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What Is Co-Managed IT and Why Use It?

What is co managed it and why should you use it

Over recent times Co-Managed IT services have grown in popularity; they offer businesses more flexibility over their investments, whilst still having the safety blanket of expert assistance and future proofing from outside resources. Businesses get the best of both worlds; they get to enjoy the benefits of having their own IT departments without the costs of hiring their own IT team.

So, what are Co-Managed IT services?

Co-Managed IT is a service where an organization retains ownership of its own technology but outsources all or some of its management. The majority of businesses that use this setup will have their own internal IT team that work alongside their co-manager who handles everything from network maintenance to data backup. As we said, Co-Managed IT is a way for businesses to have the best of both worlds: control and flexibility are both possible in unison without incurring high costs or hiring new employees.
Your external Co-managers are predominantly experts in innovation. They will know the right cost-effective, cutting-edge tools (that aren’t necessarily the first ones you find on an internet search), and they will find solutions that are not only cost effective but also specifically catered to the needs of your organisation. They have the technical knowhow and abilities to test out new technologies that you wouldn’t be able to try otherwise.

With your internal team working in unison with the external one, they can decide on the perfect blend of services and management responsibilities based on your unique needs.

It can be hard to know if Co-Managed services are right for you, so let’s explore this further.

Deciding if Co-Managed Services Are Right for You

If you’re thinking about trying Co-Managed IT services, there are steps you must take first – you must determine your business’s level of IT maturity, know what you want to achieve, have a budget in mind for achieving that goal, and have the capacity in that budget – and physical space within the business – for hiring more employees, or in turn reducing your workforce to make room for this expense. If all of these questions are answered then Co-Managed IT could be right for you.

But, hybrid solutions aren’t always the right choice – if you don’t know what type of service you require, or are looking for assistance with a very specific IT project, then they most definitely aren’t!
A good way of viewing Co-Managed IT services is as ‘a helping hand’. The extent at which that hand helps is up to you and them, but if you simply don’t want to spend out on more members for your already stretched existing IT team then give them a hand and use external help.
Co-Managed IT has been revolutionary for many, as it allows you to continue doing what you do best whilst outsourcing all of the technical and maintenance side of things – this is a no brainer for some.

The benefits of Co-Managed IT are many. Let’s take a look at some now.

Benefits of Co-Managed IT services

We have already mentioned one major benefit of Co-Managed IT – whilst your team does what its best at, a team of experts focus on the support you need to continue getting the most out of your tech.

You can receive the type of help you want when and where you need it. Perhaps you want your internal team to have full reign over strategic work, meanwhile your external team can handle your day-to-day technological needs. Or, you could use your external team to manage large scale projects, whilst your internal team does the rest. It is completely down to the way you want to run your business. We would recommend talking with your team and letting them decide what they need the most help with, and instructing your external team to do just that.
Co-Managed services, if implemented correctly, can save you a considerable amount of capital. You could hire an internal IT guy, who may not have a particularly impressive range of skills, but crucially they are capable of handling all of the ‘mundane’ everyday tasks that we take for granted; this team member won’t require huge capital investments in salary that a seasoned IT expert would. Going further, you can then delegate any high-level needs to your external IT’s expertise. For a similar price to hiring just one internal IT team member – one, as we said, that may not have a particularly impressive technical prowess – you can have an entire team of experts at your disposal externally.

Another small but important point is that your external team of experts don’t take holidays. Well, they surely do but there will always be someone just as skilled to stand in while they’re away – if they are a good provider that is. No matter the circumstances you know your external team will always be there to help.

In our following article we will explore some of the common misconceptions about Co-Managed IT services, and hopefully in the process ease your concerns about this widely used practice. For more information, check out our Co-managed IT page here.

Ensuring a secure IT Landscape

We customize our services to meet your specific business needs. Whether you have a single location or multiple operations across the country or around the globe, Centarus will partner with you to implement the right IT solutions to help you reduce costs, streamline your processes and increase productivity. Our team of experts will ensure that you and your team are not only working in the most secure way possible in your IT environment, but also that you are prepared for a secure future too. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.

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