Managed IT Services Is Often the Best Deal You Never Knew You Got

To some business owners, a managed services agreement can seem like a scheme cooked up by IT providers to increase our monthly revenue. It's easy to see why they think that way: Who wants to pay for something that they don't even know if they're going to need?
That viewpoint is common, but it also misses the point of the managed services agreement entirely. That's because the biggest benefits aren't to the IT firm, but to the client.

It's not hard to explain why. For one thing, a quick conversation with a business owner who has ever been through a major technology failure will give you some insight into just how expensive those middle-of-the-night billable hours can be. Call someone who's unfamiliar with your company's hardware and software at a time that is inconvenient, and you can almost watch the invoice swell in size.
For that reason alone, a managed services agreement tends to be worth it, since it doubles as insurance against huge, uncapped expenses. You might grumble about the amount you have to pay, but at least you know you're not going to pay more than that.

An even bigger benefit, however, is that a managed services agreement puts your IT provider squarely on your side. That is, it gives them absolutely no incentive for your company to experience a single minute of unplanned downtime. The smoother your systems are running, the less time and energy your account takes to manage, meaning that your technology partner comes out ahead, too. In fact, because your IT provider will be busy looking for potential problems and dealing with them before you can notice, it's very likely that you'll have fewer reasons to call them or see them in action. So, in a certain sense you're getting "less" IT for your money, but in a good way.

Really, the question behind the managed services agreement comes down to this: Would you rather know what you're going to pay for great technology help every month, or just spend money fixing problems when they pop up? If you would prefer the first option, then congratulations - you're a savvy business owner, and someone who should strongly consider a managed services agreement with a high-quality IT partner.
Because a lot of the best IT work happens behind the scenes, the managed services agreement could turn out to be the best deal you never knew you got. If you don't have one already, talk to us about one today.

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The Best of 5 Cloud Computing Service Providers

Many businesses who are seeking to expand their enterprise applications are looking to the cloud to outsource their infrastructure needs. Selecting the right service provider can be a daunting task as there are many to choose from. Here is a list of five of the top cloud computing service providers who have remained solid contenders in this growing market.

Amazon Web Services - A long time front-runner in the cloud computing sphere, Amazon delivers a suite of tools that provide an inexpensive and scalable infrastructure as a service to companies who need reliable computing services and storage. Their Elastic Compute Cloud service, otherwise known as EC2, is a cloud-based service where users can create virtual machines and run software of their choice on a per-need basis. Users pay by the hour for the server usage and have control over the location and deployment. It is designed to work directly with other Amazon Web Services like Simple Storage Service (S3) which allows users to store and retrieve unlimited data, paying for only the resources that are used.

Google App Engine - As the major player in Internet technology, Google has joined the ranks of cloud computing providers with its Google App Engine platform as a service. This service is aimed at developing and hosting web applications using Google's infrastructure and data centers. The engine supports several languages including Java, Ruby and Python. This scalable service allows developers to pay for what they use without startup costs or recurring fees.

Microsoft Azure - Microsoft's answer to cloud computing is Windows Azure Platform. This platform as a service allows developers to utilize Microsoft infrastructure and data centers to develop, host and run web applications. Azure provides a complete set of services including computing environments, scalable storage, database functionality and a content delivery network.

Rackspace - This company is the leader in cloud based web hosting. Their easy-to-use server and on-demand solutions provide customers with a way to get servers online as quickly as possible without investing in the hardware. Users pay for server usage by the hour and can add or delete server instances on-demand. Their major selling point is their Fanatical Support service that provides excellent customer support through rapid response to problems, finding solutions that will benefit the customer, and providing technical expertise.

Salesforce.com - Salesforce is a software-as-a-service provider that specializes in distributing business applications through the cloud. Its suite of tools provides businesses with customer relationship management services to help them bolster sales and stay connected with customers. Force.com is a platform-as-a-service that allows developers to use the Salesforce infrastructure to develop add-on applications that integrate with the Salesforce solution.

Although these cloud computing providers merely scratch the surface of options available for enterprise solutions, they serve as a great starting point for further investigation for your business needs.

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