Businesses today cannot thrive — or in most cases even survive — without a well-functioning IT infrastructure. Most of us do our jobs from a computer, and the servers and systems those computers access are equally vital to our businesses.

But managing that IT infrastructure is a complex endeavour that requires a wide range of both generalist and specialist skills. Many organisations whose core business is not IT itself struggle in doing so.

Working with an MSP provider is a strategic way for many businesses to gain better IT results by outsourcing some or all aspects of IT to an IT managed services provider (MSP).

If you’re undecided on whether a managed IT service provider is right for your business, consider these 8 scenarios where the MSP experience is the optimal choice.

Scenario 1: current IT delivery model is unable to support your business ambitions.

The first and perhaps most directly obvious scenario is this: when the way you’re currently operating your IT environment isn’t giving you the support you need. This could be the case right now, or it could be something you anticipate in the coming months or years (as your business grows or adds services, for example).

If you’re managing your own IT in-house, hiring more specialists is sometimes a satisfactory solution in this scenario. But often it isn’t: the systems and processes already in place may not be scalable, the budget may not accommodate new hires, or you may struggle to find adequate new hires with the appropriate skills.

Change in strategic direction means you need greater IT support.

Businesses change and evolve all the time, entering new markets, exiting old ones, adding and subtracting products and services, and so on. Some of these changes have IT implications — perhaps significant ones. Adding ecommerce, omnichannel support, or even a new accounting or ERP system could significantly reshape your IT support needs.

IT is not your core competency.

With few exceptions, business simply doesn’t happen without IT. But the vast majority of businesses have other core competencies: they’re great at the main things they do, but IT isn’t one of those things.

Businesses in manufacturing, the service sector, healthcare, hospitality, finance and more have significant IT needs even as their strategic focus is rightfully elsewhere. If IT isn’t your core competency, the MSP business case may be quite strong.

You need 24/7 support.

Businesses with IT operations that must stay functional 24/7 face a conundrum: do they staff IT 24/7? Rely on an on-call model? What happens if a system goes down and no overnight engineer is available to resolve the problem?

Staffing a 24/7 IT department delivers complications when your business isn’t a 24/7 business. Outsourcing that 24/7 responsibility often makes the best sense.

Scenario 2: you have an in-house IT Team but need a more robust solution.

Many organisations have an in-house IT team that succeeds at certain tasks and functions. But keeping that team staffed at a robust level is deeply challenging. With wages on the increase, department leaders may not be able to expand teams even if the skills are needed.

Working with an MSP also helps mitigate the risks of key personnel loss. What happens if you lose that one employee who’s the only one who knows how to run a certain process or technology? With no outside partner, you’re stuck until you find a replacement. But with a managed IT service provider, you have a robust team backing you up that can step in where needed.

Scenario 3: your business needs to increase IT capacity.

Perhaps your existing IT team is doing good work— there just aren’t enough bodies and brains to go around. You may be undergoing rapid business growth. Acquisitions and mergers can also suddenly change the IT landscape.

If you need to increase IT capacity faster than you can through conventional hiring, an MSP can meet these needs.

Along the same lines, are your current specialised IT professionals stuck firefighting low-level problems, or burning time on routine, repetitive tasks? Bringing in an MSP provider to handle that simpler day-to-day work frees up your highly skilled (and highly paid) pros to focus on the deeper, more strategic work.

Whatever the reason, if you need more capacity than you have, consider augmenting your in-house IT team with an MSP provider.

Scenario 4: you are faced with IT Skill Gaps.

Given the state of hiring — especially in technical and specialised fields like IT — many organisations are facing IT skills gaps. Perhaps your core IT functions are covered well. But from time to time a need appears where that team does not have the requisite skills.

Because managed IT service providers focus solely on IT, not on the myriad other facets of business that your company must attend to, they provide a deeper bench of skilled team members. Because an MSP can spread highly specialised employees across multiple clients, they can afford to hire specialisations that your business may need only occasionally.

As you work through the process of choosing a managed it service provider, consider a provider’s size and scale — especially related to any skill gaps you’re facing. Canon Business Services ANZ (CBS) employs more than 1,700 professionals, so you can be confident you’ll gain access to a deep roster of varied and specialised skills.

Scenario 5: greater Compliance and Governance is badly needed.

Compliance is mandated in many industries, and the increasingly complex landscape of IT and business regulations can create challenges some businesses aren’t equipped to handle.

Similarly, governance — the process of setting policies and procedures among your IT resources — is a process that must be handled with care. Often businesses that have undergone rapid growth struggle as their minimal or non-existent governance begins to crumble under added structure and complexity.

Scenario 6: you’re worried about IT costs.

Rising staff costs, inflation, and the variable or spiky nature of IT infrastructure spending combine to create a challenging budgetary landscape. Running IT in-house is more expensive than it’s ever been, and the costs of upgrading an aging server or replacing a failed one can be staggering.

The MSP experience is different: you’ll typically pay using fixed monthly pricing that’s easy to budget and that doesn’t throw massive cost spikes your way. The value of IT support can be measured numerous ways, and leveling out your IT spending is a significant one for many organisations.

Scenario 7: you need specialist Cybersecurity support.

Cybersecurity threats are ever increasing, both in frequency and in associated costs of a successful attack. When IT is not your core competency, building adequate cybersecurity defences is difficult. Even if your team can source the appropriate talent, getting everyone on board and educated remains problematic. This is where remote monitoring and management comes into play, offering a proactive solution to monitor and address cybersecurity threats efficiently.

When you partner with an MSP (or a managed security services provider - MSSP), you gain an expert hand to guide your business through these processes and keep your business secure.

Scenario 8: time to market is critical to business performance.

Sometimes you can afford to wait, and sometimes you cannot.

Traditional in-house hiring takes time, even more so when training is involved. An organisation that is already short on IT resources tends to fall behind on deadlines, projects, and initiatives. These two realities can combine to create a problem where a business cannot afford to wait for the traditional hiring process to play out.

If you’re facing short deadlines or lengthening delays that your internal hiring processes cannot resolve, bringing in an MSP helps you to move faster. They need no training and minimal onboarding, and they do not face the problem of being short-handed.

When time to market matters, a managed services provider can help.

Industries that would benefit the most from having an MSP.

As we’ve mentioned before, any business where IT is not the core business should seriously consider outsourcing their IT to an expert MSP. Creating an IT group that truly thrives is frankly quite difficult, and maintaining that group over time may be even harder.

What’s more, there are so many distractions that come with IT, and these can quickly erode a business’s focus on what it does best. Working with a managed IT services provider allows you to reclaim that precious focus, while also gaining access to a deeper roster of experienced specialists than you could hire and maintain internally.

These four industries in particular benefit from working with an MSP provider.

Does your business need a Managed IT provider? CBS can help.

If your organisation is ready to explore the move to an MSP provider, CBS is ready to guide you through the process. With unparalleled expertise, a significant presence throughout ANZ, and now as a part of the Canon family, CBS delivers IT managed services at scale.

Read about some of the customers we’ve helped get ahead of IT complexity and move their business forward, Wellways Australia, Pepper Money, and Campbelltown Catholic Club.

In addition to full-service IT managed services, CBS also offers a range of other functions, including IT consulting services and IT infrastructure management.

If you’re ready to solve the persistent challenges of handling IT in-house and reclaim focus on your core strategic priorities. Canon Business Services will take you there. Reach out to our team today to discuss your next steps.