Do Managed Printing Services Save Money for Small Businesses?

In a struggling economy, business owners look for new ways to reduce their expenses to save money and resources in order to remain competitive. Could managed printing services offer financial and time savings for a small business?

Small business owners are in a good position to save money and benefit most through managed printing services, since they have a lower profit margin compared to their overhead expenses than larger businesses do. When a printer isn’t working effectively in a small business environment, one of the owners, managers or employees must spend time on the phone with an IT specialist trying to troubleshoot the cause of the printer or copier malfunction; as well as find a solution to get it up and running again. When this person is tied up for a long period of time, the business loses the money that would have been made during that time period.

What is Managed Printing Services?

Managed Print Service providers (MPS) monitor your printers and copiers actively from a remote location. They can predict where problems may occur and often prevent it from happening. They work with small businesses to implement plans to identify excessive spending in printers, copiers, and supplies, and to increase productivity by setting up a plan for which type of documents go to which printers in your organization.

Managed printing service providers will also make sure you always have the right amount of ink and paper supplies on hand, which means you will no longer have a closet full of supplies that are never used or run out of the paper you need in the middle of a printing project.

Advantages of Managed Printing Services

In addition to the financial savings gained by small business owners utilizing managed printing services, there are additional advantages of convenience and control. As a small business owner, your time is spent operating and managing the daily activities of your business – there is a good chance that you are unaware how much time and money is wasted on printer or copier related activities. Activities like troubleshooting printers that aren’t working properly; using double the amount of paper necessary because you haven’t learned to use the “print on both sides” option of the printers; and the time spent ordering and processing purchase orders and invoices for toner and paper supplies.

If you upgrade to more efficient and productive printers and copiers, you can also factor in energy efficiency costs of the newer equipment compared to your current, older equipment, and see the cost savings skyrocket.

When you have an MPS provider handling your printing and copying needs, you won’t lose one of your key employees (or yourself!) hours on the phone trying to troubleshoot problems – this is most likely your biggest area of savings in both financial resources and time.

The convenience associated with having an expert handling your business printer and copier needs also means no one on your staff needs to worry about ordering supplies. If there are equipment problems or malfunctions, an expert will fix them for you because it is the responsibility of a managed print services provider.

Cost will be inevitably cut with all of those changes listed above when you let the experts handle these things for you. The end result will be an efficient office when you cut expenses on paper, ink or toner, lower your electricity use and improve employee productivity.

You can reduce your overhead expenses with a managed printing services provider, as well as take back some of your time resources and increase productivity.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you save on printing costs with our Managed Printing Services for your business in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

Spooked About Your Network’s Security?

Spooked About Your Network’s Security?

You should be, unless somebody’s keeping a vigilant eye on it for you…

Not too long ago, in a place not so far away…when ancient hordes attacked your city, a single breach in the wall could mean certain death – or at least the end of life as you know it.

Yet times change…or do they?

Attacks by today’s cybercriminals on your network, while perhaps not physically life-threatening, can inflict severe damage to the life and health of your business.

FACT: The odds of a successful cyber-attack against your business today are one in five. And, at a typical cost of $300,000 or more, a full 60% of smaller businesses that suffer a breach shut their doors for good within six months, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance.

So, who’s “guarding the gate” at your company’s network?

The problem with keeping your network safe today is that these attacks don’t just happen randomly – they are constant and unrelenting. Ever more sophisticated “robot” software is making it easier than ever for attackers to stalk the Internet, probing for vulnerabilities 24/7.

Here are just a few of the ways these vigilantes can penetrate your network’s defenses:

An SQL Injection can destroy your database, steal e-mail addresses, usernames and passwords, gain access to sensitive client management and billing data, deface your web site and defraud your business. It’s also now the most frequent mode of attack.

Open Ports – An open port is basically a channel for Internet data to connect with devices on your network. A firewall normally filters data, but hacker “web-bots” constantly probe for vulnerabilities. When they find an open port, and if they have installed malicious code inside your system, they are then able to control your devices.

In a DDoS attack, a network of computers attacks a single server with a surge of traffic, forcing it to crash. They most often target political organizations and banks; however, small businesses are also at risk. To avoid getting shut down, you need a defense plan in place and around-the-clock monitoring.

Malware and Viruses – Unfortunately, anti-malware and antivirus software programs in reality often fall short of claims, leaving many SMB networks highly vulnerable. The problem is twofold: First, they only detect a breach after the malware or virus has infected your system. Second, detection solutions often lag behind the latest threats by days or even weeks, leaving a big window for them to inflict heavy damage.

Targeted E-mails – Cybercriminals seem to get better each day at creating enticing e-mails that innocent readers will click on without a moment’s thought. If that reader happens to be on your network, you now have yet another hidden attacker to deal with.

“Drive-By Downloads” are a client-side intrusion where a person in your network innocently picks up a nasty bug…

Credit Card Theft – How would you feel if one of your customers’ credit cards got hacked due to a flaw in your security? Now imagine how you would feel if that incident turned into a lawsuit… Yet that is exactly what can happen if your DLP (Data Loss Prevention) system isn’t up to snuff. As you’ve no doubt seen in the news, credit card data theft is now epidemic. To keep customer data safe and maintain PCI compliance, it’s absolutely crucial to make sure your DLP is on duty 100% of the time.

As cybercriminals (and foreign government agents) hone their evil craft, we must now be on guard, as our businesses grow ever more web-dependent. Yet how do you find the time to keep up with it all, much less make sure your network is safe?

Lucky for you, there’s a silver dagger…

From now until the clock tolls midnight on Halloween, October 31, call us and receive a FREE “Network Analysis and Security Assessment” for your network – priced at $450 during “normal” seasons – as thanks for reading our posting. Claim yours now at 305-615-2206 or http://virtualitmanagers.com/free-network-analysis-and-security-assessment/.

As the Guardian Small Business Network states in a January 2015 article, “Hiring experts to ensure your IT systems and web site are secure makes sense, as does picking the right payment provider and educating staff.”