How innov8 can save you money with managed IT

You communicate with your employees and coworkers via Slack or Microsoft Teams, schedule a Zoom call, and search Google Drive for yesterday’s file.

As our world is catapulted into the digital era, it’s a familiar structure for many businesses with or without a managed IT team—cloud storage, video meetings, and a space for virtual water cooler talk. But, if your IT infrastructure sounds anything like the mock company above, you may have fallen victim to overspending on IT.

Stovepipe IT architecture

This typical build, which innov8’s managed IT experts named “stovepipe IT architecture,” involves layering multiple digital resources when a single program can fill the same role.
Take Microsoft, for example. Are you already using Microsoft Teams to keep in touch with your coworkers as the world shifts to working from home? You can drop Google Drive for Microsoft’s OneDrive and host video conferences directly in Microsoft Teams, effectively saving not one but two monthly subscription services.

Duplicating software

Our managed IT experts often find companies pay for unnecessary products or services.
Antivirus software, such as Norton or McAfee, are great examples. Both products fill the same role, and when purchased and installed together on one machine, can actually cause more harm than good, not only to your company’s wallet but to the computer itself.
Programs that run in the background, such as antivirus software, use a portion of your machine’s allotted RAM—or random-access memory. Running two programs puts undue strain on your computers and limits productivity.

Paying for more storage than you need

Paying too much for backup storage when you purchase a top-tier storage solution is a common pitfall.
Called "block storage", this structure is found among most cloud service providers—pay a set dollar amount for a predetermined amount of storage.
But what if your team works primarily with text files and doesn’t need 2TB of storage? With a managed IT provider like innov8, we can provide cloud storage solutions where you pay only for the storage you require, not for a predetermined block.

How managed IT can help save money and create efficiencies

You don’t hammer with a screwdriver. A managed IT provider ensures your team has the right tool for the right job. Our free network assessment finds opportunities in your business’ tech stack and can help you be proactive in future IT decisions saving you time and $$.
If you acquire software through an IT team, your business can reap the benefits of innov8’s buying power to drive prices lower than if you bought them yourself.
And, if your small business doesn’t require full-time IT personnel, innov8’s Managed IT Department gives you multiple experts ready to solve your technical and digital needs.