Businesses are profitable when we get more out of them than we put in. But, when business owners are too concerned about squeezing out profits, they often cut expenditures that deliver value. For many small business owners in New Jersey, IT is such an expense. You acknowledge your need for computers, software, cybersecurity, Internet connectivity, technical support, and upgrades, but you grow weary of the constant re-investment. At KMF Technologies, we understand your skepticism and reticence. Unfortunately, measuring the value of IT solely by its price misses the bigger picture and can put your company at a competitive disadvantage.
At KMF Tech, we provide managed IT services that generate ample return on investment by reducing downtime, improving employee productivity, and strengthening cybersecurity. Small businesses without the resources for an in-house IT department, benefit from our expert guidance, along with lower, more predictable costs of technology. IT becomes a “value added” proposition by giving companies a solid return on investment.
Summer used to be the season of big-budget, blockbuster films. Today, not so much. Hollywood is still spending enormously on movies they hope will attract audiences. But the movies that are making money, i.e., getting a return on investment, are the less touted, smaller budget films. This summer’s box-office tallies illustrate how movies can generate substantial revenue, but still not be commercial successes. Let’s take a look at five examples:
Disclosure Day comes via Steven Spielberg, who started the blockbuster trend in 1975 with Jaws. This latest effort could have been called Disappointment Day, as its roughly $241 million gross appears lacking against its $115 million production costs and $80 million marketing campaign. But, it had aliens and UFOs and sinister government agents and a stellar cast. What it didn’t have was ROI.
Next came Supergirl, which was expected to flop, after an underperforming Superman sputtered last year. With production costs of $170 million and marketing at $120 million, Supergirl’s $125 million gross is a clear financial failure. Spending $390M to make back $125M is not a sound investment.
The most anticipated movie of the summer was The Odyssey. Christopher Nolan’s take on the epic tale reportedly cost $250 million to produce, with another $125 million for marketing. Its $1.1 billion (and growing) worldwide gross represents a major commercial success. But at roughly three dollars made for each dollar invested, is The Odyssey this summer’s best ROI film?
The answer is no, because the best ROI for this summer went to a couple of hits no one anticipated: Obsession and Backrooms. Produced for less than $1 million, Obsession has generated $488 million worldwide, producing an extraordinary gross-to-production-cost multiple of more than 650 to 1. Its distributor reportedly acquired the rights for roughly $14 million, enabling an extraordinary return relative to the acquisition price.
Backroomsprovides another remarkable example of low-budget filmmaking. Produced for less than $10 million, it has generated roughly $390 million worldwide. Even after allowing for marketing and distribution expenses, its ROI appears extraordinarily high.
So, what is the better strategy? Would you rather spend a little to make a lot, or spend a lot to make a little? When it comes to small business IT, you can choose to spend less with a managed services provider. But that prudent spending can generate a huge return on investment.
So, without further ado, here are the leading ROI benefits of outsourcing small business IT to an MSP.
An internal IT department is expensive, considering salaries, benefits, training, software, security tools, and professional development. A managed services provider enables your small business to access a team of IT professionals for a predictable monthly cost. Not that an MSP always costs less than hiring an employee, but there’s a great advantage to the cost in efficiency and predictability. Instead of paying substantial emergency repair bills whenever something fails, your business can budget for ongoing monitoring, maintenance, support, and security.
Predictable costs also make it easier to plan technology investments and avoid postponing necessary upgrades because of unexpected expenses.
Downtime is one of the most significant hidden costs of poorly managed IT. When email, applications, servers, networks, or internet connectivity fail, employees are unable to work, customers are unable to reach the company, and sales opportunities are lost. Proactive monitoring allows an MSP to identify developing problems before they become major disruptions. Regular maintenance, patching, and hardware monitoring can likewise reduce preventable failures.
The ROI isn’t simply the amount saved on an IT repair bill. It includes the revenue and employee productivity you preserve by keeping your business operational.
When technology doesn’t work properly, employees lose valuable time. A slow computer, recurring network problem, software malfunction, or an unresolved security issue can consume minutes or hours that workers would otherwise spend servicing customers or accomplishing revenue-producing work.
An MSP provides a dedicated resource for resolving these problems while also addressing the underlying causes. The result can be fewer recurring problems, faster resolution times, and employees who spend more time doing their actual jobs. For a 20- or 30-person company, even small productivity improvements across the workforce produce a substantial financial return.
Firewalls, endpoint protection, multifactor authentication, patch management, email security, employee training, and backup systems represent an expense—but they also reduce the likelihood and potential impact of a cyberattack. For your small business, the financial consequences of ransomware, business-email compromise or data loss can extend well beyond the immediate cost of restoring computers. Your company can also suffer from lost productivity, lost customers, reputational damage, legal expenses, and regulatory obligations. Managed IT providers continuously monitor systems and implement layered security controls, rather than relying on occasional security fixes.
An MSP can also serve as a strategic technology advisor. Instead of purchasing hardware, software, or cloud services on an ad hoc basis, you can develop a technology roadmap aligned with your growth objectives. That can mean determining when to replace aging equipment, which applications should move to the cloud, how to support remote employees, and which technology investments will actually improve productivity.
The result is not simply spending less on technology. It is getting greater business value from every technology dollar.
Small businesses often cannot justify employing specialists in cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, Microsoft 365, backup and disaster recovery, compliance, and other areas. An MSP spreads the cost of that expertise across multiple clients. This gives a small New Jersey business access to a broader range of technical knowledge without having to build an entire IT department internally.
The strongest argument for managed IT services is not just that “outsourcing costs less.” The more important question is: What does reliable, secure, and strategically managed technology allow the business to accomplish? The answer includes fewer disruptions, more productive employees, reduced cybersecurity risk, predictable expenses, better technology decisions, and greater capacity for growth. That’s the definition of value-added service.
KMF Technologies is ready to transform an area of dubious expense to a reliable business asset that supports productivity, profitability, and long-term growth. Call us today.
