Growing a business changes the way you use technology.
When you have five employees, IT might mean a few laptops, Microsoft 365 accounts and someone who knows how to restart the router.
But once you reach 15, 20 or 30 employees, things can become very different.
There are more devices, more data, more people working remotely, more Microsoft 365 accounts and more opportunities for something to go wrong.
This is often the point where businesses start asking an important question: Do we need an internal IT manager, or would we be better off working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?
A Managed Service Provider takes responsibility for managing and supporting a company's IT environment.
Rather than simply waiting for something to break, a good MSP should proactively manage and support areas such as:
The goal is to make technology predictable, secure and reliable, rather than constantly reacting to problems as they occur.
But how do you know when your business has reached the point where ad-hoc IT support is no longer enough?
A computer taking 20 minutes to start might not seem particularly serious.
But multiply that across 20 employees and hundreds of working days, and the lost productivity can quickly become significant.
The bigger issue is when the same problems keep happening.
Growing businesses need someone who can identify recurring issues, understand why they are happening and put preventative measures in place, rather than simply fixing the same problem every few weeks.
One employee orders laptops.
Another looks after Microsoft 365.
Your web company manages the domain.
Someone else installed the Wi-Fi.
And the Managing Director has the administrator password.
This is extremely common in growing businesses, particularly when technology has evolved gradually over several years.
However, it can create unnecessary risk.
When responsibility is spread across different people and suppliers, it can become difficult to understand exactly what systems you have, who has access to them and whether they are being properly maintained.
An MSP can bring these systems together under a defined IT strategy, with clear responsibility for managing and supporting your technology.
Employee onboarding should be predictable.
A new starter might need:
If every new employee involves several members of staff trying to remember what needs configuring, your business may have outgrown informal IT management.
A managed IT service can create a consistent onboarding process, helping new employees get the technology they need from day one.
Microsoft 365 can provide considerably more than Outlook and email.
Depending on your licensing and configuration, your business could be using tools such as Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, device management, identity protection, endpoint security, automation and AI capabilities.
The challenge is knowing which tools are actually relevant to your organisation and making sure they are configured correctly.
An MSP should help you understand what you already have, identify opportunities for improvement and make sure your Microsoft 365 environment supports the way your business works.
Cybersecurity becomes more complicated as a company grows.
More employees mean more accounts, devices, passwords and opportunities for phishing, malware or account compromise.
Businesses increasingly need controls such as:
Technology alone isn't enough.
These controls need to be properly configured, monitored and actively managed.
For a growing business, cybersecurity should be treated as an ongoing responsibility rather than something that is only considered after an incident.
As a company grows, technology moves from being convenient to being business-critical.
Ask yourself what would happen if, tomorrow morning, your company lost access to email, the internet, Microsoft 365, company files or your phone system.
Could your staff continue working?
If the answer is no, what would happen next?
A growing company should have documented business continuity and recovery plans rather than trying to make important decisions in the middle of an incident.
An MSP can help identify critical systems, assess potential risks and put appropriate recovery processes in place.
Perhaps the biggest difference between basic IT support and a managed IT relationship is the role technology plays in the business.
IT shouldn't simply be about repairing computers.
Technology should help the business achieve its objectives.
That could mean:
As your business grows, your technology should grow with it.
There isn't a single answer that works for every business.
An internal IT manager can provide excellent knowledge of your organisation and be physically available within the business.
An MSP, on the other hand, can provide access to a wider technical team with expertise across areas such as networking, Microsoft 365, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and telephony.
For many growing SMEs, a combination of the two can work particularly well.
This is often referred to as co-managed IT.
An internal IT manager can focus on understanding the organisation and supporting employees, while an MSP provides additional capacity, specialist expertise, monitoring, project support and escalation when more complex issues arise.
One of the biggest mistakes growing businesses make is waiting until technology becomes a serious problem before improving it.
By that point, systems may be difficult to manage, cybersecurity gaps may already exist and employees may have developed inefficient ways of working.
The best time to review your IT is before the next period of growth.
If you're recruiting more employees, opening another office, increasing remote working, adopting AI or changing the way your business operates, your IT infrastructure needs to be ready first.
A proactive approach can make growth considerably smoother and reduce the likelihood of technology becoming a barrier to expansion.
39D provides managed IT support for growing businesses, helping organisations manage their technology, cybersecurity and Microsoft 365 environment as one joined-up service.
Rather than simply reacting when something breaks, we help businesses understand where their technology is today and plan for what comes next.
Our approach is designed to give growing businesses greater confidence that their IT is secure, reliable and ready to support their future plans.
There is no fixed number.
Many businesses start considering managed IT support when they reach around 10 employees, as technology, security and support requirements often begin becoming more complex.
However, the right time to work with an MSP depends on your systems, growth plans, cybersecurity requirements and internal resources.
Yes.
Co-managed IT allows an internal IT person or team to use an MSP for additional expertise, monitoring, projects and escalation support.
This can be particularly useful for businesses that have an internal IT resource but don't need, or can't justify, a large in-house technical team.
A Microsoft-focused MSP can help manage Microsoft 365 licences, users, security, devices, SharePoint, Teams, backups and other Microsoft 365 services.
They can also help ensure your Microsoft 365 environment is configured appropriately for your organisation.
Yes.
AI implementation increasingly involves Microsoft 365 permissions, security, data governance, licensing and staff training.
This means introducing AI effectively is closely connected to your existing IT environment.
An MSP can help businesses assess where AI could provide genuine value while making sure security and governance are considered from the beginning.
Ideally, yes.
Reviewing your systems, licences, cybersecurity and onboarding processes before significant recruitment can make growth considerably easier.
It also gives you the opportunity to identify potential problems before they start affecting new employees.
Your business is growing. Your IT should be ready to grow with it.
If you're dealing with recurring IT problems, struggling with employee onboarding, concerned about cybersecurity or simply unsure whether your current setup can support your next stage of growth, it may be time to review your IT.
39D can help.
A Managed IT Review can help you understand where your IT is today, identify potential risks and opportunities, and create a clearer plan for supporting your business as it grows.
Book your Managed IT Review with Matthew at 39D
Or get in touch with the 39D team to discuss how managed IT support could help your business become more secure, reliable and ready for what's next.
