No matter the size of your business, you’re now likely to rely on technology to support your day-to-day operations, communicate with customers and keep important information secure.

As your business grows, the technology you rely on can become more complex. Systems that worked well when your organisation was smaller may no longer provide the reliability, security or support your teams need. At the same time, you may not yet have the need to build a full in-house IT department.

For many small businesses, this is where external IT support can provide valuable additional expertise. With 5.5 million small organisations in the UK, official data shows that one in two small businesses suffers a cyber incident every year, highlighting the importance of putting appropriate IT and security measures in place.

A managed IT support provider helps maintain systems, responds to issues and takes a more proactive approach to managing your technology, helping to reduce downtime and give employees faster access to support.

Recognising the signs that your business could benefit from additional IT support can help you address potential issues before they start affecting your daily operations. 

7 clear signs your small business needs IT support

There are several signs that your business may have reached a point where its existing approach to IT is no longer providing the level of support it needs.

The warning signs aren’t always dramatic. Recurring technical problems, employees losing time to IT issues, increasing security requirements and unpredictable costs can all indicate that your current approach is no longer keeping up with the business and can indicate that it may be worth considering additional support.

Learn more about IT support in our article: What is managed IT support?

Here are seven clear signs that your small business may benefit from IT support.

1. Your IT setup is struggling to keep up 

The equipment that helped you set up your business worked well enough at the start, but you may find that home routers or off-the-shelf hard drives can’t keep up with the demand your accounts department are now dealing with. 

If employees regularly work around technology problems rather than simply getting on with their jobs, it may be time to review your IT setup. Slow software or network crashes could be holding back your sales team from making deals to align with business goals. All these aspects could be signs you may need expert IT support.

 2. Nobody really owns IT

Is it unclear who is ultimately responsible for IT support in your organisation? Are staff confused about who to turn to for passwords or file access? 

Perhaps one employee has become the unofficial ‘IT person’, nobody is quite sure who controls administrator accounts, or new starters rely on someone remembering how everything was set up. If so, this could be a sign that your business needs clearer IT management and support.

3. Recurring downtime

There is nothing more frustrating than work delays due to disconnected printers, frozen systems or dropping internet connections. If the same problems keep returning, it may be a sign that simply fixing issues as they happen is no longer enough.

Read more in our article: Managed IT support vs break-fix: which one actually saves you money?

4. Security and backup worries

The rise in phishing emails and cyber risks means that improving security is a non-negotiable these days. A managed IT provider can help put appropriate security measures in place, while also monitoring backups so important business data can be recovered if something goes wrong.

5. Staff losing time to tech issues

Spending time reconnecting devices with systems or waiting until the Wi-Fi reconnects won’t typically help your teams engage fully with client support or goal attainment. Every hour an employee spends reconnecting a printer, troubleshooting software or waiting for unreliable Wi-Fi is an hour they aren't spending on their actual job. If IT problems are regularly distracting employees or managers from their work, external support can give them somewhere to turn and remove that burden from the business. Enabling an external managed IT support provider to oversee and maintain systems will enable staff to focus on priorities. 

6. Compliance pressure

Depending on your industry, regulations, client contracts or internal policies, you may require stronger data protection and clear information trails for audit purposes. If you fail to meet these requirements, then this could lead to a loss of revenue or client partnerships.

An IT provider can help you put appropriate technical controls, documentation and processes in place such as Cyber Essentials, access controls, MFA, patch management, backups, device management and security policies to support your compliance requirements.

7. Unpredictable IT costs

With break-fix support, IT costs can be difficult to predict. A significant failure may result in an unexpected repair bill, while downtime and lost productivity add costs that never appear on the IT invoice.

Managed IT support replaces much of that uncertainty with a predictable monthly cost and an IT partner that already understands your systems.

Explore more information here: Outsourcing IT vs hiring in-house: how UK SMEs should decide

How many of these signs apply to your business?

One occasional IT problem doesn't necessarily mean you need managed support. But if several of these signs sound familiar, particularly recurring downtime, increasing security concerns or employees regularly losing time to technical problems, then your current approach may no longer be keeping pace with your business.

Secure IT systems with Integrity

Deciding on next steps with IT can be complex without the latest information available and expert advice. You don't need to wait for a major IT failure before asking for help. If several of these signs feel familiar, it may be worth reviewing whether your current approach to IT is still right for the business.

Integrity can review your current IT setup, identify potential risks and discuss where external support could make a difference. 

Book a free, no-obligation IT review with our friendly specialist IT support team. We’re always happy to help and give you professional and evidence-based advice.