Category Archives: Managed IT Services

The lifecycle of your computer

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When owning and operating a vehicle, it is important to keep up on maintenance to keep the car moving at its optimal level. However, overtime the vehicle begins to face problems that aren’t necessarily driver created. The same goes for computers, scheduled maintenance will ensure computers will live up to their life expectancy and eventually they will need to be replaced due to out datedness or an unforeseen circumstance.

Conduct a computer lifecycle assessment in your workplace to streamline business productivity, create cost awareness, and make for an easy transition from computer to computer. Here is our definition of the computer lifecycle:

Planning

The average life expectancy for a laptop or desktop computer is three to five years. It is important for businesses to develop a plan based on computer life expectancy, so stakeholders aren’t facing any unnecessary downtime or cost. To prepare for the computer lifecycle it is crucial to take into account the requirements for each machine your company uses. Plan out a replacement by asking these questions:

  • Depending on job need, what CPU does the machine need to be?
  • What operating system fits your company best?
  • What is your budget?
  • How many machines do you need to replace?

Once you have an idea of what type of machine your employees need, it makes for easier budgeting, as your team will know the exact computer specification that your business needs.

Procurement

What is your business plan to obtain the machines? This is where your local IT service provider comes in. Let your provider know that you’re in the beginning stages of planning out your computer lifecycle process and that eventually you will need to swap out machines without loss of information.

An important part of procurement is that your vendor will appropriately track serial and model numbers of all machines, thus your business can follow proper procedure in replacing computers without the hassle of tracking it.

Backup & Deployment

So your business has gotten all new computers, while there is an excitement to power up and start working, it is also important to cover all your bases before getting started. Ensuring your local IT provider takes the necessary steps prior to deployment is key to an easy transition:

  • Back up data on retiring machine.
  • Implement company security standard on new machine.
  • Migrate all necessary data and applications from old machine to new.

After your IT team completes these three necessary steps, the transition from old to new will result in little to no downtime, and allow employees to start working right away.

Use & Monitor

The majority of your workplace computers lifespan is in this stage. Bringing it back to the car reference, this is where your IT team will need to actively assess and monitor devices. This is crucial in keeping the lifespan of machines long, and keeping business productivity at a maximum. Here are some tips to stay in this stage of the lifecycle as long as possible:

  • Address any issues early on.
  • Patch management, software updates, etc.
  • Handle with care.
  • A managed services provider can actively monitor machines to ensure uptime.

Retirement & Transition

Once employees at your workplace start detecting problems with the machine that involve hardware, or the machine is showing signs of end of life, it is time for the process to repeat. Ideally your team has already adjusted the technology budget to repeat the cycle.

Computers are unfortunately not built to last, therefore it is necessary to plan out the lifecycle of your business computers. Your business will be able to prevent unplanned computer costs, increase business productivity, and allow for an easy transition when planning with the lifecycle of a computer.

To learn more about managed services, contact us today.

Why Your Business Should Partner With a Local Managed IT Service Provider

Managed IT Services, Outsource IT,

Managed IT services allows companies to outsource their IT support in order to improve operations and cut costs. Organizations may use a provider to take a proactive approach on their information technology and create predictability within their technology infrastructure.

Why should organizations outsource IT to a managed service company?

Thoughtful IT planning

Working with a managed IT provider allows businesses to build long lasting relationships with a partner that will take the time to get to know the company. In most cases, experts will sit down with stakeholders and learn of company goals and plans for the future.

Thoughtful planning allows a MSP to build an IT environment that allows a business to operate at maximum efficiency. Local providers hold accountability and want technology to be a tool for client productivity and company growth.

Increased communication

Facing unexpected downtime is frustrating, when working with a nationwide or global IT company it could feel like jumping through hoops to connect with the right person to resolve an issue. Choosing local increases client and provider communication, allowing for fast resolution to any IT issue.

Local providers are actively uptime monitoring, meaning they monitor IT networks and websites. If an issue does arise, a team of experts will be notified early on and will resolve the issue accordingly.  Since local providers are in your area, they are available to be dispatched to your business in a timely manner.

Cost efficiency

Managed services is a cost effective option for businesses for various reasons.

  • Infrastructure expense is reduced: Overall infrastructure expense is reduced with a local provider. MSP’s extend the life of current infrastructure by investing in future of businesses. With active IT planning, costs are predictable and system failures resulting in huge IT costs are less likely. Unlike nation-wide providers, your local partner is not backed by certain suppliers. We are able to research the best products and pricing to provide clients without the push of selling specific products from select suppliers.
  • Productivity is increased: With less time spent worrying about technology, there is more time for business productivity. Planned installations and active monitoring from a local IT service provider allows businesses the ability to focus on growth without the worry of technology interference.

Key takeaway

Outsourcing business level IT to a local provider is a great option for organizations who are in need of a well thought out plan for technology to grow with their business. For more information on managed services, please contact us today.