Surely, you must have heard that creating and growing a business is incredibly difficult. Stats back up this claim, as 90% of startups fail within five years. The top reasons for startup failure include:
Running out of cash, or failing to raise capital,
No market need for the product or service,
Getting out-competed,
Flawed business model, and
Regulatory and legal challenges
You may have noticed that IT issues are nowhere in the top 5 or even top 10 reasons for startup failure. So, given the title of this blog post, you must be wondering where this is headed. To tie things together, allow me to take the help of the popular story of the boiling frog. If you haven’t heard of it, it goes something like this:
"If you place a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will immediately try to jump out to save itself. However, if you place the frog in a pot of cold water and gradually heat it, the frog will not perceive the danger and will remain in the water until it boils to death."
This metaphorical story is often used to illustrate the concept of gradual change or incrementalism. Many startup founders, having grown up surrounded by technology, feel comfortable setting up, using, and troubleshooting multiple devices and even small networks. However, as the startup’s IT infrastructure expands and grows, its complexities grow exponentially. If left unaddressed, the number of IT issues rises, downtime increases, and productivity dips. Much like the frog in the story, such startups are destined to boil.
The moral of the story is that founders and business owners may fail to recognize the trends that little nagging IT issues point toward if they occur slowly over time. This often leads to a lack of action until it's too late. The boiling frog fable reinforces the importance of being vigilant and proactive in addressing challenges or changes, even if they seem insignificant at first.
This blog post shares the telltale signs that alert you of rising temperatures so that you know when it's time to bring in a managed IT services provider.
1. Your IT Person Or Team Is Overwhelmed
It’s not unusual for early-stage startups to not have dedicated IT support. The responsibility for fulfilling that role usually falls on one of the co-founders or early hires who was probably hired to do something else. So, it’s quite normal for startup employees to wear multiple hats and have fluctuations in productivity.
However, if you notice that IT infrastructure and support are taking away valuable time and resources, preventing them from focusing on core business activities, it's a clear sign that it’s time to get dedicated IT support.
Quality IT support ensures that there is little to no downtime, allowing your employees to function efficiently. So, investing in IT support is a must for businesses that want to run their operations smoothly and efficiently.
The demand for IT support is not restricted to technology-intensive startups. Every piece of technology or software is susceptible to issues and will require support at various stages of its lifecycle. While capital-intensive projects such as network upgrades, server migrations, etc. hog the spotlight, it’s the day-to-day tech support that constitutes the backbone of IT operations for the majority of businesses.
Although you may want to jump the gun and hire an in-house IT team, financially it is not the best solution. Startups typically operate on tight budgets and have to thoroughly optimize their spending. So, outsourcing IT to a managed service provider (MSP) offers a more cost-effective solution than hiring and maintaining an in-house IT team, especially in the early stages of growth.
2. You Are Experiencing Rapid Growth
Every startup yearns for the one coveted sign of success, growth. Be it slow and sustained, or rapid, growth puts a lot of strain on your company’s resources. I have discussed how to navigate the challenges of growing a business in an earlier blog post that you can access here: Challenges Of Growing A Business And How To Overcome Them.
The role of IT starts to become more important as your startup grows. Growth is typically accompanied by IT infrastructure upgrades, hiring across departments, and relocation to new office spaces. A managed IT services provider can offer scalable solutions that align with your startup's growth trajectory, allowing you to adapt to changing requirements without significant disruptions.
A managed IT service provider will also help ensure that your IT costs are predictable and low, allowing you to budget more cash flow towards growth. An MSP can even provide valuable consulting and help you align IT with your growth strategy. Involving an IT partner early in your growth phase enables you to scale your IT infrastructure efficiently in a timely manner without experiencing unnecessary technical issues.
3. You Have Security Concerns
Security failures can be devastating for a startup. They are not just a big drain on your productivity but also harm your reputation, making it difficult to acquire and retain customers. So, security needs to be treated as a critical business function to ensure business sustainability. This importance of security is not lost on most businesses. So they will have some basic security measures such as antivirus, anti-malware, firewall, etc. in place.
However, given the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks, startups need more robust security measures to protect their data and systems from the very early stages. Failure to keep up with the dynamic technology, business, and threat landscapes leads to vulnerabilities that can be easily exploited by cybercriminals.
Partnering with a capable MSP helps startups weed out poor security habits, promptly identify and fix vulnerabilities, stay up-to-date with developments in security, and more importantly, effectively protect their data and systems. Overall, early investment in security helps startups build a security-conscious culture, which will be invaluable as they grow and expand.
4. You Have Identified Compliance Requirements
Startups that operate in regulated industries, such as healthcare or finance, have to comply with specific regulations. If you remember, regulatory and legal challenges are among the top 5 reasons for startup failure. So, it is in the best interest of startups to start preparing for compliance from the beginning.
I have discussed how startups can prepare for compliance in detail in an earlier blog post that you can access here: How To Prepare Your Startup For Compliance.
Here are the steps discussed in that blog:
Research your compliance needs
Invest in the right technologies
Conduct a risk assessment
Write policies that mitigate the identified risks
Implement security controls
Establish a system for gathering and retaining evidence of your controls
Establish a system for regular audits and remediation
An MSP can help you with all of the above steps, aiding you in your pursuit of mandatory compliance such as HIPAA or voluntary ones such as SOC 2.
Of course, you can do it on your own, if you have the time and resources, which are both luxuries most startups do not have. Also, compliance audits are costly and time-consuming, so you don’t want to have to repeat them due to mistakes or errors on your part. A seasoned MSP will help you avoid those costly mistakes, enabling you to achieve and maintain compliance more easily.
5. You Are Suffering Frequent Downtime
Downtime arising out of IT issues puts a serious dent in your productivity and business operations. Frequent and extended downtime can be caused by a variety of reasons, including outdated infrastructure, inadequate maintenance, poor management, and poor security. In any case, the occurrence of frequent downtime is one of the most obvious signals that you need reliable IT support.
Company-wide downtime aside, even frequent niggling issues can be a source of disruption and hamper the productivity of your employees. A reliable MSP will provide not just efficient helpdesk support but also proactive IT services that prevent unscheduled downtime or disruptions due to IT issues, and keep your systems running smoothly. So hiring a managed IT services partner is invaluable, especially if your startup depends on high availability.
6. You Are Preparing For A Merger Or Acquisition
If your startup is preparing for a merger or acquisition, you’ll need to develop long-term goals and strategic objectives, and streamline operations, and optimize performance. While preparing for the merger or acquisition, startups will also need to organize and prepare not only their financial documents but also their IT and security policies. Again, a seasoned MSP can be an invaluable partner in this process as they can offer strategic guidance, align IT with business goals, and help prioritize technology initiatives.
7. You Need Major Technology And System Upgrades
To keep up with the changing market conditions, technology landscape, customer expectations, and competition, startups often need to adopt new technologies. Such transitions are typically complex and require a variety of technical expertise in networking, security, cloud, project management, etc.
Most startups are unlikely to have all these necessary expertise in-house. Even if they have some or all of the necessary skills, the startup is better off focusing them on their core business activities. The most viable alternative is to hire an MSP that can provide access to the necessary specialized skills and knowledge. The MSP serves as a useful partner not just for providing guidance and support in implementing the new technologies, but also for managing these technologies effectively.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the right time for a startup to hire a managed IT services provider depends on its specific needs, goals, and growth stage. If the startup identifies any of the signs mentioned above and realizes that IT management is becoming a bottleneck to its success or long-term sustainability, that is an opportune time to explore outsourcing IT to a managed service provider.
If you found this blog post useful, here is some more related content that you might like:
How To Scale IT After Getting Series A Funding For Your Startup
How To Choose The Right IT Service Provider For Your Business?
Comprehensive Guide to Managed IT Services Pricing, Plans, And ROI
Have you noticed any of the above signals at your startup? Does your startup need help managing its IT infrastructure? Click the button below to reach out and learn how Jones IT can help you build and grow your startup.
If you liked the blog, please share it with your friends
About The Author
Hari SubediMarketing Manager at Jones IT
Hari is an online marketing professional with a focus on content marketing. He writes on topics related to IT, Security, and Small Business. He is also the founder and managing director of Girivar Kft., a business services company located in Budapest, Hungary.