At its core, enterprise collaboration is all about the free flow of information across the entirety of an organization. It’s about breaking down those silos that typically exist and making sure that everyone has access to all critical data and insight, anywhere and at any time.
It leverages the best that modern technology has to offer to empower communication and collaboration – guaranteeing that all employees can function as part of a larger team, regardless of where in the world they’re located.
If you’re trying to build the actual IT infrastructure to make collaboration possible with your own in-house resources, it will likely get expensive.
The Rising Costs of Enterprise Collaboration
One of the biggest initial costs associated with enterprise collaboration if you are planning on using in-house resources, is the infrastructure itself. You will need to spend time researching and procuring the hardware and software necessary to bridge the disparate departments of your business.
You need to heavily invest in things like servers and cloud computing. That equipment must be properly deployed and maintained. Every employee needs to be able to access that infrastructure, sometimes remotely. In some situations, this will mean providing them with workstations and other devices.
According to one recent study, the average SMB spends between 2% and 7% of its annual revenue on IT costs alone. Infrastructure-related expenses and the up-front capital investment necessary to enable enterprise collaboration are a big part of the reason why.
Of course, things don’t stop there. You’ll also need to account for ongoing (and often unpredictable) costs like:
- Help desk support. Especially with an infrastructure this complex, employees will run into issues. A help desk needs to be in place to address them quickly to keep everyone as productive as possible.
- Security. You must remain proactive and vigilant to avoid becoming the victim of hackers or other rogue actors with malicious intent. According to another recent study, the average cost of a data breach hit an enormous $4.45 million in 2023.
- Scaling. As your business continues to grow and evolve, your technology needs to be able to do the same. When you bring new employees into the fold, that means acquiring new resources and expanding what you’ve already built.
Yorktel’s expert IT Consulting team draws from nearly 4 decades of experience helping our customers achieve their strategic business objectives. From hardware to software, from the customer premise to the cloud, Yorktel has earned a reputation as a top IT Consulting firm with intimate knowledge of how to roadmap innovative IT solutions and the expertise to bring those solutions to life.
Managed Services: A Solution to Costly Collaboration
The above costs are major pain points for many businesses, especially smaller ones. Thankfully, managed service providers (MSPs) can address all of them, essentially in one fell swoop.
An MSP is a third-party organization that manages the entirety of your IT infrastructure and all associated end-user systems. Based on what they learn about your business and its unique needs, an MSP will provide you with everything – from the hardware necessary to bring that enterprise collaboration infrastructure to life to the software required to make the most of it.
It’s a concept commonly referred to as “infrastructure-as-a-service” or IaaS, and it can save you money in a wide range of different ways.
Reducing Infrastructure Costs
When you set up everything in-house, absolutely all elements of your infrastructure fall to you. If you need to expand your server capabilities, you must research, purchase, install, and maintain the right equipment. If you run into widespread problems, it’s up to you to fix them. If you need to add resources, the burden falls on you. All these costs are often unpredictable due to the somewhat nebulous nature of what you’re doing.
With an MSP, however, all this changes. Even adding resources is as simple as making a phone call to your outsourced provider. All those unpredictable costs are exchanged for one fixed, recurring fee with a crystal clear Terms of Service.
Ensuring Cost-Effective Help Desk & Support
With that MSP agreement, you also get access to a team of people who are experts in not just everything you’ve been provided, but the needs of your business as well. Your relationship with an MSP doesn’t end once your systems are operational. Most come with uptime guarantees and offer 24/7/365 Help Desk support.
All this is done to prevent the type of unexpected downtime that can cost up to $5,600 per minute in some industries.
Bolstering Security & Compliance without Breaking the Bank
This type of managed services relationship can also take care of another concern for most organizations: security. The same team of people who are monitoring your environment to fix and prevent issues are also taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity. They can make sure your enterprise collaboration resources are fully compliant with any and all rules and regulations that a business in your industry has to follow.
They do this at a fraction of the cost it would require you to do it yourself. You don’t have to worry about falling behind on something like compliance because you now have access to experts who are dedicated to preventing that from happening.
Key Considerations When Opting for Managed Services
When choosing a managed services provider to help reduce your enterprise collaboration costs, however, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
For starters, always pick an MSP that properly aligns with your business’ needs and goals. If you’re a law firm, you should choose an MSP with legal industry experience. Don’t choose a company that tries to cram you into a “one size fits all” box when it comes to technology. Choose someone who will use technology to play to the strengths that make you unique.
Likewise, always weigh the cost you’re being asked to pay against the value you’re being provided with. The overall value you get in terms of communication, collaboration, and productivity gains should be quantifiable.
The Advantage of Managed Services for Cost-Effective Collaboration
In the end, using technology to create an environment that prioritizes enterprise collaboration is not a recommendation to remain competitive. It’s a requirement. There’s a clear reason why the enterprise collaboration market size is expected to hit $100.29 billion by 2029 – businesses that embrace this tend to be far more profitable than those that don’t.
Many balk at the fact that enterprise collaboration tends to come with a high price tag attached – but thanks to managed services like those provided by Yorktel, it doesn’t have to be that way any longer. Truly, finding an MSP like Yorktel that is an excellent fit for your business is a way to enjoy all the benefits of enterprise collaboration with as few of the potential downsides as possible.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how to reduce business costs with managed services, or if you’d just like to speak to someone about your business’ own needs in a bit more detail, contact the team at Yorktel today.
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