Why is Proactive IT Support Important for your Business?

Are slow computers disrupting your work too much? Are there times when you feel like your productivity levels are dipping because of recurring IT issues? If you do, then it’s highly likely that your business has a reactive IT support approach – your IT team is solving or reacting to glitches after they happen. Traditional IT support tends to be reactive, causing more downtime and even potentially pause your business.

And that is why the preference for proactive IT support is on the rise. Businesses now actively demand proactive IT support. So, what is proactive IT support and why is it so important for your business? Our Managed IT support team answers.

Reactive IT Support vs Proactive IT Support

As the name suggests, reactive IT support refers to solutions that arrive after a disruption has occurred already. It’s also called a break-fix approach. Here, no action is taken until an issue happens, which means there will be a pause in your productivity till the issue is fixed. Reactive IT support causes an extended downtime.

On the other hand, proactive IT support works on two principles- round the clock monitoring of IT systems and technology consulting for identifying solutions. The main aim of proactive IT support is to prevent common problems from happening in the first place. This is done through intelligent software technology. For example, at Computing Australia, we use our proprietary CloudSuite software to monitor clients’ critical infrastructure in real-time and 24/7. This lets us identify potential disruptions and enables our consultants to fix issues before they occur.

Why is proactive IT support important for your business?

Efficient IT systems are necessary for your staff to perform their best and for your customers to receive excellent services. An adequate IT support will not only help in maintaining productivity but will also boost employee morale. Here are six reasons that perfectly explain the importance of proactive IT support for any business.

1. Less downtime

One key feature of this form of support is that it functions in the background and beyond working hours. So, you wouldn’t have to worry about a system breaking down or a data breach occurring when you’re not at the office. By monitoring your systems 24/7, the technicians will be able to spot weak spots in your IT infrastructure before they become issues that bring your business to a standstill. By partnering with a reliable, proactive IT support team, you’ll have a workflow that suffers little to no downtime.

2. Boost in productivity

Experienced proactive IT support providers will help you streamline all your technological processes and boost the efficiency of your business as a whole. By making sure all your systems are working in perfect condition, they’ll be able to remove the hurdles that disrupt your employees’ productivity. When frustrations caused by slow systems and system failures are removed, your employees will be able to focus more on their job and perform at their maximum potential.

3. Keep your data safe

Proactive IT support will keep your critical business information safe. With cybercrimes on the rise, the risks of data protection are also rapidly rising. By installing state-of-the-art antivirus software and anti-malware systems, the engineers will be able to safeguard your database. They will also create backups, establish cloud-ready security, manage firewalls and patch updates, and create customised IT solutions to prevent cyberattacks.

4. Reduction in notifications and error reports

No one likes being bombarded with noisy notifications and error reports when they’re working. However, if your business has a record of recurring IT issues, these notifications are unavoidable. They break the concentration of your employees and have an adverse impact on your business output. Proactive IT support combats this issue by making sure all your systems and applications are up-to-date. The IT support providers can even help you arrange the updates such that they happen outside work hours. All the potential IT issues will be dealt with, and you won’t have to worry about notifications and updates that disrupt your workflow.

5. Avoid major IT issues

A proactive approach to IT management will help in identifying and preventing major IT issues. Routine maintenance and regular monitoring will resolve all the minor problems before they snowball into show disruptors. Also, since remedial measures are being taken in real-time and your critical IT systems are well maintained, there are fewer possibilities for critical issues in the future. If IT issues do happen, Proactive IT support providers will help you create long-term solutions that will minimise the probability of them recurring.

6. Cost efficiency

If you’re concerned about the expenses of maintaining 24/7 monitoring and regulating IT support, consider this – prolonged IT system downtime will cost you a fortune. The costs associated with repairing a complete system failure and loss of work hours will be much higher than the financial investment required for proactive IT support. Additionally, partnering with experts in the field will ensure your infrastructure is in line with the advancing industrial and technological trends. You’ll be able to reduce cybersecurity risks and make cost-effective technological choices.

‘Prevention is always better than cure’ holds true for your business IT systems too. Adopting proactive IT management will save you money and boost your productivity and offer you more security. Much like health issues in living beings, IT issues too can be identified and treated efficiently in time through a proactive approach. Do you feel your IT support isn’t up to par or not proactive enough? Contact us or email us at helpdesk@computingaustralia.group and talk to a Computing Australia consultant. We have been providing strategic and managed IT support for businesses in Western Australia for over two decades.

Jargon Buster

IT infrastructure – It is the group of digital and physical resources and services that constitute the working environment of an enterprise.
Cloud-ready security – Cloud-ready security programs are data-centric strategies that focus on risk mitigation and help in maintaining continuous security and compliance.
Managed IT Services – Managed IT services allow businesses to outsource the ‘responsibility’ of monitoring and maintaining the IT systems. The service provider assumes the responsibility here, unlike traditional IT support.