Reactive vs. Proactive IT management

How a proactive approach can save you money and mitigate risk 

Written by: Phil Strang – Technology Partners 

Do you find yourself getting so caught up in your business that you tend to only manage your IT when things go wrong or it becomes an absolute must? 

This is called reactive IT Management. With it, brings a mountain of stress, disruption and blown budgets. 

A proactive approach to IT management doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. In fact, it can save you money and keep you focused on doing what you do best. 

This is where a Managed Service Provider (MSP) steps in. They’re not just the guy/gal you call in for computer repair, they’re like an extension of your team. An MSP is there to support you and ensure the IT side of your business is efficient, cost-effective and low-risk. Let’s look at some of the benefits of proactive IT management and why Wellington, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Kapiti and Horowhenua businesses might want to move away from a reactive response. 

Preventing blown budgets 

With a Managed Service Agreement, any work to keep your system working and your people supported is covered by the fixed monthly fee. So you don't pay any extra if there are problems, or if you have a major disaster. This means you can budget on a consistent IT spend. A spend which will likely be less than you'd expect.

By having planned proactive maintenance, an MSP can reduce problems, lowering the cost of fixing things. They give you tools to effectively manage your IT life cycle, forecasting hardware and software upgrades.  IT budgets can be planned for years to come. Everything from printers to operating systems can be prepared on a schedule. Adopting an IT life cycle is a great way to eliminate unwanted surprises and make the most out of your IT budget.  

Productivity / minimal disruption 

There’s nothing worse than when you get halfway through the day and you realise you’ve spent most of it troubleshooting or dealing with an IT issue. 

How scary would the numbers would be if you worked out the total number of hours lost due to IT-related disruption? A Managed Service Provider’s core purpose is to lessen this disruption and they would likely pay for themselves rapidly. An MSP often does routine maintenance outside of hours so when you log in the next morning, you’re good to go! They’re your Clark Kent, unobtrusively making things happen in the background and quickly donning their capes should anything arise. 

Knowing your business 

You are working on something important, as you usully are, and something goes wrong with the IT. You find yourself giving an IT technician your full operational history so you can both connect the dots of where things went wrong. Sound familiar?

The great thing about an MSP is that they get to know your business, and more importantly, they have a detailed documentation process. You’ll be dealing with people who know you and your systems. They have an intimate knowledge of your site’s configuration and a detailed service history available to them. This means they’ll spend less time troubleshooting and more time working on the job. Familiarity when working on a system means you are not paying for a technician to learn about your site each time. As an added bonus, when you partner with an MSP, the charge is often much less than the hourly rate of one-off call outs. 

A practical and trusted approach to technology  

In the technology space, there are changes and updates left, right and centre. These can leave many business owners and managers feeling overwhelmed. This can lead to you either falling behind with your IT or purchasing things your business may not need.

A Managed Service Provider is across all things IT, so you don’t have to be.

You have the option to meet regularly to discuss and review changes or updates that should be considered to your IT infrastructure. Your MSP knows what’s happening in the industry and can guide you according to your specific needs. They’re not about telling you that all your computers need to be updated with the highest spec and most expensive models. In fact, an MSP will get to know how you operate and provide you with a plan on where you can best spend and save money. They’re about plans with priorities and delivering a solution according to budget. They're about a long term partnership based on giving you great value for your business.

If you’d like to find out more about how a Managed Service Provider can help you move from reactive to proactive IT management, contact us today on 04 297 1040. If you’d like to visit or email us, you can find our details here or by clicking one of the links below. 

GTB has been a Managed Service Provider for 12 years. "GTB" stands for "get the best" and by that we mean our aim is to help you get the best return on the investments you make in Information Technology. Our clients invest in IT because it helps them to run their businesses better. Being an MSP helps us to do this.

GTB is a founding member of the nationwide IT Alliance, and it’s member in the Wellington Region. www.ita.org.nz