Are managed IT services for manufacturing facilities worth the investment? How can manufacturer benefit from outsourcing IT? These are all common questions we hear from manufacturing facilities.
For the manufacturing industry, it is critical to have an IT environment is productive, secure, and efficient. By partnering with a managed IT provider, your business will be able to focus on your products and product distribution without needing to worry about your IT failing you and causing unexpected delays or security incidents. A cyber attack can negatively affect your businesses in a number of ways.
Other benefits of outsourcing IT are consistent costs, budgetary planning, increased productivity, and access to skilled IT experts. Let's dive a little deeper into some of these benefits to see if outsourcing IT may be the right decision for your facility.
1. Consistent Costs & Budgetary Planning
All your IT equipment and services fall under one umbrella with a managed IT provider. You only have one fixed cost to account for, which is paid consistently. This makes paying for a secure and productive IT environment easy to budget.
Your MSP will assist with long- or short-term budget planning when outsourcing IT. This is a great way to ensure there are never unexpected costs or fees. All payments will be planned for, and any anticipated expenses will be discussed between your organization and the MSP to ensure that a sound payment plan is implemented.
Managed IT budgetary planning occurs when you first partner with an MSP and quarterly every year. This is referred to as a quarterly business review. Your organization will meet with a vCIO to discuss how your IT environment is doing, changes that need to be implemented, and a strategic payment plan to meet your financial needs. Financial planning is a great way to ensure that money is spent effectively.
2. Cybersecurity Risk Reduction
Many manufacturing facilities assume that they wouldn't be a target for cyber threats, but that is not the case. Recently, the top dairy milk supplier in New England, Hood, was targeted in a cyber attack. This attack forced hood to shut down 13 dairy plants around the country, temporarily.
The closures meant that Hood had to get rid of some dairy products and experienced delivery delays until they could get back up and running. They were also unable to manufacture new products or receive new raw materials, including milk. One cyber-attack affected their entire supply chain.
This attack should be an eye-opener for all manufacturing facilities to implement robust cyber security tools and protocols in their business. Many hackers target manufacturing facilities because they know a ransomware attack's financial impact.
If a hacker is able to halt production, a manufacturing company is likely to pay the ransomware fee to ensure that they can get back up and running as soon as possible. The longer it takes them to get control of their systems, the more money that is lost.
By hiring an MSP, you can receive the latest cybersecurity tools and processes to mitigate the risk of a threat. Avoiding cybersecurity threats can keep you safe from downtime, financial loss, and a poor reputation.
3. Increase Productivity & Minimized Downtime
Manufacturing businesses benefit from outsourcing IT because it allows them to focus on production without worrying about managing their IT environment. They can then put their energy into growth and production while their IT runs seamlessly in the background.
In manufacturing operations, it is critical to have a secure environment. Any malicious hack could result in your company not producing what you need. Downtime after a ransomware attack can range from 2 to 3 weeks. This can hurt your reputation and result in financial loss.
4. Access to Skilled IT experts
Manufacturing IT support gives you access to a team of experts to assist you with any immediate issues or concerns. Service requests can be quickly submitted, and a quality provider will have fast response times to help you get back up and running.
Your organization will also have access to a vCIO. A vCIO is a virtual chief information officer that will work with your business to implement the proper solutions in your environment and help you to create a long-term IT strategy.
Meetings with your vCIO will typically be scheduled every quarter to discuss any immediate concerns or goals for your IT environment. This ensures that you can communicate expectations and provide a successful partnership with your outsourced managed IT provider.
Ready to Speak to a Managed IT Provider?
Outsourcing IT to a managed IT provider is an excellent option for manufacturing businesses. An MSP can help optimize your IT environment, give you access to a team of IT experts, and work with you to create a long-term, cost-effective budget.
They can also maintain a secure environment to ensure that a cyber attack does not halt manufacturing processes. This ensures that your facility can maximize productivity and allow you to meet distribution goals.
Now that you understand how outsourced managed IT can benefit your manufacturing facility, you can begin to explore the costs and included services available to you. To learn how IT and security solutions could benefit your business, click the button below to speak to an IT expert.
