How Outsourced IT Services Can Save Your Business Loads of Money

Ever wondered if you should invest more to improve your company’s IT services? Is it worth the money?

Make no mistake, your information technology is crucial in today’s landscape. It’s the one that handles large online and data services. It solves complex issues like communications and research.

If you’re a small business, an entire team dedicated to IT costs money. Outsourced IT services are the answer to the small business dilemma.

Outsourcing IT can save you tons of time and money. Through small business IT outsourcing, you keep your operations smooth without the hefty cost of a dedicated team.

How can managed IT save you money? Here’s how:

1. Lower Operations Cost At Hiring

The first thing that saves you big chunks in your finances is the cost of managed services. If you have a dedicated team, you’re paying not only for facilities but also for salaries. You would want to make these fees competitive to get people to perform.

For a small business, you need at least a team of 3 to 4 people to take care of your information technology. This means whether they’re securing your systems or not, you’re paying them. This is not the case with small business IT outsourcing.

Managed services cost is much lower because you’re not the only client. Because many people take the services of the outsourcing team, this affords them to cut down charges per client. You’re also paying for results.

Also, you’re skipping out on having to pay extra fees to your IT staff. You’re skipping charges for vacation leaves, medical leaves, health insurance and much more.

MIT studies confirm that for every $96 million invested in IT outsourcing, there is an extra $120 million savings in non-IT services on average. This does not count the extra cost-cutting that cloud computing affords new businesses.

2. No Need To Train Dedicated IT Teams

When it comes to outsourcing IT, another way of saving money is the lack of need for formal training in your staff. Managed IT services make sure that their teams are professionals, which means you don’t need to spend money training.

Many businesses sink a good amount of time and money finding the right people for the job. This can be a challenge, considering finding good employees with robust expertise in IT problems is hard. Vetting for such people will take a long while.

If you’re hiring entry level professionals, you need to provide in-house training. Small businesses can’t afford that.

When it comes to human resources, the cost of managed services tends to be much smaller. What you’re getting from outsourced teams are consummate professionals. They have years of training under their belt.

For a smaller managed services cost, you get experts in the IT industry to help you with your issues. Outsourcing frees you from the hassle of training your own in-house professionals.

3. Increase Your Total Productivity

One of the general obstacles of small business IT outsourcing is time zones. Depending on where the team is, you can have them available only at specific hours a day. Even then, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Outsourcing IT means you get to set the work time with them. It doesn’t matter what time zone they are available. They will follow your schedule.

At the same time, a managed IT team will be productive long after you close. Some IT services provide 24-hr IT services for busy corporations. You also don’t get slowdowns during your peak operational hours.

If a managed IT service does not result in a stoppage, that leads to more productivity. More productivity results in better revenue for your business.

4. Lower Risk with SLA

With the cost of managed services, you mitigate the risk of the task. Let’s say for IT services, this lets you focus all your effort into growing your business. You don’t have to worry that the IT side of your company fails.

Service level agreements or SLAs make sure that there’s a standard of care between the two companies. For the managed services cost, you get to make sure you get quality service each other. A small business IT outsourcing company cannot risk such a problem, so they make sure SLAs work in favor of both.

This means you save money on the need for liability insurance. This also means less for your finance and legal teams to work on, letting them focus on crucial stages that grow the company.

5. Better Focus, Improved Workflow

When you’re outsourcing IT, you streamline the operations of your business. Workflows happen according to plan, with IT experts handling on your company issues. This results in a more efficient undertaking in total.

Why do you get more efficient when you get managed IT? For a company to work, you need to have all moving parts working in sync. This also means that the more moving parts you have in your company, the more you have to track.

Small business IT outsourcing allows you to reduce the moving parts of your company. This streamlines your workflow, letting you focus on what you do best. You get to provide your services without having extra support people to take care.

This opens the door for different ideas, from expansion to improving customer service to better internal management. The cost of managed services is worth it if you can set your eyes for the price better than before.

Outsourced IT Services Save You Money Now and Tomorrow

There are many ways that outsourcing IT can save your business big bucks. With a bird’s eye view, not only do you save from instant expert services and lower managed services cost, but you also save extra on premium SLAs and professional services.

Outsourced IT services are a great way to streamline and focus your business on critical things for growth.

If you’re looking for dedicated solutions for your IT needs, get the team that knows what they’re doing. What you need is Linc Project.

We create robust, permanent solutions that work. We make sure to meet your needs from solution to installation to operation.

Talk to us at Linc Project and see how our dedicated IT service meets your needs. Support, infrastructure, and security—all at Linc Project.

10 Alarming Small Business Cyber Security Statistics, 2019 Edition

If you're a small business owner, you need to think about cybersecurity: 43% of phishing attacks target small businesses. So if you're a small business owner, you need to start seriously thinking about your security needs. 

Not convinced you need a change from your current approach? We have this and nine other alarming small business cyber security statistics for 2019 that'll change your mind.

1. Phishing Attacks Target Small Businesses 43% of the Time

This statistic comes to us from Symantec Corporation. In 2015, 43% of these attacks occurred in businesses with 250 employees or less. Compare this to 35% of large enterprises of 2,500 or more employees, and 22% of businesses that are medium-sized.

Since 2011, the number of attacks on small businesses has been steadily increasing, while the number of attacks on large businesses has been decreasing. Small businesses have a smaller number of employees, meaning that each one will likely be targeted more frequently than employees at a larger corporation. Make sure to convey the dangers of spear-phishing attacks to your employees.

2. About 70% of Businesses Perceived an Increased Cybersecurity Risk in 2017

According to the Ponemon Institute, roughly 70% of businesses felt as though their risk to cybersecurity had a significant increase in 2017. Even if you think you have the best cybersecurity practices in place, that doesn't mean you're fully protected. Cybercriminals are developing new strategies all of the time.

3. It Usually Takes 197 Days (>6 Months) for a Company to Detect a Data Breach

The Ponemon Institute also reports this fascinating statistic: the average time it takes a company to detect a data breach is 197 days. And it turns out that companies that were able to detect a breach in less than 30 days saved $1 million as compared to companies that took longer than that. Why so long?

Unfortunately, a lot of these attacks are conducted from within the company. Referred to as "malicious insiders," these individuals do not align with your business's values and instead want to leak information to make a profit. To avoid this, be extremely stringent in your hiring process and look out for any suspicious employee behavior.

4. A Successful Cyber Attack Costs a Company $3.86 Million on Average

It costs a company millions of dollars for each data breach. On average, the cost per stolen record is $148. And these numbers are rising each year steadily.

5. Information Loss Accounts for 43% of Costs from a Cybersecurity Attack

Information loss accounts for almost half of the cost from a cyber attack. They also report that for smaller businesses, most attacks are due to malware, phishing, web-based attacks, stolen devices, and social engineering attacks.

This information loss can include customer information, employee records, trade secrets, or intellectual properties. Additionally, a security breach can have cost you business: I'm sure none of us want to put our information in the hands of Equifax ever again.

6. 91% of the Time, Cyber Attacks Start with Spear Phishing

According to Trend Micro, most cyber attacks begin with a spear phishing attempt. What's spear phishing? It's an email that targets one person in a company and appears to be from a source that can be trusted in an attempt to steal information.

It's similar to phishing and social engineering attacks, but unique in that it's targeted individuals. That makes it much harder to detect than a mass phishing campaign, which will usually set off spam filters as well as attract the attention of your IT staff. Train your staff to be wary of emails asking for personal information, wire money transfers, or login information.

7. Phishing Attacks Victimized 76% of Businesses Last Year

According to Wombat Security, more than 3 out of 4 businesses fell victim to a phishing attack last year. So be sure to train your employees to double check the sender email address and avoid opening any attachments of unclear origins. After all, attachments are the easiest way to infect your company with ransomware.

8. Annual Cybercrime Damage Will Reach an Estimated $6 Trillion by 2021

This unbelievable statistic comes from Herjavec. While 2015 saw a $3 trillion loss due to cybercrime, the annual cost by 2021 is expected to reach over double that amount. Other than information loss, costs include stolen money, disruption to business post-attack, and harm to your business's reputation.

9. The United States Is the Number One Target for Cyber Attacks

The United States is the most targeted country for cyber attacks. And by 2023, it's expected to be responsible for half of the world's data breaches in 2023. Currently, it sits at 38% of targeted attacks.

The next closest country, India, doesn't even come close at 17% of all targeted attacks. 

10. In 2019, It's Estimated a Ransomware Attack on Businesses Will Occur Every 14 Seconds

Ransomware attacks will take place at an unprecedented rate of once every 14 seconds, up from once every 40 seconds in 2016. And this is only referring to business-wide attacks — ransomware attacks targeting individuals occur much more frequently.

Ransomware is a program that prevents a computer from being accessed until a "ransom" is paid to an anonymous server, who will then unlock the computer. Because small businesses are quickly becoming a popular ransomware target, make sure you take every possible precaution against it.

Having to pay a large sum of money to unlock your business's data is a huge hit on your bottom line. Additionally, since your data was accessed by an outside party, you have no idea if your information is protected or not. Finally, several businesses that pay the ransom don't even get their data back.

Small Business Cyber Security Statistics 2019: Now You Know!

Now that you've learned the most important small business cyber security statistics 2019, you'll probably want to boost your security. Make sure your software and antivirus programs are up to date, ensure your employees have the proper training to avoid targeted attacks and make sure your IT department is actively working to prevent data breaches.

If you're interested in the higher level of security that Linc Project can provide, contact us to learn more about what we can offer you. Our goal is to keep your data safe.