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What you need to know about IT services in Lodi
The IT services industry makes it possible for SMBs to get everything they need from infrastructure to break/fix support without having to employ an in-house IT ops team. This saves them the hassle of having to recruit, retain and manage staff for what is basically an essential but non-core function. It’s hardly a surprise that the IT services industry has become so big that it can be very complicated to navigate, so here’s a brief guide to what you need to know about IT services in Lodi.
Managed hosting and the public cloud can get you started quickly
Everyone knows that in business, cash is king and SMBs often need to manage their cash flows particularly effectively because they are unlikely to have big cash reserves. In the old days, SMBs often had to resort to financing to pay for IT infrastructure (and the staff needed to keep it running). This was often expensive and was sometimes hard to get, especially for smaller SMBs and start-ups, which were perceived as high-risk.
Now, thanks to managed hosting and the public cloud, SMBs can just lease what they need and have their vendor take care of the bulk of the work for them. With managed hosting, companies lease serviced infrastructure for their exclusive use. The managed hosting vendor usually takes care of everything up to and including the operating system on the server. In other words, the client only has to take care of their own applications and data. Some managed hosting vendors can even take care of applications, albeit usually at an extra cost.
The public cloud is basically managed hosting but in a shared environment. In short, you give up a bit of control in exchange for even more flexibility. For many SMBs, the issue of giving up control is essentially irrelevant. The mainstream public cloud providers offer enough customization options to keep most SMBs perfectly happy. There are, however, exceptions to every rule.
These days, the main issue with using the public cloud tends to be the challenge of ensuring that any sensitive data kept in it is protected in a way that ensures compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. The issue isn’t so much ensuring data security (although of course this is of the highest importance), it’s being able to demonstrate the necessary standards of data security when you only have partial visibility of how a public cloud works.
It may still be possible to keep sensitive data in a public cloud even if you are operating in a regulated environment (and/or subject to the EU’s GDPR laws). You would, however, have to approach the situation very carefully and, in particular, you would need to know exactly where your cloud platform vendor was located (both legally and physically). This is particularly important if you’re dealing with data from EU residents as GDPR applies globally and is very strict.
Cloud data backup vendors can help to keep your data protected from harm
Cloud-to-cloud backups are now becoming standard and they bring all kinds of benefits, including the fact that they remove the need to transport and store physical devices. They do, however, raise some technical challenges, but a good cloud data backup vendor will take care of them for you.
Managed IT services vendors are the mainstay of smooth IT operations
Managed IT services vendors take care of all the many “little” tasks which are essential to keeping IT infrastructure running smoothly. One of their great benefits is the fact that they allow SMBs to purchase the exact level of service they need, no more and no less. This is especially helpful for those situations where you need “a bit of a headcount” as it can be very difficult to recruit for these part-roles at the best of times and right now is definitely not the best of times as there is a global shortage of IT staff.
It is, however, important to note that managed IT services vendors only deal with regular, predictable tasks, in other words, routine maintenance. Anything else is passed on to the client or another vendor of their choice.
IT support vendors are there to lend a hand when you need it
The formal definition of IT support is the IT service which provides short-term support for specific needs. In practical terms, that means projects and break/fix work. IT support vendors often work closely with managed IT security services vendors as they will typically be the people who remedy any security vulnerabilities identified as part of the monitoring work carried out by managed IT security services vendors.
If you’d like to speak to a reputable and experienced IT services provider in Lodi, please click here now to contact Salient IT.
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