Changes in the business climate over the past few years have placed significant challenges on smaller businesses. For some it’s been changes in regulatory requirements and for others a continued slowdown in the industry sector they do business in. In addition, technology advances such as cloud computing and social networking coupled with a shortage of IT resources have caused small businesses to look for an alternative to maintaining their IT infrastructure. That alternative is managed services.

Managed services refers to the outsourcing of the computer hardware, software and IT resources to a third party provider so that you can focus your attention on growing your business.

“We have seen a consistent migration to our managed services program over the past two years” says Larry Caretsky, President of Commence Corporation, a provider of cloud based and desktop CRM software. Customers are frustrated with the time and expense associated with maintaining their IT infrastructure and are looking to place this burden on the back of companies like Commence who have the expertise to assist them. There are a lot of advantages to managed services” says Caretsky. “First, we find that many of these firms are working with outdated hardware and software which can be difficult and costly to replace. By moving to managed services they instead get to work with the latest hardware and software available and have their system managed 24/7 by professional engineers. Managed services also enables you to know exactly what your annual expense will be for the services; there are no hidden costs and no surprises. In addition, the annual expense can become an operational cost with tax advantages, and with no IT personnel expense the savings can be substantial.”

“Perhaps the most significant advantage of managed services is that it allows you to focus your energy on doing what you do best – market, sell and provide services to your customers. You did not go into business to manage computer hardware or software” says Caretsky. “These are simply tools to help you automate and streamline internal business processes. Managed services is a trend that will continue into the future and we expect that customers will continue to call on us for these services.”

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