Once merely an option, remote working has become an integral part of business operations because of the pandemic. In fact, Gartner notes that when the pandemic struck, 88% of organizations encouraged or required employees to work from home. While this setup has been largely beneficial to companies, the experience hasn’t exactly been the best for some remote workers.

Running a business without an IT specialist is like driving without a seatbelt on. You’re aware of the risks that can halt your activities, but you’re not doing much to mitigate those threats. Should you opt to fly solo and not partner with an a managed IT services provider (MSP), beware that you’re putting your business at risk of the following:

1. System vulnerabilities to cyberattacks
Managed IT services providers handle your entire IT infrastructure.

Did you know that almost all data breaches include a social engineering element? Weak login credentials and processes are an open invitation to attackers, who routinely exploit such things simply because it’s far easier than hacking a highly secured database.

Every person on a team is unique, and this diversity of skills and perspectives is part of what makes a team successful. But the differences in personality also make managing employees a tad bit challenging.

Managing a diverse group of people in a face-to-face setting is already a handful.

Small- and medium-sized business owners dream of seeing their organization grow and thrive. To achieve success, they give customers value for their money, provide stellar customer service, and leverage technology to save on operating and marketing costs.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way enterprises operate worldwide, and businesses in Rock Port and Maryville, Missouri are no exceptions. With stay-at-home orders issued across the Show-Me State, business leaders had to think quickly and formulate a plan that would allow them to continue operations, serve customers, and ensure revenue.

The “new normal” is projected to see businesses’ increased reliance on cloud-based solutions, and with it, more numerous and sophisticated cyberattacks. But not all cyberattacks that target small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs) are about shutting down systems or withholding data for ransom.

Even before a stay-at-home order was issued in different states, remote working had already been a growing trend. In 2019, about 4.7 million workers across the United States spent half of the workweek being productive from their homes. The numbers are sure to get higher, as enterprises have begun adopting remote work arrangements to keep operations running during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The individual components of your business’s IT systems need to work seamlessly — even more so with the COVID-19 crisis now forcing companies to depend on a distributed workforce. When they don’t, you are bound to suffer losses. These are the top three losses businesses suffer the most because of IT downtime.

Power outages, floods, equipment failure, cyberattacks, and other disasters lead to downtime and lost revenue. Without a proper disaster recovery (DR) strategy, your business will spend an exorbitant amount to repair damages and restore operations.

And since a large portion of business operations rely on collected data like medical records, vendor information, and payroll details, having no qualified DR plans puts your company at serious risk of data loss.