3 Reasons Manufacturers Should Consider Managed IT Services

If you’re a manufacturer, you know the importance of technology.

managed IT services for manufacturers
As a manufacturer, you undoubtedly rely on technology, so you need reliable support.

You rely on it to store product designs, customer and employee records, and other proprietary information.

At some point, you’ve more than likely experienced what happens when technology fails.

It’s important to have support ready to help you when you need it as to avoid unnecessary downtime.

When you partner with a managed IT service provider (MSP), you put this responsibility into the hands of a trusted technology adviser who can support your IT at any time of the day.

This is only one of the reasons we at The KR Group believe manufacturers are a good fit for managed IT services.

There are three specific benefits manufacturers have when it comes to using managed IT services:

  1. The monthly rate is based on user count
  2. Managed services customers have 24/7 IT support availability
  3. MSP engineers have experience working with manufacturers

Whether you’re looking for a new way to manage your IT or are just beginning to feel overwhelmed by handling IT on your own, managed services will ease the burden for your manufacturing business.

Wait! Need more information about managed IT services? Read our ultimate guide.

Monthly managed services rate is based on a manufacturer’s user count

Many managed service providers, including The KR Group, base their rates on how many users, not employees you have.

When it comes to manufacturers, this is beneficial because, in most manufacturing plants, not every employee needs individual computer access.

While some employees, such as designers and executives, are generally considered full-time users, technicians and other employees on the shop floor are usually discounted.

So, even if you have 100 employees, if only half of them are seated at a computer, that’s how many users you’ll pay for.

(The exact per-user rate depends on your business’s needs, but is typically between $85 and $100.)

Managed service providers are available for 24/7 support

Another thing manufacturers have in common is they often operate well past typical business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If an IT emergency occurs and brings manufacturing to a halt, this can translate to thousands of dollars in lost production.

Having a quick response at any time of the day is necessary for your business’s operations.

managed IT services for manufacturers
MSPs have an engineer available 24/7, so you’ll have someone there to help you whenever an IT problem strikes.

Managed services are designed to meet this demand. There is always an on-staff engineer to address late-night or weekend service requests.

So, if a server goes down at 11 p.m., you can call your MSP with the emergency request, and they’ll alert the on-call engineer to help you as soon as possible.

Even better, MSPs can advise you on hardware redundancy to prevent having any downtime in the first place.

As a note, most agreements include after-hour service in their contract but not all. We advise you to go over these terms in your contract.

Managed service providers have experience with manufacturing business

As a manufacturer, your production is made possible by using specific programs through the creation process of your products. These programs often correlate to specific IT support needs and knowledge on how to solve problems with them.

When it comes to managing your IT environment, this is something to keep in mind.

MSPs work with many manufacturers, which means they more than likely have had experience working with any programs that need particular attention.

This is true for manufacturing ERP software. If you have a problem related to your ERP software, rest assured your MSP has dealt with similar problems before, so its engineers have the back-tested knowledge to quickly resolve your issues. 

Managed services contract options for manufacturers

At The KR Group, we’ve found the best managed services contract options for manufacturers are a traditional contract or co-managed IT service.

1.   Traditional contract

This option is where you completely hand over the management of your IT environment to an MSP.

You don’t have to worry about day-to-day tasks or emergencies. IT is all in the hands of your MSP.

This frees you up to spend time focusing on the tasks that make you money. MSPs are also experienced and efficient in managing and resolving problems related to your technology.

2.   Co-managed contract

If you want to keep some of the control and frequent on-site availability, a co-managed contract will combine in-house IT and managed services.

You can decide how to split the workload, but the most common way manufacturers divide IT labor is having on-site engineers address the day-to-day tasks and tier 1 problems while escalating to an MSP if they need higher-level knowledge or additional assistance.

Can managed services help your manufacturing business?

managed IT services for manufacturers
With an MSP, you’ll always have access to an IT engineer with experience supporting other manufacturers.

All manufacturers rely on IT, so you must have a reliable, knowledgeable support team.

MSPs work with many manufacturing businesses. Not only do they employ highly skilled engineers, but these engineers also have experience working with manufacturing software.

Other benefits of using an MSP if you’re a manufacturer include 24 hours a day, 7 days a week availability and base monthly fees on a per-user, not per-employee, basis.

For more help determining if managed IT services are right for your manufacturing business, check out our free IT Solutions Quick Guide.

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