Top 10 Signs It’s Time to Switch to a Managed IT Service Provider

By: Core BTS | February 4, 2025

With the increasing complexity of IT environments, a strong managed services provider may be the competitive edge you require

Key Takeaways:
Managed services help control escalating IT costs
Rising security threats require effective solutions
Unplanned downtime can hurt budgets and productivity
Cutting-edge technology and expert guidance can be a competitive edge

More and more businesses are relying on sophisticated IT technology to stay secure, increase productivity, and grow their customer bases. Falling prey to the complexities of doing so can put you at the risk of falling behind in tech-driven industries.

This is why an increasing number of industries are relying on the help of a proven managed IT service provider with essential tasks ranging from managed security services to managed cloud services. Fortune Business Insights points out: 

“The global market is driven by the rising adoption of these services among enterprises in various sectors, such as IT & telecommunications, BFSI [banking, financial services, and insurance], and healthcare, among others. Enterprises are implementing these services in their business units to digitize their business processes, upgrade and innovate their infrastructure, and enhance productivity and scalability.”

An experienced managed IT service provider can help you to:

  • Expand your capabilities
  • Boost efficiency
  • Reduce costs
  • Increase your uptime
  • Ensure your compliance
  • And much more

Here are 10 major signs that your business may need to make the switch.

Sign 1: Escalating and Unpredictable IT Costs

Many organizations are finding their IT budgets spinning out of control, with unexpected hardware, software, and emergency repair costs. Businesses increasingly rely on managed IT service providers to handle critical operational issues.

A Deloitte survey of more than 500 business and technology leaders, including more than 150 C-suite executives, found that nearly 76% had their IT services delivered via third-party models, helping them to reduce costs by 15 to 25%.

Organizations use third parties to cut costs and rely on them “to tackle their greatest challenges, such as protecting their business and keeping up with rapid technological advances.”

Sign 2: Security Breaches Are Increasing

Not only are cyberattacks becoming more frequent, they are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and costly. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report claims the average data breach cost is $4.45 million globally. This has driven many businesses to turn to sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and automation tools to combat threats ranging from supply chain attacks to ransomware attacks.

They also use managed security services that include proactive threat monitoring, advanced security tools, and compliance expertise for protection. 

The best solutions require a managed service provider (MSP) with a “security-first  mindset.” This is a partner that cultivates a culture of cybersecurity so that your digital assets are protected, and your digital workplace is made secure. 

Sign 3: Limited In-House Expertise and Bandwidth

There’s no doubt that internal IT teams are overburdened, leading to delays in innovation and adopting best new practices as they try to troubleshoot and put out emergency fires. Often, staying current with technology is beyond the capacity of small in-house teams. Not because they aren’t capable but because the job is too big for the available manpower.

Statistics show that 69% of businesses outsource their IT needs to better access technological expertise. 

With Core BTS, you can draw on the talents of a team of experts to fill in your company’s knowledge gaps. We will conduct an assessment of your capabilities that can include consideration of your:

  • Physical infrastructure
  • Network Infrastructure
  • Security capabilities
  • Disaster and recovery plans
  • Compliance and regulatory adherence
  • Future-proofing and scalability

Sign 4: Increasing Downtime Hurting Productivity

Today, companies require proactive monitoring and 24/7 support to minimize disruptions that can cost huge amounts of time and money and train brand reputations. 

Forbes points out: “If a hospital has medical or diagnostic devices communicating via the internet, for example, even a blip in connectivity can create difficulties. A small business using point-of-sales systems experiencing downed connectivity for a few hours could lose hundreds or thousands of dollars in sales and create customer dissatisfaction.”

A managed IT service provider can help implement an AI solution that predicts and fixes problems before they arise, saving money and eliminating downtime.

Sign 5: Outdated IT Infrastructure Holding Back Innovation

Businesses not only need to be driven to innovate, but they also need an up-to-date, sophisticated IT infrastructure that supports their efforts. Many business executives acknowledge that outdated IT systems are the most significant barrier to growth.

A legacy system can be expensive to maintain and unable to comply with modern demands. Working with a managed IT provider like Core BTS, migrating from a legacy system to a cloud platform can become an opportunity to transform your business rather than just being a technological upgrade.

The modernization of legacy applications to cloud services can provide benefits such as:

  • Enhanced performance
  • Reduced IT costs
  • Increased business agility
  • Seamless integration of business processes

Sign 6: Lack of IT Strategy and Long-Term Planning

Many organizations struggle to align IT with their corporate goals. If serious thought isn’t given to matching technological solutions with business priorities, the results can be wasted opportunities and poor use of limited resources.

The IDC InfoBrief, looking at “the IT role in best-run midsize companies,” points out: “By embedding data and analytics-driven decision support and decision automation capabilities across their technology architectures, midsize companies can augment their employees’ competencies and drive intelligence across all customer-facing and back-office operations.”

The right managed service partner can help you focus on your core competencies in your IT solution and help drive innovation across departments.

Sign 7: Compliance Risks Are Growing

Organizations often handle vast amounts of critical data. Various government agencies globally have set compliance and regulatory frameworks to safeguard this, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

To run afoul of these regulations can result in severe penalties, including hefty fines, and damage to companies’ reputations. So, it is up to each company to stay abreast of the constantly evolving mix of regulations, which might also involve rigorous documentation, reporting, and audits of compliance efforts.

A managed IT services partner like Core BTS can keep atop these regulations for you, ensuring compliance and avoiding serious issues. 

Sign 8: Cloud Migration Challenges

Gartner predicts that “by 2028, cloud computing will shift from being a technology disruptor to becoming a necessary component for maintaining business competitiveness,” with spending expected to exceed $1 trillion in 2027.

So, while cloud migration is necessary, companies often face difficulties securely and effectively making this transition. Typical challenges can include: 

  • Exposing new vulnerabilities
  • Unexpected costs
  • Compatibility issues
  • Network and connectivity bottlenecks
  • And much more.

Core BTS offers clients deep experience in streamlining client migrations to hybrid and multi-cloud environments. We can help you build a modular hybrid infrastructure that minimizes sprawl, controls costs, and enhances resiliency.

Sign 9: Poor IT Support and Employee Frustration

Employees can become frustrated (and their productivity hampered) with slow IT issue resolution and by using outdated tools. This frustration can lead to job switching and hurting companies in industries where attracting and retaining strong talent is difficult.

Staff happiness and productivity improve with fast, effective IT support and modernized technology. Time savings can also be realized when the manual processes of legacy systems are automated with new technology, including AI tools that help you to evolve your operations, empower staff, make for happier customers, enhance decision-making, and provide end-to-end security.

Sign 10: Your Competitors Are Advancing Faster

If you don’t switch to a managed IT service provider who can bring you up to speed with the latest technological solutions, you can be sure that your competitors are leaving you behind. 

According to research from PwC Global, leading companies tend to use managed services to gain an advantage over other industry players. For example, it reveals: 

“How do top companies approach managed services? In a word: strategically. The highest performers in our research are 4.2 times more likely to use MSPs for strategic advantage, beating companies that use them only for cost savings by 43 percentage points of performance premium. Further, companies that use MSPs for strategic advantage are 1.6 times and 2.4 times more likely to be faster to market and more innovative than those focused solely on cost savings.”

Companies who use MSPs strategically outperform significantly businesses that don’t use their services. An MSP can keep you competitive with cutting-edge technology, expert guidance, and scalable solutions.

Don’t Wait to Future-Proof Your IT

The best way to supercharge and future-proof your business is to assess your IT pain points. Do they involve slow response times, crashing websites, data privacy concerns, poor communication, process silos, or something else?

This is where Core BTS comes in. Contact us to start a discussion with one of our expert professionals about what ails you when it comes to IT. This will be a welcome first step in developing a technological solution that will put you a step ahead, rather than trailing behind.

Core BTS is a digital transformation consultancy that helps organizations simplify technical complexity, accelerate transformation, and drive business outcomes.

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