Are you a growing company feeling the IT squeeze? As your business expands, so does the complexity of your technology, right? What used to be manageable with a small, in-house IT team can quickly turn into a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. If you’re nodding along, you’re not alone! Many scaling organizations grapple with the ever-increasing demands of managing their IT infrastructure and, crucially, their core business applications. This is important to navigate successfully so all facets of your organization can focus on supporting growth and core business operations. 

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The IT Headaches of a Growing Business

Let’s talk about how growth is disrupted by internal focus on IT challenges that can make even the most seasoned business leader pull their hair out:

• Increased Complexity: More employees, more devices, more data, and a growing number of applications that are the very heart of your operations. It all adds up to a seriously intricate IT environment.
• Talent Scarcity: Finding and keeping IT pros who are experts in everything from networking and security to cloud and specialized application support? It’s a huge hurdle!
• Budget Blues: IT budgets often feel like they’re stretched thinner than a rubber band. It’s tough to invest in the latest tech, proper training, and robust security measures, especially for those highly specialized application needs.
• Security Scares: As your business grows, so does the potential attack surface. Critical business applications become prime targets, and keeping up with threats requires constant vigilance and specialized security know-how.
• Operational Overload: Your in-house team is probably swamped with daily firefighting – dealing with infrastructure glitches and application issues. That leaves little to no time for strategic planning or proactive improvements.

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The “Hidden Costs” of Playing Catch-Up

Many growing companies fall into the trap of a reactive IT approach, only fixing things when they break. While it might seem cheaper upfront, this “fix-it-when-it’s-broken” mentality comes with some hefty hidden costs:

• Downtime and Lost Productivity: Imagine your key business application goes down. Employees can’t work, customers are frustrated, and revenue takes a hit. Ouch!
• Missed Opportunities: If your IT team is constantly putting out fires, they’re missing out on chances to innovate, streamline processes, and truly support your business’s growth, especially when it comes to optimizing those crucial business applications.
• Security Breaches and Data Loss: A lack of proactive security across your infrastructure and applications can lead to devastating data breaches, a damaged reputation, and hefty regulatory fines. No one wants that!
• Escalating Expenses: Emergency repairs, rushed hardware replacements, and calling in consultants for urgent infrastructure and application issues can quickly blow your budget.
• Employee Burnout: Constant stress from reactive problem-solving can lead to a tired, unmotivated IT team and high turnover rates.

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Managed Services: More Than Just Outsourcing, It’s a Strategic Partner

Here’s where managed services come in, and believe us, they’re so much more than just “outsourcing.” Think of them as a strategic partnership designed to fuel your business growth. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) offer comprehensive support, including specialized Managed Application Services (MAS), to truly empower your team.

Here’s how they can transform your IT landscape:

• Always-On Monitoring and Maintenance: MSPs are like your vigilant guardians, continuously monitoring your systems and critical business applications. They spot and fix potential issues before they can cause any disruption.
• Expertise on Demand: Imagine having access to a vast team of specialists – from network and security gurus to cloud architects and experts in your specific application platforms – all without the cost of hiring them in-house! MAS provides just that.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Need to scale your IT resources up or down quickly, including application support? MSPs make it easy, giving you the agility you need without massive capital expenditures.
• Fortified Security: MSPs implement robust security measures across your entire IT environment. They conduct regular audits and stay ahead of emerging threats for both your infrastructure and crucial applications.
• Focus on What You Do Best: By entrusting your IT operations to an MSP, your internal team is freed up to focus on strategic projects that directly drive innovation and give you a competitive edge – like developing exciting new features for your key applications!
• Predictable IT Costs: Say goodbye to those unpredictable, reactive IT expenses! With managed services, you shift to a predictable monthly subscription model, making budgeting for both infrastructure and application management a breeze.

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Real-World Success: A Canadian Financial Institution’s Digital Journey

Let’s look at a prime example: A leading Canadian financial institution wanted to enhance its digital presence and customer experience. They were struggling to manage their complex Liferay DXP environment. Their in-house team was overwhelmed with constant updates, security patching, and optimizing performance for their huge customer base. This led to:

• Sluggish Application Performance: Slow load times and occasional outages impacted customer satisfaction and digital transactions.
• High Operational Burden: Their internal IT team was bogged down with maintaining their primary business application, pulling them away from more strategic initiatives.
• Security Headaches: Keeping up with the latest security patches and compliance requirements for a large-scale financial application was a constant challenge.

By partnering with Veriday for Managed Application Services, this financial institution saw incredible improvements:

• Enhanced Performance: Veriday’s proactive monitoring and expert Liferay DXP management led to a 30% improvement in application response times and a 99.9% uptime! This directly improved customer experience and transaction efficiency.
• Strategic Focus: The financial institution’s internal IT team could now focus on developing exciting new digital products and services, accelerating their digital transformation roadmap.
• Stronger Security: Veriday implemented robust security protocols for the application, ensuring continuous patching and adherence to industry-leading compliance standards.
• Predictable Costs: The managed service model gave them clear, predictable monthly costs for application management.

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When Is the Right Time to Make the Shift?

So, how do you know if it’s time for your organization to embrace managed services, including specialized managed application services? Consider making the move if you’re experiencing:

• Rapid Growth: Is your employee count, data volume, or application footprint expanding at lightning speed, straining your current IT resources?
• Budget Woes: Are your IT costs unpredictable, or are you struggling to justify significant investments in new tech or skilled personnel for application support?
• Security Jitters: Does your current security posture for critical applications feel inadequate, or have you had minor incidents that highlighted vulnerabilities?
• Operational Inefficiencies: Is your IT team constantly reactive, spending more time on firefighting related to infrastructure or applications than strategic planning?
• Lack of Specialized Expertise: Do you need access to expertise in areas like cloud migration, advanced cybersecurity, or specific compliance requirements for your key business applications that your current team just doesn’t have?

Transitioning to managed services isn’t just an operational change; it’s a strategic investment that can boost efficiency, enhance security, and empower your growing company to truly focus on what it does best.

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In-House vs. Outsourced: A Quick Look

Here’s a straightforward comparison to help you weigh your options:

Factor	In-House Managed Services	Outsourced Managed Services	Verdict
Control	Full control over tools, processes, and governance	Less direct control; governed by Service Level Agreements (SLAs)	Depends on your internal maturity
Cost Efficiency	Higher fixed costs (hiring, training, tools)	Lower upfront cost; pay-as-you-scale	Outsourced often more cost-effective
Speed to Scale	Slower due to hiring/onboarding bottlenecks	Faster access to ready talent and systems	Outsourced enables faster scaling
Expertise & Innovation	Dependent on internal skills and learning curve	Access to niche and seasoned professionals	Outsourced often brings deeper expertise
Security & Compliance	Direct oversight may enhance security posture	Must ensure vendor alignment with regulatory needs	Tied—depends on the provider’s quality
Employee Bandwidth	High internal workload and potential burnout	Frees up internal teams for strategic priorities	Outsourced reduces team strain
Flexibility	Harder to pivot quickly or reallocate resources	Easier to scale up/down based on business demands	Outsourced typically more agile

Wrapping Up

As organizations grow, the demands on their operations often outpace internal capacity, especially when it comes to those mission-critical business applications. Managed services frequently become essential – but whether you handle them in-house or through an outsourced partner can significantly impact your pace and stability of growth.

While keeping things in-house offers more control, outsourcing can unlock incredible scalability and specialized expertise for both your infrastructure and application management. Each approach has its pros and cons, particularly in today’s fast-moving digital world.

If you’re curious to learn more about how managed services, especially Managed Application Services, Veriday will benefit your organization and help you navigate the complexities of growth, why not reach out for a consultation? We’d love to chat!

Author: Sam Hyland