You’re an expert in your business. When it comes to the details of what your business can offer by product or service, you’re the person to talk to. But with the best will in the world, it can be a struggle to be the expert in every aspect of your working life.

That’s why you have an accountant to manage your books, a marketing team to talk to engage your customers and a sales team to convert that interest into real life sales.

What about your IT? Chances are you have a basic coverage. A few people perhaps with some knowledge and the capabilities to sort out anything that goes wrong if it’s fairly basic.

The problem is, when things go wrong with your network, or you’re subjected to a cyber attack, they can go badly wrong.

In this article we’ll take a look at the benefits of both internal and external IT support and what might work best for you.

External IT Support

At first glance this can appear to be the more costly option. Paying a monthly or annual fee to have 24-hour a day IT support from a provider such as: https://www.frontlineinc.com/it-security/ so what do you gain and what are the benefits? In short you know that you have someone a phone call away night and day.

For the most part, many IT and networking issues are solvable by phone, either by an expert talking you through a set of instructions or by letting them have remote access to your desktop or laptop.

External companies are likely to have access to high quality resources and technology that’s going to keep your business up and running.

On the flip side you need to consider whether having phone support is going to be enough for you. What if they need to pay a site visit? Are their people located nearby and how long might that take? You’ll also need to weigh up if you’re happy for an external organisation to have access to your files and computer network.

Internal IT Support

Having someone on site is a great way to keep your software and security updated on a daily basis and of course have an expert on hand to come and see you in person should things go wrong.

If you have a larger team, chances are you may need more than one IT member but if their skills can extend to analysing data as well as providing IT support than that might just pay for itself.

On the other hand if your IT is limited to just support, then you may find yourself asking if this is really a cost effective way of keeping you and your team online.

There are distinct benefits to both internal and external support and your choice will likely come down to two factors: your security and the value for money they offer. Shop around, weigh up the options and get the support your business deserves.