It’s always cheaper and less disruptive to fix issues before they even become an issue—we’d all love the foresight to know when to get the timing belt changed before something tears off while we’re going down the highway. When it comes to business IT, a proactive maintenance plan is the best way to address growing issues.
A lot of businesses, from SMBs to enterprises, struggle with proactive maintenance. Seemingly simple tasks like patching are an afterthought even in big business. Let’s look at proactive maintenance can set you up for long-term success, and how a managed service provider (MSP) can help solve some of its hurdles.
But first, what does proactive maintenance look like in IT?
What Is Proactive Maintenance in IT?
Proactive maintenance in IT is a way to identify and possibly prevent common issues before they impact your network. How your IT administrators perform proactive maintenance depends on what is included in your technology ecosystem. Proactive maintenance plans include monitoring across your whole network, which allows engineers to spot problems as they arise. Common proactive maintenance tasks include patch management, regular backups and backup testing and planned end-of-life for critical devices.
A good proactive maintenance strategy is critical for your business technology. For example, not installing the latest security updates for critical applications leaves you wide open for a cyberattack. In recent years, unapplied patches have been a leading cause of cybersecurity breaches.
NetGain provides 24×7 monitoring, expert insights, and industry-leading solutions.Overcome the Challenges of Proactive Maintenance
Proactive Technology Maintenance vs. Preventative Technology Maintenance
“Preventative maintenance” is sometimes used interchangeably with proactive maintenance, but that isn’t exactly right. Here’s a few differences between proactive and preventative maintenance.
| Proactive Maintenance | Preventative Maintenance |
| Uses active monitoring to discover problems before they impact your network, allowing IT professionals to assign appropriate resources to the issue. | Performs regular and standardized tasks to keep your IT network healthy. Does not actively monitor the environment. |
| The goal is to understand root causes of issues, adapt to them and implement tested fixes. | The goal is to prevent system failure through regular maintenance touchpoints. |
| When implemented well, proactive maintenance can solve issues before they become a costly problem but requires a lot of dedicated personnel. | Preventative maintenance requires fewer personnel and can solve the most common issues, saving on operational costs, but is not as agile as proactive maintenance. |
Preventative maintenance lacks the flexibility and insights of proactive maintenance. On the other hand, proactive maintenance requires an expert team of professionals dedicated to monitoring your environment.
How Do MSPs Deliver Proactive Maintenance?
Managed service providers can help provide the expertise and 24/7 monitoring that proactive maintenance requires. Your MSP should have monitoring systems in place to discover and learn from issues before they hit your budget. They may also schedule regular visits to gather information on your physical devices. Larger MSPs may be able to assign engineers fully dedicated to implementing your proactive maintenance plan.
Proactive maintenance is a big part of the value MSPs deliver. It is often difficult for small in-house IT teams to find the time for proactive maintenance when they are dedicated to servicing ongoing issues. It also takes a lot of time to analyze reports and decide where to spend resources.
So, what’s the value prop here? Simply put, MSPs should bring the expertise and technology needed to implement a robust proactive maintenance plan. If your MSP is just fixing things as they break, they are not providing high value service.
Ready to Unlock High-Value IT Service?
Justifying the cost of an MSP can be hard. We absolutely understand that. However, when you consider the benefits of a team dedicated to not only providing service desk level support but also discovering and proactively handling issues, that equation becomes a little easier.
NetGain offers 24/7 service desk support, available 365 days a year. When our team isn’t providing expert service to you directly, they’re working behind the scenes to constantly monitor your network. We provide our clients with regular reports showing what we’ve discovered and our remediation plan. We believe that proactive maintenance is the best way to ensure our clients stay safe and operational.
Ready to bring your IT strategy from reactive to proactive? Contact us and let’s see how NetGain can help.
