Managed IT Services Toronto & GTA

Malware and viruses are always top-of-mind for companies, and rightfully so. The last thing anyone wants to deal with is a virus in their system. You can have your clients data, your company financial data and other business-critical data compromised if your systems are not properly secured, leaving this information vulnerable to hackers’ attacks.

By securing your network and IT Infrastructure and by regularly backing up your data, IT service providers help businesses significantly mitigate any issue from a virus in your system. This means that you don’t have to worry about losing important data because you can rest assured it is backed up.

Ransomware malware is a real threat to any computer, server or a network attached storage (NAS). We’ve seen how businesses that are affected by such malware become desperate and, in many cases, decide they have no choice but to pay the ransom to get their data back. With through-and-through backup plans, this should not happen to any organization.

The average business stores so much information. From client data and product specs to customers’ personal information and vendor data, businesses have a lot of data that needs to be protected. If, for example, you launched a new website design that allows you to collect users’ data, you need to know that their data will remain private.

A professional managed IT service provider can set you up with reliable firewalls and authorization systems. These help ensure that sensitive data does not fall into the wrong hands because of a security breach. Furthermore, in Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) law governs how organizations collect, use and disclose personal information – something an IT consultant can help your business with so you are compliant with the regulations.

When it comes to protecting your data, you have to go with experienced professionals – you simply can’t get around this. Your employees, customers, partners, vendors, and every other key stakeholder rely on you to have a dependable and robust security system for your business. So let the pros take care of securing your IT needs so you don’t have to worry about it.

The current conditions forced every business to adapt to a new situation. For a lot of companies, this meant helping employees transition from working in an office to working from their homes.

During this time, business owners needed to know that their business could run as efficiently and safely as it did when everyone was in the office. IT services made this possible by providing a secure and reliable VPN that allowed employees to safely and reliably access company data remotely.

The transition for many companies was so seamless that it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if some businesses announce that they plan to continue having people work from home.

Being proactive is always better than being reactive. Someone who is proactive is prepared, meaning they are more likely to avoid catastrophe.

An IT service provider can help you be proactive, which is especially important for businesses that don’t have the time or resources to regularly monitor their IT infrastructure. A good and reliable managed IT service can actively monitor your network 24/7.

Since your service provider is actively monitoring your network, they can quickly resolve any issue that comes up. This is great for you because, again, you can focus on growing your business while your IT partner puts out any fires.

Sometimes bad things happen, which is why it helps to have some kind of business continuity plan. Your managed IT service provider will play a big role in this.

A professional IT company can provide you with cloud solutions for things like emails, CRM solutions, financial systems, and so much more. A reliable IT company can prepare you for any contingency by making you less dependent on your local machine and help you run your business more efficiently in case of unforeseen circumstances.

You want to ensure that should something happen to your local machine, your business can still operate because you can easily recover anything you temporarily lost from the cloud or other source (perhaps offline) depending on your DRP process.

This is another benefit that falls into the ‘Let your IT firm worry about it so that you can focus on growing your business’ category.

Most business owners don’t want to think about new trends, systems, programs, innovations, and processes in the IT industry. They simply do not have the time or experience to stay on top of these things.

This is what your IT partner can do for you. Professional IT firms have their hands on the pulse of the IT industry, so they have the knowledge and expertise to know what new trends and systems might make sense for your business and then can implement programs or processes for you.

This is a bit of an extension of the previous section, but is important enough to highlight. As we mentioned before, businesses are increasingly moving all important data into a digital space – and they aren’t the only ones doing this. Pretty much every person on this planet is migrating important information to a digital space.

Because of this trend, we have seen many data privacy laws established by governments across the world (such as PIPEDA that was mentioned earlier). With the help of a managed IT service, you don’t have to worry about whether or not your company adheres to these laws. Your IT partner will help you ensure that your company complies with all relevant data and privacy laws.

Managed IT services are offered by IT experts to handle businesses’ IT operations. Even though some IT companies in Toronto offer partial IT managed services, it is always better to have a professional and experienced company handle all aspects of an IT system. Cutting corners on your IT setup can deeply hurt your organization because omitting an important service such as backups or monitoring might mean total data loss, and that could be difficult or impossible to restore. Serious IT professionals will never offer incomplete service, because they are fully aware of the fragility of the modern IT world, and they know that the consequences of not having proper IT support can be dire. That’s why a good IT provider offers a full set of services for their clients as part of their managed IT services. These include:

• Server maintenance
• Full coverage support
• Email management
• 24/7 monitoring
• Network security
• Backups
• Disaster recovery
• And much more

Speaking of incomplete services, many IT companies don’t cover essential services, such as disaster recovery, which leaves clients vulnerable and unprotected. In the event of a flooding or a fire, all data will be lost and the company will suffer greatly from all aspects. Therefore, before you shop for cheaper options that include only partial IT services, ask yourself just one important question: “Can my business afford complete loss of data?” We know the answer to this question, and you do too, so take all the measures necessary to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Essentially, IT managed services and IT outsourcing are the same thing. However, some IT companies allow you to choose which IT services you want in their outsourcing packages, while IT managed services typically take a more holistic approach.

Managed IT services have many benefits. The main one is that you can count on full IT support whenever you need it. With a good IT company, you can feel like you are covered and that you have insurance. Here are only some of the advantages of having a full IT Managed Services setup:

• Saving costs
• Saving time
• Technological support
• Increased efficiency and productivity
• Streamlined operations
• Improved security and stability
• Round the clock support
• Trained professionals who understand IT
• You can focus on your business instead of wasting energy on IT matters

ITBizTek offers full coverage for all your IT needs and consultation whenever you need it. With us, you can feel like you are fully covered and someone is always there to help you. Basically, having a solid IT infrastructure and reliable IT specialists at your disposal is the best insurance policy you could have for your business operations.

Many people think that a small business requires a different set of services than a medium sized business or a large corporation. In reality, the size of your business absolutely has no impact on what IT services you should get. You should always get the full package and a good IT company treats all businesses the same. Every service is just as important as the other. You must have a security setup because you’re vulnerable if you don’t. You must have email and cloud backup, otherwise you have nothing to fall back on if something goes wrong. 

A startup needs full IT coverage from day 1! From the first day you move into a new office, your system should be in full operational mode. That means installing proper cabling, having a professional panel and a network running smoothly. While we’re talking about the network, you should also make sure that your network can “handle” the workload. For example, if your company does heavy graphics, then you’ll need a lot more than the standard 1GB switch to carry all the data. You need to size your switch, build a proper infrastructure, establish workstation security and protect your data folders. All of this may seem overwhelming, but it’s always better to invest a little more effort into building a proper setup initially, than to deal with constant IT issues later. If your business doesn’t have a solid IT infrastructure backing it up, you will soon experience problems that will hinder your daily operations, affect productivity, and make business difficult.

There are many IT companies out there that claim that they are experts in the field, but the truth is that IT is an ever-changing industry with enormous advancements that arise on an almost daily basis. We’ve seen experts in the field get run over by this fast changing world, to the point where they simply can’t keep up. In IT, one of the most important rules is to find someone who can keep up with the latest technology and advancements, and who can help you get the most out of your IT setup. In general, these are the guidelines to follow when looking for experts for your IT infrastructure. 

1. How many years they’ve been in business. Experience counts a lot. 
2. Look at their reviews. A simple Google search will tell you a lot about the company itself and how they treat their clients.
3. Recommendations. Ask around. Is someone you know already using this company’s services? Would they recommend the company?

You should also make sure you ask the right questions. For example, an IT company may tell you they offer full support, but make sure to check what that support includes. Do you have access to 24/7 support and monitoring? Is there a helpdesk? Do they have insurance (a really important question which will show you how legit the company is).

There are so many things that can go wrong in IT if you don’t have the right experts by your side. For example, if your security system is not set up properly, anyone can access your company’s sensitive files. What we’ve seen throughout the many years in business, are bad IT setups. So many times have we “inherited” a bad IT setup from a different IT company, and this poor setup was hindering the processes and daily operations of the business for much too long. That’s why we cannot stress enough how important it is to set up your IT infrastructure correctly from the beginning. 

Another common issue is maintenance. Think of your IT setup as a car. Just like your car needs proper maintenance to avoid engine problems, so does your IT setup need regular maintenance to avoid network failure. From monitoring backups to making sure they go through smoothly, to fixing bugs that happen on an almost daily basis, an IT company is the engine that drives the business. As we always say, most IT issues arise from cutting corners, as some businesses think that they cannot justify the costs of setting everything up correctly. To that matter, we ask one simple question: “Can your business afford being down for days simply because you did not have a backup of your work, and a disaster made it all disappear?” Let professionals handle your IT, and you’ll be able to focus more on growing your business rather than wasting time fixing IT issues.