Great Lakes Computer Corporation

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You Hire a Mechanic for Your Car, Why not an MSP for Your IT?

For most people, owning a vehicle means you occasionally need to take your car to the shop for maintenance or repair because you simply lack the expertise – and most people don’t think twice about doing so. But, those same people are using the internet to operate their business and choosing to handle the complex management of their IT function themselves because they don’t think they can afford an IT person. They’re wrong!

What can a Managed Services Provider do for you?

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Simple Solutions to Productivity Blockers

managed serviceTechnology makes our lives easier… most of the time.  But sometimes, getting that technology to work the way it should when it should takes more work than we’d like it to. How often have you been held up because your office printer is giving you error messages or failing to sync with your laptop? Ever lose data in a system crash? These hurdles can put a major dent in your productivity. Here are a few smart solutions to those productivity blockers. Make your technology work for you, not the other way around.

Productivity Blocker: Disorganized and Insecure Files and Documents

If your office still relies on file cabinets full of business-critical documents, you’re probably working slower than you can be. Not only does it take time to look for what you need, but how many of those documents are outdated or irrelevant? File cabinets are also poorly secured generally. Proper security measures, like key locks, tend to be left by the wayside because it’s a hassle for staff to deal with. Physical documents are also at risk of catastrophic loss in the event of a fire or other disaster.

If only there were a way to store files digitally in a single location that is secure and features automated backup. But there is! Cloud computing allows you to find information with keyword searches, password-protect certain documents to restrict access to authorized users, track viewers, and even access sensitive documents securely via mobile devices or laptops. Every document is also backed up automatically. You get redundancy, easy access, up-to-date applications, and enhanced security. Think how much time you’ll save!

Productivity Blocker: Limited IT Support

It is the nature of technology to glitch on occasion. Additionally, proper maintenance and updates are rarely executed as recommended. Staff may overuse or underutilize hardware, and both can lead to shortened life span of your costly IT equipment. If you are able to afford an in-house IT person they likely spend most of their time fire fighting instead of focusing on growth projects. If you don’t have an IT person on staff, you probably have employees interrupting their tasks to try to patch the issues as they arise.

All of these factors combined can be a huge hurdle to daily productivity, but there’s an easy fix. Hire a Managed Services Provider. An MSP is a dedicated support resource that can remotely monitor and manage your IT systems in real-time. They can resolve many issues without you ever experiencing slow downs or issues. They can review your current infrastructure and make strategic recommendations that will help optimize your data flow.

Productivity Blocker: Poor Printer Performance

Most businesses don’t fully recognize the level of waste involved in document printing. The obvious waste comes from printing at high quality when draft would suffice and unnecessary or accidental printing (we’ve all accidentally printed a 30 page document when we only needed a portion of it, right?). The unseen costs to the business come from underutilized printers, failing to conduct regular maintenance, and running too many printers unnecessarily.

Managed Print Providers (MPP) can reduce your total printing costs up to 30% right out of the gate. They conduct an initial assessment of your print function and develop a series of recommendations that will streamline your print operations. They identify waste and implement strategies to reduce it. They keep your printer fleet updated and running optimally.

Great Lakes Computer Corporation can make your business more productive.

We provide a wide range of IT services to help SMBs work more efficiently. We are an MSP, MPP, and cloud solution provider. We also offer security services, backup and recovery, and more. If you’re IT management is interfering with your productivity, call us. We know we can help. 

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5 Ways Managed Print Benefits Your Business

managed print servicesWhen you have existing printers you’ve already bought and paid for, it’s tempting to think that maintaining your existing fleet will cost less than purchasing new printers or signing up with a managed print services (MPS) provider. Why replace them if it’s not absolutely necessary?

The costs of an aging fleet stack up, and in the long term, managed print services are able to save you more than just money. Here are five benefits MPS could bring to your business.

  1. Cost savings

    The consequences of sticking with an old printer are sometimes hidden, and can work at various levels, from running out of toner when you want to print an essential document, to the device breaking and your IT department being too busy to fix it. These consequences cost money, and the benefit of using managed print services is that you have the maximum availability of print when you need it most.

    An MPS provider will look for ways to rationalize and consolidate your printers, replacing many old, large laser printers with a smaller number of newer, better distributed, faster devices or multi-function printers with all the necessary functions built in. Costs are visible and predictable, and you never have to worry about the expense of replacing ink and toners at different times across the business.

    Maintaining your old printers might seem to help you keep costs low in the short term, but in the long term you’ll miss out on cost-saving opportunities, while facing expenses and uncertainties that MPS providers are there to alleviate.

  2. Efficiency

    Old printers waste valuable time, which always has an impact on the bottom line. Not only does the time spent waiting for a slower printer really add up over a business year, but every paper jam and malfunction means more wasted time that could be used more productively.

    An MPS provider will come in and analyze your business, printers and requirements in terms of printing, scanning and copying. This doesn’t mean pushing expensive hardware into every corner of the business, but instead they will look at where teams need specific capabilities, then will find the printer/s that will match those needs.

    A really good provider will go further and look at ways that the business overall can print more efficiently, and save money by reducing the everyday print costs.

  3. Minimized downtime

    In many organisations, employees can end up spending excessive amounts of time dealing with printers – not just waiting for old, slow devices to print, but dealing with malfunctions, changing cartridges, adding paper or waiting for someone from IT to fix a problem.

    A good MPS provider will help reduce support costs and minimize downtime. Because it’s their job to maintain your printers and keep them running with a steady stream of supplies, your own IT team frees up its time to work on other projects.

  4. Up-to-date security

    Newer printers have better tools for maintenance, management and most importantly, security. This has never been more important, with every old and outdated device now a potential security risk. Options like pull-printing, cloud printing and printing from mobile devices have gone from being expensive extras to standard features, while NFC and ID card-based authentication are no longer the preserve of larger businesses.

    MPS providers are there to sort out things like security updates or rapid changes to firmware. With more threats out there and greater penalties for data breaches, that’s good news for businesses of every size.

  5. Environmental benefits

    Do your existing printers have effective, high-performance duplex printing enabled? If not, you could be missing out on features that could save you up to 40% of your paper costs, according to some studies.

    MPS providers look for ways to reduce waste, helping businesses make more effective use of more advanced printers and functions. Such printers have management features that prevent or discourage wastage, can restrict the use of color, make duplex printing the default, or switch on pull printing, so that print jobs only print when actively requested from the printer. This can see drastic reductions in the number of printed pages left abandoned in the output tray.

    Meanwhile, more modern, high-quality draft and eco-printing settings could use up to 50% less ink than standard modes, while producing output that’s easily good enough for both internal and external usage.

Great Lakes Computer Is a Trusted Managed Print Services Provider

Great Lakes Computer Corporation is a managed print provider. We offer a free print cost assessment to help you identify what your current print function looks like in terms of productivity and wasted resources. We can tell you if our Managed Print Program is the right fit for you and what you could potentially save. Contact us today to try it out.

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Article written by ITPRO.CO.UK

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