The past year has been difficult for small businesses. Constantly changing regulations have made it difficult to plan and budget. But, despite these difficulties it is important that your information technology (IT) needs remain a priority. Should anything go wrong, the downtime for even one employee could cost significantly more than regular, ongoing maintenance.

We’ve put together 5 ways you can maintain proper IT support and keep all of your technology infrastructure up to date, while keeping costs low (because we know budgeting is important when things are as unpredictable as they are these days).

Less stress and lower costs? Read on to find out how:

1. Outsource: For small businesses it makes sense to hire a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for your IT needs. Instead of hiring one full-time employee you can have access to a team of dedicated experts with round the clock service. You can save money and have peace of mind knowing that you’re covered, no matter what comes up.
2. Eliminate surprise costs: With an MSP you can pay a set monthly fee to cover any eventuality. If an issue arises, you know you can count on your MSP to get you back up and running in no time. We all know that any downtime for your business costs money (find out how much with our downtime calculator). Imagine launching a new product but your site crashes? With an MSP at your side, a potential disaster becomes a momentary inconvenience (and doesn’t break the bank).
3. Be Proactive: An MSP can audit your current system to see what’s working and what you will need to upgrade, and then take care of it, without any interruption to you or your business. No downtime, no stress. An MSP can take a proactive approach to managing your IT needs, minimizing emergencies and unexpected outages. 
4. Be Flexible: Working from the office, working remotely, or a combination of the two? Not a problem. As regulations continue to change, an MSP can ensure you are getting the right type of support to assist your workforce, whether they are working remotely or from the office. 
5. Priority Status: When you work with an MSP, you are always the first priority. We know you and your business. Believe us when we tell you, you won’t receive the same service when you call Geek Squad panicking because your systems have crashed. You will always get the better support with an MSP like Info-Tech Montreal vs. “the other guys.” No waiting in line over here!

Having a set-monthly cost that not only helps ensure your business back-end runs smoothly but ensures that it’s fixed quickly when it doesn’t is the easiest way to plan and budget for your IT support needs this year. If you’re still not convinced that an MSP is the right fit for your business, contact us to discuss your options. We’re always happy to chat and see what options are best for you.