A Case for Managed IT Services
How Community Banks Can Stabilize Information Technology
And Assure Bank Examination Readiness
Inside this White Paper
Bank’s Strategic Advantages
Top Reasons to Hire MSP
The Bottom Line - Happily Ever After
Why You Should Hire Unicom
FACT:
To hire an “I-T Generalist” with a bachelor’s degree and 0-3 years of experience, you would need to pay roughly $53,000 in annual salary, plus benefits, employment taxes, retirement, etc.
Source: Salary.com
“Banks who hire MSPs for IT support generally enjoy stable systems, lower maintenance costs, more uptime, and less worry.”
Hiring an I-T Managed Service Provider (MSP) can increase efficiency, improve the quality of support, increase the effectiveness of services and resources, enhance end-user satisfaction, and reduce costs.
You absolutely rely on technology to help your bank run efficiently but I-T is most likely not one of your core competencies – and just keeping your systems running can be a major undertaking that distracts you from business-building activities.
Some banks rely on an in-house I-T staff for technical support, but this is not always all it’s cracked up to be. An in-house I-T staff is generally only available for I-T support during working hours – but what do you do when they’re sick, on vacation, busy in a meeting or overloaded during an endemic I-T crisis?
In-house I - T staffs also add high fixed costs to your payroll, and their experience is restricted to what they have learned working for you and their last one or two employers. This gives them a very narrow perspective on overall industry trends and the “ins and outs” of available technologies. And since I-T is not your core competency, you may have limited insight into how well the I-T staff is performing.
For these reasons, many community banks are choosing to rely on a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for I-T maintenance and support.
MSPs give banks easy access to high-caliber I-T support they would not be able to afford in-house. Banks who farm out I-T support generally enjoy stable systems, lower maintenance costs, more uptime, and less worry.
The primary disadvantage of hiring your own internal I-T staff is that you pay for their benefits, their training, and a variety of other costs associated with hiring a new employee. Not to mention, you have to pay them the agreed upon salary regardless of how much I-T work you end up having, which means you could be overpaying based on workload!
IT Support Option Full Time I-T Staff Member Managed Services Provider
Approximate Cost $5,000/month
Salary + benefits
$3,500/month avg. Managed services contract Available Resources Scalability Options 1 Person None
Seasoned certified experts with vast backgrounds of I-T experience
Excellent
Technical Capabilities Strong:
• PC support
Strong: • PC support
• Network and server administration
• Patches and upgrades
Limited experience: • Data backup
• Business continuity planning
• Security protocols
• Product selection and procurement
• Project management
• Licensing
Little or NO experience: • Infrastructure design and
implementation
• Network design and implementation
• Disaster Recovery Planning
• Industry trends and best practices
• Strategic business use of technology
• Network and server administration
• Patches and upgrades
• Data backup
• Business continuity planning
• Unified Threat Management
• Product selection and procurement
• Project management
• Licensing
• Infrastructure design and implementation
• Network design and implementation
• Disaster Recovery Planning
• Strategic business use of technology
• Industry trends and best practices
• PLUS
o 24/7 system monitoring and support
o Remote, overnight patches and upgrades
IT Support Option Full time IT staff member MSP entire organization
Availability • 40 hours a week, usually only during
normal 8 to 5 business hours.
• 24 x 7 x 365 service
• Fixed monthly fee, no overtime
The strategic advantages of managed services vs. full-time staff
In the smaller community bank, it’s pretty obvious that hiring a full-time I-T person, let alone a full staff, is not always a viable option. To illustrate this point let’s take a look at the costs and benefits of hiring one full-time I-T staffer compared to contracting with a Managed Service I-T provider.
Top Reasons For Managed Services
There are a variety of advantages for hiring an MSP over hiring staff. You can choose to outsource your information technology needs to a flat rate I-T service provider and in so doing shrink your monthly and overall costs. Having a virtual I-T department lets you focus more on running your bank business rather than the technology that supports it. You aren't stuck paying employee benefits or other employee costs, and you aren't responsible for making sure the I-T team remains up to date with their training and knowledge.
According to the MSP Institute's MSP Index 2000, there are many reasons why companies hire MSPs. Here are some of the top reasons:
1. Reduce and control operating costs. When you outsource, you eliminate the costs associated with hiring an employee, such as management oversight, training, health insurance, employment taxes, retirement plans etc.
2. Improve company focus.It is neither practical, nor possible to be a jack of all trades. MSPs let you focus on your core competencies while they focus on theirs.
3. Gain access to exceptional capabilities.Your return on investment is so much greater when you contract out information technology to a firm that specializes in the areas you need. Instead of just the knowledge of one person, you benefit from the collective experience of a team of I-T professionals. Managed Service Providers require their I-T staff to have appropriate industry training and certifications.
4. Free-up internal resources for other purposes.You may have someone in your office that is pretty good with computers or accounting, but most likely these were not the jobs he or she was hired to do. If they are spending time taking care of these things, who is doing what they were hired to do? Hiring a MSP allows you to retain employees for their highest and best use, rather than wasting their time on things that may take them longer than someone who is highly trained in these specific areas.
5. Resources are not available internally.On the flip side, maybe you don't have anyone in your company who can manage your I-T needs, and hiring a new employee is not in the budget. A MSP can be a feasible alternative, both for the interim and for the long-term.
6. Maximize restructuring benefits. When you are restructuring your company to improve costs, quality, service, or speed, your non-core business functions get pushed aside. They still need to be handled, however, and a MSP is an optimal way to do this. Don't sabotage your restructuring efforts by failing to keep up with non-core needs.
7. Function difficult to manage or out of control. This is definitely a scenario when MSP experts can make a big difference. But don't make the mistake of thinking you can forget about the problem now that it's being "handled." You still need to be involved even after control is regained.
8. Make capital funds available. By outsourcing non-core business functions, you can spend your capital funds on items that are directly related to bank products and customers.
Still not sure about Managed Services? According to Yvonne Lederer Anotucci in her article "The Pros and Cons of IT Managed Services," there are many rewards you can expect when you subcontract your company's necessary IT functions:
1. Access to the latest and greatest in technology. You may have noticed how rapidly software and hardware becomes obsolete in this industry. How is one staff person going to keep up-to-date with everything? Hiring an MSP gives you the benefit of having more than just one I-T professional. And since I-T is the core competency of the MSP, they can give you encyclopedic I-T advice to put your I-T dollars to work for you.
2. Cost savings.MSPs steer your I-T services and provide financial benefits such as leaner overhead, bulk purchasing and leasing options for hardware and software, and software licenses, as well as ensure compliance with government regulations.
3. High quality of staff. Since it's their core competency, Managed Service Providers look to hire highly experienced staff with specific qualifications and certifications. You may not know what to look for if you're hiring someone to be on staff full-time, so you may hire the wrong person for the job.
4. Flexibility. Vendors have multiple resources available to the MSP, while internal staff may have limited resources and capabilities.
5. Job security and burnout reduction for regular employees. Using a MSP removes the burden from your staff who has taken on more than he or she was hired for because "someone needs to do it." You will establish a better relationship with your employees when you let them do what they do best and what they were hired to do.
You will get the services you need, with the ability to easily budget those needs because you always know what you are going to pay out. You also know that you are going to have someone there to help you when you have computer and/or communications problems.
The Bottom Line - Happily Ever After
Hiring a MSP for I-T support can be a win/win for community banks. If the relationship is entered into carefully, an outsourced provider can offer far superior technical expertise and 24/7 availability at essentially the same cost as (or even less than) full-time resources – without the overhead, HR paperwork, sick days, paid personal time off or overtime. The right provider will implement best of breed, state-of-the-art technologies in your bank and show you ways to use that technology to lower costs and increase productivity for greater payback on your I-T investments.
Reasons to Hire Unicom Technologies
With 300+ years of experience our Certified Network Engineers and Technicians, combined with our strategic partnerships, allows us the ability to competently evaluate all of your organization's I-T needs. Our solutions are designed to reduce your costs, increase your revenue, and mitigate your business risks through their productivity and efficiency enhancing benefits.
Proactive:
• Regularly scheduled onsite visits by I-T Professional(s)
• Maintenance checklist and documentation that ensures consistent service delivery
• Thorough documentation of your network • Your business goals are what direct our efforts • Server maintenance and troubleshooting • Workstation maintenance and troubleshooting • Virus Protection and Microsoft OS and Microsoft
Office updates
• Java and Adobe updates
Available:
• Seasoned I-T Professionals • 24/7/365 (Always available) • Never Sick and Never on Vacation
• Emergency response time of 3 hours or less guaranteed.
• I-T Professionals are available to answer your questions by phone when not onsite at your office • Increased flexibility for busy times, slow times,
projects, upgrades
• Will never quit because of career or job change like full time employee
Knowledgeable:
• Microsoft Certified and Trained
• 300+ Years of combined industry experience • Not Learning on Your Time
• Weekly Training and Review Meetings
Affordable:
• No Interviewing process overhead, like full time employee
• No Payroll tax overhead, like full time employee • No Vacation Pay overhead, like full time employee • No Workers Compensation overhead, like full time
employee
• No Training Cost overhead, like full time employee • No Performance Review overhead, like full time
employee
• No Background check overhead, like full time employee
• Predictable Monthly budget
Accountable:
• SSAE 16 Audited
• Support Coordinator management oversight • Support Advisor management oversight
• Follow Microsoft Standards and industry standard best practices
• Automated systems created to ensure items don't fall through the cracks
• Detailed documentation of your network and support visits available to view 24/7/365 • Quarterly automated audits to ensure
examination readiness • Satisfaction Guarantee
