March 2022 – GPK Group

What is Fully Managed IT Support and Why Do You Need It?

Fully managed IT support is the blood flow of almost every modern business. If your company has a website and an online presence, an IT support team is imperative for proper and seamless functioning.

To be constantly present and active online, one will need 24/7 monitoring of all computers a company has, whilst also ensuring the company operations are not exposing themselves to data exposure, cyberattacks and information leaks.

By finding the best fully managed IT support in Perth, your IT hassles will disappear faster than your phone’s battery.

Because proficient IT support teams also ensure your organisation’s safety, security, and seamless flow of operations, you’re likely to see a boost in profits and performance with these professionals in your corner.

So, What Does an IT Management Service Offer?

A fully managed IT support comes with a designated contract.

The contract could range from acquiring minimum help, all the way up to 24/7 monitoring and assistance.

Some contracts offer limited help desk assistance, whereas other more comprehensive protection involves proactive monitoring and routine maintenance.

In addition, a fully-managed IT support will include all the above-mentioned perks, plus resolve all day-to-day IT-connected issues. On top of that, the IT managed service provider will take care of the overall flow of the business software and operating systems, provide on-site and cyber security support, as well as standardised setups, installations, regular reporting, and more.

What separates GPK from the chaff is that our primary focus is on fostering lasting partnerships and looking to plan long term. When you partner with us, you’ll have regular structured IT meetings with your personal GPK Business Account Manager (BAM) and Technical Account Manager (TAM), as well as partner stakeholders.

This collaboration allows for holistic managed IT support and ensures we always meet goals and strategies that we have outlined on your behalf.

Last but not least, a fully managed IT service will take care of your company just like an internal IT department would.

What are the Upsides of Fully Managed IT Support?

There are more than a few pros of hiring a fully managed IT support team, with some overshadowing others.

Here’s what the perfect IT management can help you with:

Simplifying organisational systems
Enabling reliable IT support for predictable issues
Improving company proficiency and effectiveness
Decreasing employee time and stress spent on manual tasks
Increasing overall security and safety
Monitoring company expenses
Using technology to remove barriers
Achieve your organisational goals and targets leveraging IT systems and technology

Simplifying the Organisations’ Systems

With the significant development of technologies, IT systems have become much more complex and in-demand. The more complex an IT system is, the more monitoring and attention it requires.

Adding external support, however, allows easier monitoring of the systems and troubleshooting of any potential issues.

Enabling Reliable IT Support for Predictable Issues

More than a few IT issues arise from predictable circumstances that can be easily prevented when fully managed IT support is in place.

If you have planned routine checkups, or optimisation services and maintenance, you’ll rest easy knowing that the systems are taken care of and supervised at all times.

A fully managed IT support will also know which updates to install without wasting extra work hours.

Improving Efficiency

If you have an IT team working to stop any unnecessary disturbances during work hours, you increase your workers’ proficiency.

The maintenance and protection protocols include properly taking care of PCs, printers, and laptops and their regularly required cleanups.

Decreasing Wasted Time and Stress

With fully managed IT support, your business will function far better than before.

It will ensure no system is crashing, and that you don’t waste any extra time targeting an issue and resolving it thereafter.

On top of saving valuable resources, you will also save yourself the stress from having to monitor the company’s performance without apt IT support.

Increase Security Ten-Fold with the Essential 8 Model

Anti-viruses aren’t the only necessity for enjoying a secure IT system.

In fact, IT security goes far beyond firewall antivirus software and includes many more tactics that advanced IT professionals can implement to mitigate the frequency and damage of cyber security attacks.

Known within the industry as The Essential Eight, these mitigation strategies include but are not limited to:

Application control
Patch applications
Configuration of Microsoft Office Macro settings
User application hardening
Restrictions on administrative privileges
Patch operating systems
Multi-factor authentication
Regular backups and restorations

Our experts can install and implement these mitigation strategies to various ‘maturity levels’ depending on the exact needs of your business.

Monitor Expenses

By paying only a small monthly fee, you save yourself from maximum costs when something gets broken and needs quick fixing. With progressive monitoring and reporting on what your organisation lacks, you’ll be able to save yourself from a lot of extra costs.

The Verdict

A fully managed IT support system is more than a beneficial extension of your business.

And given that the growing popularity of online safety had 49% of all businesses outsourcing their IT functions and praising this approach for a myriad of reasons, the urgency to get fully managed IT support for your company is greater than ever before.

Speak to our team of IT support experts today.

Top Benefits of Managed Data Backup and Recovery

Data security is one of the most discussed topics among leading businesses. There is constant debate on whether data storage and backup should be kept in-house or outsourced.

Every business, no matter the size, ought to have a backup and recovery plan in place.

Unfortunately, most businesses don’t realise the amount of money, staff, equipment, and time that is required to undertake this serious task. Not to mention that completing the recovery and securing of data is not guaranteed if you don’t have the experience.

Of course, if you are after the best-managed data backup providers in Australia, our Managed IT Services Perth are your business’s one-stop-shop for unparalleled data backup and recovery.

But, before you book a call with our team, it’s best to read on and learn more about managed data backup and recoveries and why you should always have a plan.

What are the Top Benefits of Managed Data Backup and Recovery?

Many businesses opt for strong backup and recovery systems to stay protected in a worst-case scenario. As the saying goes, the best defence is a good offence.

Let’s take a look at some of the top benefits your business will be exposed to if you take the step to install a solid managed data backup and recovery plan.

Security

A growing concern among companies has always been data privacy and protection. Businesses depend on ensuring customers that their stored data is safe. Once businesses lose this customer trust, it’s very hard to get it back.

Our managed data backup teams ensure complete on-site and secure physical storage, alongside cloud-based secure storage, and backup for better access to your data.

We also have a disaster recovery strategy for emergencies.

Expense Control

Outsourcing is a great way to save money. Think of everything you’ll need to set up a strong and reliable data backup and recovery system.

When you entrust professionals to keep your data safe from both natural disasters and cyberattacks, you can be confident you’ll be protected when the time comes.

Regulatory Compliance

The way data is collected and stored is strictly monitored and regulated. Not complying with these regulations may bring legal and financial troubles to your company.

If you want to get that burden off your shoulders, many IT support teams have extensive training and knowledge of the constantly evolving regulations—ensuring that your company is compliant with the current regulations in your industry.

Dependable Replication

Replication of data is a time-consuming, costly and stressful process that can have an impact on your daily business operations.

Our experts can assist you in applying the process of retrieving and recovering data. When it comes to managing huge amounts of data, minor errors can cause big headaches. It’s better to leave this to professionals.

Easy Management

Backing up and securing data can be a drain on resources and energy—just imagine the stress level of having to recover lost data. Recovery of data is time-sensitive as well, and no one really knows the state of the lost backup data until it is retrieved.

Luckily, managed data backup teams provide you with a comprehensive data backup and recovery strategy.

Experienced Teams

Vast experience is needed in managing data backup and recovery, especially in case of a disaster or cyberattack. Do you have anyone on your IT team that has the training for this? If you don’t, this is the right time to outsource this service.

Managed data backup teams have all the training and expertise to handle delicate data assignments. They will also provide you with a detailed disaster recovery plan on how to quickly and efficiently handle the issue, that should be read by all members of staff.

Maintain Client Reputation

We witness many companies losing their reputation due to the loss of clients’ data. Customer distrust may hurt your business in the long run.

You must be able to fix a disruption in your operation in no time or your customers will be knocking on your competitor’s doors.

What Managed Data Backup and Recovery Solution is Right for You?

Businesses today are faced with increased cyber and ransomware attacks. An Emsisoft report states that the US has witnessed ransomware attacks that affected around 966 governmental bodies, costing them around $7.5 billion.

Natural and other disasters are also potential threats to consider—although highly unlikely to occur, one is ‘preparing to fail if they fail to prepare’—according to the late, great IT Expert, Benjamin Franklin.

To make sure our clients don’t fall victim to Franklin’s adage, we recommend a form of the 3-2-1 data management system.

The beauty of this system is in the many ways it can be set up and installed, dependent on the exact needs of the individual. In it’s most simplest terms however, the 3-2-1 method is:

3 copies of your data
across 2 types of media
with 1 copy of your data off site

When set up correctly, it covers 99.9% of failure scenarios.

At GPK we go one step further and also recommend that a copy of that data is immutable. This gives you the best recovery time, by leveraging local backups on site and having the protection of complete site loss & a cloud copy.

Choosing the right data backup and recovery solution is important. With 40% of small businesses reporting they have experienced eight or more hours of downtime due to a cyber breach in the last year—it’s undeniable that cybercrime costs businesses time and money.

Exactly how much resourcing is required can be hard to estimate, and is dependent on each business, but it’s best to be prepared.

Keeping it in-house might be what you prefer, but outsourcing it will grant you the luxury of a solid plan and long-term benefits.

Get in touch with our team and get your data protected today!