Building Business Resilience: How a Managed Services Provider Can Help You Weather Any Disaster

What would happen to your business if you were hit with a data breach or IT failure? Most of us like to think we’d weather the storm and bounce back. Unfortunately, global data tells a different story. 

Recent research conducted by ZipDo found that 60% of small businesses fail within six months of a major disruption. This is a nerve-racking statistic if you care about the longevity of your enterprise. And the reason behind it is simple: Most small business owners are completely unprepared for IT emergencies. When a significant problem arises, they quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the statistics. 

It can be hard to picture something as catastrophic as a ransomware attack taking out your business. However, by 2025, experts are predicting that cybercrime will be costing the world US$10.5 trillion annually. Business is booming for cyber criminals, and they’re targeting companies of all sizes. Then, of course, there are endless other factors that can bring a business to its knees. From economic downturns to natural disasters, you’re really up against it as a business owner in the 2020s. 

The key to surviving these threats lies in one simple word: resilience. A resilient business has the plans, structures, and resources in place to adapt and thrive, regardless of how tough conditions become. This ability to dodge disasters and bounce back from unavoidable blows must be developed from within the business. However, there are some key external partnerships that can truly strengthen your footing. Below, we cover one of the most fundamental partnerships every business owner should consider – outsourced IT from a managed services provider. The right MSP can give you the technology and digital footing you need to grow your business while keeping it safe and secure. This is the foundation for long-term resilience in business. 

Understanding Business Resilience

Before we dive in, let’s take a minute to quickly define our terms:

What is business resilience? Keeping things as simple as possible, business resilience refers to your organisation’s ability to quickly adapt to disruptions while maintaining continuity and safeguarding its people, assets, and overall brand equity. It’s about being prepared for the unexpected and having a plan in place to mitigate risks and recover swiftly.

What is a Managed Service Provider? Commonly clipped to “MSP”, a managed service provider is your IT department on demand. By outsourcing your IT needs to an MSP, you can focus on growing your business while they handle essentials like network management, cybersecurity, cloud services, and more. From 24/7 monitoring to hardware installation, their role is to give you unshakeable security and continuity on the IT front.

How to Build Business Resilience with an MSP

A Managed Services Provider (MSP) can be a game-changer in building business resilience. As mentioned above, MSPs offer a range of services designed to help you manage your IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and other critical operations. As a client, you’ll typically get to custom-select the exact services you need to achieve your goals. For business resilience, these are the core services you’d need to focus on:

• Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance: MSPs like Invotec will continuously monitor your systems to detect and sidestep issues before they escalate into disasters. This proactive approach eliminates unnecessary downtime and keeps everything humming along smoothly. With 24/7 monitoring, you never have to worry about walking into work to find your systems are down or your data has been encrypted. 
• Enhanced Cybersecurity: With cyber threats on the rise, protecting your business data is more important than ever. MSPs provide robust cybersecurity solutions, including firewalls, antivirus software, and regular security audits – all tailored to your business and designed to protect your sensitive information.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Economic conditions can change drastically in a matter of weeks. If you want to be truly resilient, your business needs to be able to adjust accordingly. MSPs offer scalable packages that can float with your changing needs, ensuring you only ever pay for what you use.
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: The best MSPs will help you develop and implement a comprehensive disaster recovery plan for your enterprise. This should include regular data backups, cloud storage solutions, and strategies to quickly restore operations if a disruption does occur. 
• Cost Efficiency: By outsourcing your IT needs to an MSP, you can reduce the costs associated with hiring and training in-house staff. MSPs provide access to a team of experts at a fraction of the cost, allowing you to allocate resources more effectively. Invotec goes a step further and sets you up with IT experts who are also specialists in your industry. All the costs of recruiting, training, and retaining the world’s best IT talent falls on your MSP – you just get to enjoy the advantages. 

Business Resilience in 2024 and Beyond

Beyond the IT basics, MSPs can contribute to every aspect of business resilience. Here’s just a taste of what a quality managed services provider can help you achieve: 

• Digital Transformation That Doesn’t Feel Like Pulling Teeth: Getting on board with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer optional for most businesses. These technologies do come with a bit of a learning curve, but if you choose wisely, they can enhance your operational efficiency, provide deeper insights through data analytics, and improve your decision-making processes. A good MSP will guide you through this digital transformation, helping you integrate your chosen tech seamlessly and with minimal disruption to your team.
• Agility and Flexibility in Practice, Not Just on Paper: The ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances is a key component of business resilience. This means having flexible IT infrastructure that can scale with your business needs and pivot as required. The best MSPs offer scalable solutions that bend to suit your specific requirements, giving you a baseline of agility and responsiveness.
• Sustainability That Supports the Planet and Your Profitability: Sustainability is the name of the game in the 2020s, and eco-friendly practices aren’t just about helping the environment. If rolled out correctly, they should also enhance your brand reputation and lead to impressive cost savings. MSPs can help you adopt cost-saving sustainable technologies and practices, such as energy-efficient data centres and cloud solutions.
• A Resilient Workforce That’s Open to Change: A resilient business requires a resilient workforce. Employee well-being, opportunities for continuous learning, and a positive work culture are vital ingredients for building a resilient team. MSPs can support these efforts, giving you tools and solutions that enhance remote work capabilities, collaboration, and productivity. To learn more about these services, take a look at our article covering the top collaboration tools and for hybrid teams. 

Why Work with an MSP?

A Managed Services Provider can give your business the unshakeable foundation needed to weather whatever storms come your way. From proactive monitoring to disaster recovery, MSPs have the tools and expertise you need to keep your business running smoothly, no matter the economic climate.

Whether you’re in education, healthcare, construction, or professional services, Invotec has a team specialising in your industry. We’ll work with you to develop the right strategy to protect your business and set it up for growth and success. Regardless of what comes your way, Invotec will be in your corner, keeping your business strong and your data safe.