Although many modern tools update themselves, you still need a human touch to maximize your IT resources. By employing external teams or building an in-house department, you monitor the state of your devices, patch security holes, and optimize all your tech-related processes.
In this article, we’ll talk about the benefits of regular IT maintenance and why you should introduce it today.
What Does IT Maintenance Entail?
Most people don’t realize this, but IT maintenance is a rather comprehensive process. It includes several vital areas for your business, each one with its unique methodology and tasks. That being said, this is what an MSP provider will do for your business:
- IT service providers continuously monitor your systems, which allows them to spot any inefficiency, external threats, or malfunctions. Monitoring is vital for fast responses and minimizing downtime.
- Patch management is every bit as important as it updates your existing hardware and software. Being proactive with your patching allows your employees to benefit from the latest technology and features.
- Every few days or so, an MSP team will create a full backup for your data. These backups serve as a contingency if anything goes awry. For example, if your company data is completely wiped clean or jeopardized in some other way, you can go back to these documents and restart your work from that spot.
- IT providers usually lead IT training for companies’ employees. These experts teach staff how to use the latest tools and to protect business data. Regular training is vital for fast-paced brands that change their tech stack all the time.
- Security is a major part of regular IT maintenance. Your MSP should implement a set of policies and procedures that would minimize the odds of external attack. Like with anything else, they will have to periodically update antivirus and malware software and monitor your passwords and authentications.
3 Types of Maintenance
We recognize three main categories of IT maintenance:
1. Preventative
As the name implies, this form of maintenance is mainly in place to prevent anything bad from happening to your systems and company data. Some of the most common preventative measures include patching your security software and seeking better cybersecurity solutions, patching other company programs, checking on device performance, and use of diagnostic tools.
Having solid preventative measures in place reduces the work required during the second and third maintenance phases.
2. Corrective
In an ideal world, 100% of your maintenance processes would be reserved for preventative tasks. However, as things will go awry sooner than later, you’ll have to take corrective measures.
Your company might encounter a plethora of issues in its day-to-day operations, most of which can be categorized as system malfunction or human error. So, depending on the situation, you might resolve the problem with simple patching, or you might have to completely eliminate company data.
3. Proactive
Proactive maintenance is a form of proactive IT support. However, unlike the previous type of service, which mostly focuses on cybersecurity issues, proactive maintenance is about optimizing your systems. With this process, you’re looking to get better tools and hardware to meet ever-evolving business requirements.
Unfortunately, while proactive maintenance is meant to optimize your processes, it can also be counter-productive for your operations. Tinkering with software all the time requires continuous training and high level of flexibility from your staff. It might also lead to time and resource wasting (in the short run).
So, to get the most out of this process, you need to get your timings right. That way, you’ll introduce new systems when the old ones stop providing value. This will maximize potential benefits without forcing the company to make numerous, drastic changes.
3 Reasons to Invest in IT Maintenance
There are several ways your company benefits from regular IT maintenance:
1. Device Updates
First and foremost, with this process, you ensure all your company devices work as intended. Reacting on time addresses any hardware or software issues that the company’s computers might be encountering. That way, your staff can proceed with its daily routine without a hitch.
Regular device updates also have a major impact on your cost efficiency. By prolonging the life expectancy of your computers, the IT services pay for themselves. You can push all your hardware to its limits, which will have a fantastic positive impact on your bottom line.
2. Enhanced Protection
Regular maintenance is vital for staving off external threats. During this step, the provider takes a look at your existing protection and updates it against the latest viruses and intrusions. Another major part of security process is detecting potential holes in your system that hackers could potentially exploit.
While no system is 100% effective, IT services can significantly decrease your exposure. Besides providing daily support, MSPs train their staff on how to behave in these situations. These providers implement the best practices that the entire team should adhere to as a way of preventing employee-caused intrusions.
3. Improved Efficiency
The last big benefit of maintenance comes in the form of increased efficiency. When your hardware and software work properly, your employees don’t have to worry about patches or malfunctioning parts. They can come to their stations every morning and generate value for your brand.
During this maintenance step, a provider takes care of optimization. For example, businesses that work with large quantities of data need to have reliable databases and software that would allow the processing of said data. Not only does an IT company improve the performance of your devices, but they also optimize them so they serve your particular business needs.
Last Thoughts
Hiring a veteran MSP company is the best way to handle your IT maintenance needs. These providers usually have several clients for which they provide cybersecurity services, device maintenance, and training.
Given that MSPs work with clients on a daily basis, they know everything about the latest business software. They can update your systems, giving you a major competitive advantage. With such a company, you’ll be a step ahead of everyone else in your niche.
