Posted by: TAZ Networks on May 8, 2020 at 12:00 pm
How Smart Small Manufacturers Use Managed IT Services to Keep Up With New Technology
Smart manufacturers use managed IT services to manage cybersecurity, network connections, vendor and client portals, and other technology items.
The recovery of small manufacturing in Michigan is good news for all of us. Parts suppliers, testers, and designers are hiring more workers, with some adding second or even third shifts.
All growth brings challenges, however, and manufacturing is no exception. Keeping up with customer orders and vendor management, as well as changes to ERP, can require additional automation, which may require computer hardware upgrades, which increases the complexity of your company’s computer network.
In addition, many manufacturers realize the need for cybersecurity, and are aware of some of the benefits of cloud computing.
Is your staff overburdened with IT tasks outside their expertise? Does your network keep growing but no one’s entirely sure how it all works together? Are your customers requiring you to use new portals and ways to communicate that your staff isn’t familiar with?
Here are 4 ways you can use managed IT services to keep up with advances in manufacturing technology.
Cost Savings and Budget Planning
One of the biggest benefits of managed services is cost savings. IT budgets have a lot of moving parts: hardware, software, maintenance, labor, and more. With managed services, IT costs roll into one predictable monthly budget item. Managed IT services helps prevent surprise repairs and allows for planned upgrades.
Right-Fit Technology Solutions
How do you know which technology solution is the right one? Did you ever just wish you could sit down with a computer expert, have them look over your network and business plan, and come up with a solution that suits your business best? An expert managed services partner does that. They act as a virtual CIO to provide the technology direction your business requires. Not only hardware, but also remote monitoring and management, backup and disaster recovery, and cloud computing. Your business benefits by using business-grade solutions to maintain uptime and profitability.
Cybersecurity
As manufacturing technology advances, it requires a higher awareness of cybersecurity. The “Industrial Internet of Things,” advanced autonomous robotics, and higher-level data analytics make manufacturing more efficient, but also present security challenges. Data breaches or loss, remote monitoring and management, backup and disaster recovery, and cloud computing won’t just affect your office staff, but your entire operation.
In a recent small-business survey by Microsoft, most respondents were unprepared for cybersecurity threats. A managed IT services partner looks for viruses, malware and other data threats, and resolves these problems before they develop into critical issues.
Peace of Mind
Even if you have IT people on staff, they can’t monitor your network 24x7x365. A managed IT services provider can provide that coverage. They can verify backups and managed your secure network connections. They receive alerts and often can troubleshoot or remediate glitches or bugs before your staff is even aware.
A managed IT services provider can be a trusted partner that focuses on your computer network, and lets you focus on running the business.