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As an SMB, everyone assumes that you're too small to have any real IT problems. Want IT and Anti-virus protection? Then buy them as add-ons when you buy a new PC for your staff. Need Internet access? Hook it up to your Wi-Fi. Want Backup? Access management? IoT? Well, you’re on your own.
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But does it really have to be like this? You can outsource your IT solutions to a third party, commonly known as Managed Services Providers or MSPs for short. They are usually able to take over most, if not all, of your IT infrastructure requirements remotely.
What do you need when choosing an MSP? At the most basic you need to consider:
- Budget: How well the provider's services fit within your budget.
- Scalability: Whether the provider can scale their services to meet your business's growth.
- Experience: Whether the provider has the resources and experience to manage your business's IT operations.
- Management processes: How the provider handles IT tasks like software upgrades, data backups, and system maintenance.
- Outcome-driven approach: Whether the provider is focused on helping your business grow and secure.
As a business owner, you will justifiably have cost-related concerns, which is the number one reason SMBs often hold back from investing in IT, even when they know they need to. But the truth is that most MSPs can work to your budget and work out an IT plan that is right you. This is why it is important to choose a partner who understands this and it able to tailor solutions that fit any SMB budget.
Singtel for example, offers a catered to businesses of varying sizes (startup, small, medium).
Watch: Singapore Dreamin' - The heartwarming makeover series that's giving local small- and medium-sized businesses the tech upgrades of a lifetime.
What can you outsource?
So you’ve decided to get some help for your business, what are the kinds of the services that you can outsource to an MSP?
Security
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Doing so gives your business protection by an expert team who often have personnel trained in IT security. Outsourced security can cover:
- Cybersecurity: General cybersecurity to help businesses deal with virus protection, email and data protection, identity and access management, and to detect and respond to security threats.
- Network security: Implementing solutions, policies, and procedures that protect a business’s network infrastructure, data, and users from cyberattacks, unauthorised access, and data loss.
- Endpoint security: Solutions and technologies that protect devices that connect to a network from malicious threats.
Singtel also has a Cyber Elevate cybersecurity programme aimed at improving the cybersecurity resilience of SMBs. Offered by Singtel’s Cyber Security Institute (CSI) together with partners Drew and Napier LLC and Black Panda, it does this by building up the cybersecurity capabilities and skill sets in these SMBs to teach them how to best prevent and respond to cyberattacks. Handily, SMBs can take up the Programme at subsidised rates of up to 90% because Singtel CSI is part of the SkillsFuture Queen Bee network.
And like we said, it doesn’t have to be expensive either. For example, services like the telco's Broadband Protect to secure your business network and Mobile Protect to secure your smart devices can start from as low as S$10- and $3-per-month respectively.
Broadband and Network management
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Hiring a third party to handle some or all of your business' network management tasks, which can include:
- Monitoring: Proactively monitoring the network to identify and address potential issues before they become major disruptions.
- Security: Implementing the latest security protocols, anti-virus protection, and other security measures to protect the network from potential threats.
- Maintenance: Maintaining the network infrastructure, including firmware updates.
- Support: Providing support and maintenance for the network.
- Event log monitoring: Evaluating event logs to determine which activities need further investigation or action.
Singtel recently launched Singtel CUBΣ, which is a unified suite of network solutions and services to provide businesses with intelligent security and network services, giving them the agility and resilience needed to perform in today’s digital markets and workplaces.
Business broadband
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Getting the right broadband and networking solution from a service provider for your business is important, as use cases can vary greatly. This can include:
- Dynamic IP: An internet connection that uses a dynamic IP address, which is an IP address that is assigned temporarily by an internet service provider (ISP). A Dynamic IP can be more secure than a Static IP as it's harder to track someone online if their IP address keeps changing. However, the changing nature of dynamic IPs means users may encounter problems with the Domain Name System (DNS). This makes dynamic IP addresses less effective for hosting servers and websites and tracking geolocations.
- Static IP: A broadband service that provides a static IP address to a device, which is an IP address that remains the same each time the device connects to the network. Static IP addresses are handy for businesses that need to guarantee server and website uptime. They also offer reliable internet connections, quicker data exchanges, and more convenient remote access.
- Business 5G: Rather than using Wi-Fi in certain locations, like in smart factories or for things like IoT deployments, a 5G network can be the better option. 5G is more robust to support IoT use cases that need continuous high-speed communication or rely on fast data analysis and decision-making to deliver business benefits.
5G offers ultra-low latency, high-speed connectivity, which may be more suitable than Wi-Fi for dense IoT environments like smart factories to control robotics. Photo: Pexels.
For example, the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) deployed Singtel’s 5G infrastructure network solutions at its Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Singapore (HMGICS) which included an electric vehicle production facility to provide uninterrupted high-speed connectivity and massive bandwidth to enhance HMGICS’s high-precision quality control in manufacturing operations.
(In partnership with Singtel)
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