Do You Need IT Support For Your Small Business?

 A Deep Dive Into IT Support & Why Your Small Business Internet Provider Should Include These Services

Running a small business is incredibly rewarding. It can also be exceptionally hectic-especially when it comes to dealing with ever-changing, continuously evolving technology. Technology, in so many ways, makes running our businesses easier and more streamlined than ever when everything is working in harmony. But what happens when-for some reason-something isn't in sync?

If you've ever dealt with a frustrating technology headache, you know how quickly it can disrupt your workflow. Technology cannot exist as a saving grace on its own-it needs qualified experts who are capable of tackling any issues that arise as quickly and efficiently as possible to help you get your business back on track.

In other words, it needs IT Support.

What is IT Support?

It’s impossible to really illustrate why your small business internet provider should include crucial IT support if we haven’t quite explained what makes IT support crucial to begin with. That’s why we’re breaking down a basic definition of IT support is, what it does, and why we think you should care if you’ve got it or not.

Generally speaking, an IT Support Team is a dedicated group of professionals who are expertly capable of fixing, maintaining, updating, upgrading, and overall caring for the health and wellness of the internet and technology you use in your small business. This could apply to literally any type of tech-but for our purposes, we're talking specifically about small business internet and the team that handles it.

In terms of your internet, an IT team would:

• Fix or replace any broken or malfunctioning devices that work with your internet connection
• Offer on-demand IT service—AKA anytime, no matter what
• Safeguard your internet experience consistently—likely providing business internet security to fortify your connection and protect your data

IT support is crucial for your day-to-day operations. But truthfully, IT support is vital for more overarching, catastrophic reasons, too. IT teams are there to help you combat and prevent cybercrime that could steal private data, valuable information, and beyond. It's their job to be responsible for setting up defenses, acting quickly when something goes wrong, and implementing crucial data recovery plans if anything ever does happen.

While many enterprise companies have internal IT teams that can dedicate the resources to dealing with these particular issues, it's unlikely that all small-to-midsized businesses can do the same. Even if an internal IT team does exist for a smaller business, it's likely that the IT team is focusing on a handful of issues-not just small business internet issues.

In our opinion, it's crucial for small businesses to have one, dedicated team that's entirely devoted to the health and maintenance of small business WiFi. Why? Because while tech is a great expediter and streamliner for workflow, when something goes wrong it can also present enormous roadblocks. Having a team that's focused on preventing these roadblocks-and quickly handling them if they do arise-is crucial to your small business' success.

Why Your Small Business Internet Provider Should Include IT Support

We’ve already made it pretty clear that we believe IT support for your small business internet should come directly from a dedicated, reliable team that’s solely focused on this aspect of your tech needs—but we also want to make it clear that we think your internet provider should be the one offering this service to you.

Why do we believe that your small business internet provider should shoulder this responsibility? Because in our eyes, it's their job to make running your business easier and more efficient.

When your internet provider offers you IT support, you get to reap a ton of benefits, like:

• Maximized efficiency
• Enhanced business internet security
• Saving time and money
• Receiving in-the-loop updates and tech advancements
• On-demand, around the clock support
• Customized care
• More time and resources to better serve your own customers

Truthfully, you've got enough to worry about when you're running your own business. Being responsible for fixing the internet or learning how to understand a new piece of technology might not necessarily be tasks you want to add to your to-do list. We don't think they should have to be.

Understanding Business Tech Support: Frequently Asked Questions

IT Support isn’t always the simplest topic to understand, especially for business owners who don’t identify as tech-savvy. But that doesn’t mean the conversation surrounding IT Support needs to be confusing or overwhelming.

We've made it our mission to demystify the topic of IT support for your small business. In an effort to do just that, we've laid out some of the most commonly asked questions about IT support in these circumstances. Read on to find answers to your burning IT questions. Don't see your question here? We encourage you to reach out to us at any time-we'll gladly help you find an answer or solution to your IT question.

What Exactly is IT Support?

IT Support is essentially the person or team in charge of tackling any issues that arise for a specific area of technology. In the situation we're talking about, we're referring directly to internet connectivity issues. So, an IT support team that's dedicated to that (hopefully as part of your internet provider package) would focus their efforts on mitigating risks, replacing broken devices, remedying internet connection issues, offering on-demand technical support, creating and implementing protection plans, and offering you solutions to any IT issues that arise.

At their most simplistic definition, an IT Support team should be streamlining your tech devices and connections while taking the headaches out of tech use.

Where Can I Find an IT Support Team For My Small Business?

Ultimately, only you can make the right choice about what company is going to be the best partner for you. Ideally, your small business internet provider would offer you some kind of managed service plan or business tech support that tackles all of this for you. There are several other options available, too. It's always possible to construct your own internal IT team that handles these sorts of issues, but it's worth noting that unless you have the capital to allow them to focus solely on internet issues around the clock, they'll likely need to divide their time and they typically cannot work all hours of the day and night.

What Does On-Demand Business Tech Support Look Like?

Every company out there is going to offer a wide variety of tech support. So, we truly can't speak for other companies or internet providers. We are happy to lay out what our business tech support looks like, though. For example, at Suddenlink Business, we focus on business tech support that:

• Prepares for and combats against technical issues that could harm your business
• On-demand technical support for all of your connected devices—no recordings or waiting on hold, you’ll deal with a real person every time
• Offers Safeguard service protection that deals with common problems like disruptions or building wiring issues
• Priority access to our customer service representatives
• 24/7 technical support
• Replacing or fixing broken devices no matter when or where you bought them for one flat rate
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• Help with malware and viruses

Should My IT Support Team Be Able to Fix a Broken or Malfunctioning Device—Or is it All Just About Remedying Internet Connection Issues?

Absolutely! IT Support should be able to tackle any device or equipment issues-especially if they are affecting your internet connection. Ultimately, your tech support plan should be able to fix whatever needs fixing.

When Should an IT Support Team Be Available to Help Me?

In our opinion, all hours of the day. As a small business, you know that not everything happens during a 9-5 timeline. You need to be able to reach your IT Support team whenever something goes down-even if it's at midnight on the weekend over a nationally-recognized holiday.

Who Can I Talk to For Answers to My IT Questions?

We happily volunteer! We have an entire team of experts on standby who are ready and willing to answer any and every IT support question you might have. Reach out to us at your convenience.

Suddenlink Business Has Your Back: We Offer On-Demand IT Support For Your Small Business

Suddenlink Business is much more than just an internet provider—we’re an internet partner. To us, that means offering your cutting-edge technology with next-level, dependable connection, but it also means making sure that you’re never left to deal with issues on your own. Our seamless IT support is here for you no matter what happens, no matter when it happens. Enjoy dependable services and reliable plans through our customizable, Managed Services and Business Premier Technical Support.

We believe this service is so important, we offer it to businesses of all sizes and scopes-even those who work remotely or from home. Try Business Premier Technical Support with one month free for remote workers. Try Business Premier Technical Support with one month free for remote workers!