The arrival of COVID-19 signaled a sea change in business as usual. For example, countless businesses went online for pure survival. When your customers cannot enter your premises for the better part of a year, you must find other ways to get your products or services into their hands.
The tactic did work for many businesses, but it also created a lot of neophytes in terms of IT support. Are you new to the business tech scene and wondering, “What is IT support?” Keep reading for an overview of IT support and its potential benefits.
In this article
What Is IT Support?
It sounds like the most reasonable question. If you have recently adopted new information technology, you need a working understanding of IT support. Before diving into IT support, it helps to understand the scope of information technology itself.
Information Technology
Information technology goes beyond routers, web hosting, or even that guy who makes the magic smoke inside your desktop behave properly. Information technology spans a daunting number of areas and disciplines. A few of the more significant areas that you may encounter include:
- Programming
- Cybersecurity
- Cloud services
- Networking
- Data Management
Of course, most of those areas intersect in one way or another with the physical hardware. That hardware includes everything from desktop computers and servers to routers, switches, and the Cat 6 cables connecting most devices.
IT Support
You can think of IT support as those specializing in creating, repairing, and monitoring all that data, software, and hardware. The exact nature of that support will vary greatly depending on your needs.
Let’s say that you run a medical practice. That means you work with lots of sensitive personal and health data. You might well need a full-blown IT support team. After all, you need well-structured databases, good cybersecurity, and probably some cloud services for data backup.
Plus, let us not forget those pesky HIPAA laws and HITECH regulations. Is your system in regulatory compliance? A knowledgeable IT support team can help you with all of these issues.
Managed IT Services
The IT landscape’s sheer complexity and the specialized needs of any given business often make a managed service attractive. Managed IT services provide precisely what it sounds like they provide.
They take over some portion of your IT needs. If you’re uncomfortable configuring and monitoring cloud services, you outsource the whole task to a managed service. Not sure how one keeps a network secure, you let a managed service deal with the headache.
Managed IT services typically offer a whole bundle of valuable services for businesses of all sizes. For example, you might get a bundle that includes network security, server management, data backups, and disaster recovery. Then, you get a support analyst when things go sideways.
What is a support analyst? A support analyst is the first person you talk to when you call your managed service provider. In many cases, they can solve your problem more or less on the spot. If not, they typically diagnose the problem and pass it along to a specialist at the company.
Benefits of IT Support
IT support provides you with a host of potential benefits. At the very least, it keeps you free from worrying about your IT needs. You invest your time where it can do the most good, in your own business.
Another significant benefit of IT support is getting help with IT planning. Think about it. How much do you know about what you need in network hardware? Is software-defined networking right for your business?
Do you even know how long it will take before you must replace most of that IT hardware? IT support teams can help you understand your hardware and software needs before they become a crisis. Instead of buying the first thing that crosses your computer screen, you enter the replacement phase with a clear plan and likely a list of viable replacement options.
IT support also gives you the benefit of experts. You see this, particularly with managed service providers hiring experts in many IT areas. You don’t get a networking specialist with an interest in cybersecurity. You get experts in both places.
That means you get a higher quality of service, even if you get less direct face time with those experts than with in-house staff.
Implement New Technologies
One of the most complex areas of IT for most businesses is the implementation of new technologies. It’s not a lack of willingness for the most part, but a very definite lack of information.
For one thing, you must know about technology first. Take software-defined networking, for example. Ever heard of it before?
If so, do you have any clear idea of what it is or how it can benefit a business? If you answered no to either, don’t feel bad. You’re not a networking IT specialist.
While most business owners try to keep up with the tech in their industry, they can’t learn about everything. IT support can bring new technology to your attention and explain what you’ll get for your trouble. Then, they can help you get it up and running in your business.
IT Support and You
What is IT support? It sounds like a very reasonable question. Unfortunately, information technology encompasses everything from laptops to websites. That makes IT support a profoundly diverse area.
Odds are good that you need IT support in at least a few areas. Almost anyone with a network at their business needs cybersecurity help. If you want extra data protection, you may need assistance with cloud backup.
Talk with an expert if you’re unsure what kind of support you need.
Looking for more business technology tips and tricks? Head over to our Business and Tech sections for more articles.
