carrying out fault-finding exercises or carrying out routine maintenance tasks that can prevent more serious problems over time.

An MSP can proactively maintain your infrastructure, whilst also addressing incidents using recognised, proven, industry-standard processes.  Their engineers are constantly monitoring your systems and are alert to the warning signs that might signal a major problem.

Better security

Applying security patches and software updates can take a significant amount of time.  Overlooking this vital task can lead to serious security risks.

More often than not, your IT team are preoccupied with keeping your business functioning. In utilizing ITaaS or an MSP, your business can call upon additional resources to apply security updates without over-burdening your own team. You can put your trust in an MSP to bolster the security of your systems, protect your data and prevent your business from being subject to cyber-attacks.

It pays to subscribe with ITaas…

It might cost less than you think to outsource certain functions to an MSP, instead of calling on the expertise when you need it whilst sustaining a core quality service. When enlisting the help of ITaaS, you are billed on a subscription basis, with all your support services included. It also means you can up-scale your operations depending on the needs and numbers of your customers.

Do you want to opt for ITaaS, or have you considered whether we could be the MSP you’ve been looking for? Intercity provides round-the-clock monitoring and support for hundreds of clients across the UK. For more information about what options are available to you, contact us or view more details here.

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