In the last decade, businesses have become increasingly reliant on technology to survive and thrive.ย ย
In fact, in the two years following the 2020 pandemic, a market trends report from SAGE highlighted how technology was โvitalโ to 91% of new businesses founded in the UK. In that same report, 88% of businesses said technology was โessentialโ for ongoing growth and operational reliance.ย ย
But why is that? This blog examines why business operations are so reliant on technology, why demand for IT support has grown exponentially, and where IT support partners come in.ย ย
Are businesses becoming more reliant on technology?ย ย
The answer is, almost unilaterally, yes. Because the benefits of technology adoption are too great to ignore.ย ย
Technology innovation and digital transformation allow businesses to keep up in todayโs competitive market. Through it, they can:ย ย ย
- Increase employee productivity and output.ย
- Scale operations and processes as they scale.ย
- Gain better visibility on internal operations and processes.ย ย
- Make informed, data-driven decisions that drive growth.ย ย
- Forecast effectively and navigate economic challenges.ย ย
- Meet and exceed evolving customer expectations.ย ย
Technology also lets businesses operate remote teams across multiple time zones, which, in turn, allows them to provide services to customers 24/7. These are known as โalways onโ businesses.ย
However, while technology adoption brings huge potential benefits to businesses, it also comes with new risks and challenges.ย ย
Why downtime and outages are on the rise in UK businessesย ย
Downtime is a real risk for โalways onโ businesses, as well as industries that require real-time data to transact or provide their service, such as healthcare, e-commerce, and financial institutions.ย ย
Without constant access to the cloud or web-based services, theyโre simply unable to operate. And as any business that has experienced downtime before knows, an outage can be a real problem.ย ย
Even short periods of downtime can lead to financial losses and incur unplanned costs, such as emergency IT support and overtime. As these are often needed to get services back online.ย ย
In organisations without a solid backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan, restoring systems or data can be slow, expensive, and in some cases, impossible. Which is why having a well-structured BDR strategy is essential.ย
Downtime can severely disrupt business continuity, too. As employees will lose access to essential tools, causing delays and backlogs, while tech teams are pulled away from strategic initiatives to troubleshoot the outage. And of course, thereโs the potential erosion of customer trust and damage to your reputation to consider.ย
Mitigating the risk of downtime is essential for businesses that rely on technology. But this can be challenging, especially for SMBs and organisations without a dedicated IT team or in-house specialists.ย ย
The case for 24/7 managed IT support for UK businessesย
This explains why the demand for 24/7 IT support has increased dramatically in the last few years. As it allows businesses to benefit from technology while mitigating the risks associated with adoption.ย
Typically delivered by a Managed Service Provider (or MSP), 24/7 IT support gives organisations continuous access to dedicated IT specialists. These specialists will proactively identify technology problems and resolve them before they escalate. And provide continuous support to global teams, outside of normal working hours, making them essential for โalways onโ businesses.ย ย
Any good 24/7 managed IT support service will also include round-the-clock threat detection, monitoring, and incident response. Making it one of the best ways to protect your business from cybercrime, as hackers often strike when internal teams are offline (for obvious reasons!)ย ย
While there are costs associated with 24/7 managed IT support, these services save businesses orders of magnitude more in lost revenue, missed deadlines, and reputational damage when a cyberattack occurs.ย
Plus, outsourcing IT support is far more affordable than hiring an in-house team to monitor your organisation around the clock. And it also allows your business to focus on strategic initiatives and growth, rather than monitoring and threat detection.ย ย
What a great 24/7 managed IT support service can doย ย
For many businesses, partnering with an external IT support provider just makes sense. Like using technology to drive growth, the benefits are too great to ignore.ย
Not only does it allow you to unlock the benefits of technology adoption, as stated above, but it also allows you to operate continuously (and securely).ย ย
Weโve provided 24/7 IT support to our partners for over a decade now, so we speak from experience when we say that a great service should give you:ย ย
- Access to expertise on demand: With 24/7 access to a team of qualified IT specialists.ย
- Peace of mind against cybercrime: By providing continuous monitoring, incident management, and reporting as part of your SLA.ย ย
- An affordable, secure alternative: To maintaining an in-house team of specialists.ย ย
- Real focus: As you can prioritise strategic initiatives, rather than your IT.ย ย
- A customised solution: As great providers tailor their support plans to align with your needs and goals.ย ย
If youโre unhappy with your current IT support service or want 24/7 access to qualified professionals, we can help. Message us on contactus@phoenix47.co.uk to request more information. ย
