COVID has had a disastrous effect on the workforce, with millions of people losing their jobs this year. Industries all across the world are deeply disrupted and businesses have been forced to pivot and resort to unique strategies in order to succeed. One way businesses can minimize the effects of this disruption is by investing in an MSP provider that can help with long-term survival.
An MSP (managed service provider) gives users peace of mind with managed IT solutions. MSP providers offer a wide range of services, such as general IT support services (for fixing hardware and software issues when something goes wrong), data backup and disaster recovery, auditing and compliance services, and data analysis and reporting, among other things.
With so many solutions readily available, this article will look at two ways an MSP provider can minimize COVID-19 disruption for businesses.
Supporting the Management of Finance Operations
Along with communication problems brought on by the pandemic, accounting troubles have also risen to the top of the list of worries. Recruiting and outsourcing have been the areas that have suffered the most. With 70% of business managers struggling to find the right professionals since the pandemic struck, it has added a layer of frustration to this challenging time, since it’s difficult for businesses to grow without reliable talent.
As COVID cases rise, cash flow declines. The economic recession has increased financial stress amongst Americans, with a majority of citizens having less than $1,000 stashed away in savings. Unfortunately, just because there is a pandemic, it doesn’t mean bills stop coming in.
While being mindful and supportive of the financial stresses of clients during these challenging financial times, businesses still need to run. Many organizations have offered deferment deals to their clients on work that has already begun. Nevertheless, the last thing a manager wants to forget about is an unpaid invoice.
IT has had a very significant and positive impact on business accounting processes as a whole, because it has streamlined businesses’ ability to record (and store) financial transactions in the cloud or in other computerized systems.
Further reading Why Businesses Should Invest in IT
MSP providers take this a step further, because they can provide the right software to help business owners manage all of these finance and accounting operations, which can offer financial peace of mind and assist with business growth and cash flow. Even without a global pandemic occurring, clear and concise accounting solutions are a must for any service-procurement organization, considering the wide array of clients that are often worked with.
- How to move your operations out of the office
- Security considerations for remote workers
- Best practices and tools
Supporting Businesses to Work Remotely
Lastly, one of the largest and most obvious disruptions of the pandemic has been a global shift into a remote working arena. Few companies were prepared to transition fully online, which has had a direct impact on some businesses, which weren’t able to survive.
Making potential clients aware that business is going ahead as normal is key to generating fresh leads during the pandemic, but it can be difficult without traditional marketing. With many local organizations never having needed to venture into the online space, this is a whole new world for them and one they must get used to, as it’s clear that remote working is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
With this in mind, the first step to setting up a remote workspace for a local business is building a website. Choosing the right web hosting platform that meets a business’s needs can be complicated and overwhelming. Weighing up the pros and cons of each potential web host is essential for building a business on a solid foundation, and with plans from popular providers like HostPapa or Hostinger starting at just $1 to $2 a month, it’s affordable for small businesses who have have needed to cut back on their operating costs.
And with remote desktop services offering an array of features such as data analysis, easy file transfers, encrypted connections, and centralized management, MSP software can support small businesses to stay on top of communication, organization, and business management while working from home and managing remote employees.
Closing Thoughts
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved challenging for businesses, but there are solutions that can be implemented to ensure business survival. Having the right IT solutions in place that support SMBs to focus on productivity, effective communication, and keeping the business afloat can minimize and possibly eradicate any damage or disruption caused by the crisis and see it through into a post-COVID-19 world.
- Remote desktop connection for screen sharing
- Encrypted connection
- Text and voice chat, file transfer
