Growing businesses face a multitude of challenges. From managing change to tackling network challenges, the myriad details of keeping an SMB healthy can appear insurmountable.

One strategy that can help relieve the pressure of juggling technology concerns and containing expenses is turning to managed IT services to help support your business.

It’s an increasingly popular option for SMBs. The global managed IT services market grew to $149.1B and $166.7B in 2016 and 2017, respectively. By 2021, it’s expected to grow to $256.5 billion worldwide, with more than 39% ($94.5 billion) concentrated in the United States. This increasingly rapid expansion attests to the strength of managed IT services as an effective solution.

Here are a few ways these versatile, affordable services have been able to help growing organizations meet their goals.

Managing Costs

Perhaps chief among the benefits of managed IT services for smaller businesses is cost control. In addition to making IT costs predictable, improving system integration, and maximizing cloud solutions, managed IT services helps businesses cut back on labor costs associated with hiring and training internal IT staff.

Just remember not to “bargain shop” for an MSP (managed service provider), as CIO puts it, as a proven track record should always be your priority.

Enhancing Security

Security is an issue at the forefront for most businesses, particularly those handling clients’ personal information. One mishap and a good portion of an SMB’s data could fall into the wrong hands. That could potentially cause irrevocable harm to an organization.

Managed IT services devotes the time, expertise and resources to help your business improve its security efforts and stay ahead of potential security concerns. From firewall configuration and anti-malware software to network monitoring and education on cybersecurity best practices, MSPs focus on full-service protection.

Mitigating Risk

Closely related to boosting security is an MSP’s capacity for mitigating the risks of downtime and data loss from potential system outages. Disaster recovery plans are designed to help your network bounce back from natural disasters, data breaches and catastrophic tech failures that can disrupt operations. DR plans are part and parcel of most managed IT services plans. They’re critical for maintaining business continuity under extreme and unexpected circumstances.

Scaling for Change

Managing technology resources as an organization evolves and grows is an especially challenging aspect of running a business. Overestimating need can lead to wasteful spending of critical funds. Underestimating can leave you without adequate support for employees and customers.

Managed IT services help simplify this balancing act by supplying exactly what you might need based on your business demands. Whatever you need more or less of, MSPs scale your service to accommodate.

Maintaining Competitive Edge

The constant changes in technology can prove too much for any organization to keep pace with. That’s especially true when growth demands focus on making your business better and beating the competition.

Dedicated and knowledgeable Managed IT service providers can help make sense of technological shifts, recommending and implementing what works best for your business situation without additional legwork and distraction for your team.