Do you like surprises? The answer probably depends on the context. You welcome surprises like lottery winnings and visits from an old friend. But surprises like, “Hey, we need an extra $5,000 to finish this project that’s already started” are very unwelcome. That’s where a contingency comes in.

The overwhelming responsibilities of IT are stressful. As if daily new security threats weren't enough, you're also keeping up with general troubleshooting and network administration demands. You're facing more pressure to perform amid staffing shortages and a global pandemic that crammed five years of technology advancement into a few months. It just never feels like there are enough hands to respond to day-to-day end-user support needs while ensuring the network runs as securely and efficiently as possible.

You have a capable IT team, but projects seem to drag on forever. Plus, you never have time to optimize your technology or plan for improvements because day-to-day support consumes all your attention. You outsource some specialized functions, but a third party can't completely take tasks off your plate when they require assistance from your team to gain network information and access.

You have no problem setting up a new computer at home. It’s not difficult and doesn’t take very long. So why is your IT company adding hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars for labor to install new computers in your business? This is the number one most common question we get when we install new or replacement computers. So, let’s break down exactly what goes into installing a new computer in a business environment and what you can expect to pay for that service.

The five areas to consider when choosing a managed service provider (MSP) are: Customer service. Product and service offerings. Organization and culture. Security practices. Account management. When your business outgrows the DIY approach to IT, you may consider outsourcing IT functions to a managed service provider (MSP). Or, maybe you've been working with an IT vendor who is no longer meeting your needs and you're ready to make a change. Once you've decided that managed IT services are the right option for managing your IT, how do you choose the best MSP partner? In this article, we'll walk through the five areas to consider when evaluating a potential managed service partner for your business. As a managed service provider, Innovative gets a lot of questions from businesses choosing an MSP. While we certainly follow MSP best practices, we're not the perfect fit for every business. For the remainder of this article, we'll remove ourselves from the equation and present an unbiased outline of how to evaluate a managed service provider.

Your business will need IT help at some point. You’ll likely find yourself researching different IT support companies to find the best provider to support your devices and network.

You've been managing IT functions in your business on your own, or with some limited help. You're starting to feel like a more cohesive approach to IT could benefit your business. Your current "just fix it when it's broken" method isn't working. Managed IT services let you sleep better, knowing that an experienced business technology team is managing your IT infrastructure and systems. Managed IT services is the administration and oversight of the technology functions and infrastructure within your business by an outsourced, third-party provider, usually called a managed services provider (MSP). The most common managed IT services include: Network monitoring and management. Help desk support. On-site IT service. Remote tech support. IT consulting. Disaster recovery Data backup. Anti-virus and threat detection. Cloud solutions.

“Why are you so expensive?” This is one of the most asked questions by our existing and prospective clients. So, someone must answer it. Lucky me. We will discuss the difference between tech support and managed IT services and the cost associated with each of them. Here at Innovative, we are a managed IT services provider, but understand that our services aren’t the best fit for every business. As such, we are going to provide you with an honest assessment of the cost of managed IT services and break/fix tech support. The goal of this article is to provide you with the information necessary to understand the cost of managed IT services and break/fix tech support. With this knowledge, you can make the right choice for you and your business.

75% of small and mid-sized businesses report using some type of outsourced IT partner, and 39% are working with a managed service provider (MSP). [Source] Why are so many businesses seeing the need to outsource their IT? Of the businesses choosing to invest in a partnership with an MSP, what benefits do they see?

A managed service provider, or MSP, is a third-party that delivers an essential business function. Usually this refers specifically to IT functions. MSPs work under a subscription model, rather than a per-hour or per-call rate charged by on-demand or break/fix vendors. With on demand service providers, response to issues as they arise can cause unpredictable costs and outages. By contrast, an MSP is a business partner that proactively manages and assumes responsibility for an agreed upon set of services.