A Guide to Co-Managed IT
Does your IT team need more time to focus on big-picture tasks instead of never-ending help desk calls? Co-managed IT can take some of the pressure off of your IT department and ensure they’re not overworked.
What Is Co-Managed IT?
Co-managed IT is a hybrid IT management style that combines your in-house IT staff with an outsourced IT team. It allows your organization to create an IT plan based on your personal needs because IT isn’t one size fits all.
Internal IT teams often need help with bigger issues, which is why co-managing IT is beneficial. Not all companies require an entire external IT staff. Co-managing is a perfect solution for companies that have an internal team that needs supplemental IT support in certain areas. Some areas of IT that may require outside help include:
- Cloud solutions and support
- Level one support
- New projects
- Extra security
- Disaster recovery
These extra hands can assist in any area that requires additional knowledge from more experienced IT professionals.
Benefits of Co-Managed IT Services
The major effects of using a hybrid model for IT services are increased efficiency, tighter data security, and quicker system upgrades.
Increased Efficiency
If an IT team only had to worry about everyday issues, such as lagging connection, logins, deleted data, they would never be overworked. Unfortunately, they have more priorities than that and sometimes can’t get to them all. This results in inefficiency and incomplete projects. Co-managed IT from an outsourced team increases the efficiency of the in-house team by taking care of larger projects and issues on their behalf.
A co-managed IT team offers businesses more expertise, ultimately decreasing the time it takes to complete important projects. Without the concern of big-picture issues, an in-house IT team becomes more efficient and less stressed. They can focus on helping their colleagues while the outsourced team deals with cloud-based management, implements new strategies, and protects your data.
Hybrid IT management guarantees that your IT members are productive and able to complete daily projects.
Stronger Data Security
Your data is protected 24/7 with co-managed IT. Outsourced IT teams are available every hour of the day. This decreases the chances of data breaches and cybersecurity threats since they catch them in real time.
An outsourced team will also provide cloud services, meaning all of your company’s data can be backed up in the outsourced team’s cloud. In the event of a data breach, your company won’t have to worry about losing data because the outsourced team members back up your data in the cloud.
Sensitive data has an extra level of protection with a hybrid cloud. A house IT team can encrypt data into their personal cloud, but they may not have the time to consistently keep an eye on it. When you store this data on a hybrid cloud, the outsourced team ensures it’s protected 24 hours a day.
Faster System Upgrades
Technology is constantly evolving, which means IT is too—sometimes faster than an in-house IT department can handle. You need to replace your IT data servers every three to five years. If an in-house team performs these upgrades, there’s a chance they’ll be doing this while also dealing with typical day-to-day issues.
You must update your servers properly, so having an experienced team to focus solely on upgrades is beneficial. A co-managed IT team can make sure upgrades are done accurately.
Depending on the contract, you can implement a co-managed team for a limited time or specific project. When you need to upgrade your servers, consider implementing a co-managed IT service.
Other system upgrades an outsourced team can provide are computer and software upgrades for employees, operating system improvements, and cloud platform updates. These types of upgrades are tedious and time consuming, especially for larger companies. A hybrid IT team will make sure these upgrades are completed without having to pause daily operations.
Short-Term and Long-Term Co-Managed IT
Co-managed IT is entirely customizable and dependent on your business’s needs. If your company has a small internal IT department, you might implement a long-term co-managed IT team. Some businesses only need extra hands for a month or two to install system upgrades or develop new cloud solutions.
No matter the size of your project, co-managed IT can help your IT team in any way necessary for your business.
How Can Hybrid IT Management Help in the Short Term?
Short-term IT projects include:
- Creating software
- Updating software
- Developing public and private clouds
- Server updates
- Developing website or mobile applications
- Emergency recovery of data
- Managing databases
- Evaluating your IT department’s existing needs
If your business or organization needs to complete short-term projects but can’t do so without taking away from daily tasks, co-managed IT can provide these supplemental IT services. An outsourced team can be hired on for any length of time, whether it’s needed for two weeks or six months.
Benefits of Using Co-Managed IT Long Term
If your house IT team is overworked or understaffed, hiring an outsourced team long term will be a significant help. There may be skills that your in-house IT department lacks, keeping them from completing certain tasks. An outsourced IT unit can provide knowledge to keep your IT running smoothly.
Co-managed IT can combine two sources of knowledge to fill any gaps and create a well-rounded team. The outsourced team can stick around for as long as you need. You can also hire an outside team permanently if you’d like one department to focus on daily projects and the other on big-picture plans.
Where Can I Find Hybrid IT Management?
CCT Telecomm can help with all of your hybrid, co-managed IT needs. With us as your IT co-manager, you can decrease the risks of new technology, increase cybersecurity, and complete IT projects in record time. Our experienced IT technicians will provide the hybrid help you need, whether it be long or short term.
Our team will be available to your IT department 24/7/365 to take the stress off of your IT department.
Contact us today to learn more about co-managed IT services.