Your IT infrastructure will support your users, devices and applications and therefore it is critical to have the right systems in place.
There are different types of IT infrastructure such as network infrastructure which connects your devices together and to the internet, and server infrastructure which can be used to manage users, devices and software.
There are many considerations when choosing the best systems for your business. Labyrinth can help you make the right decisions, find the right solutions and implement them. For our Managed Support clients, we review IT strategy and the effectiveness of existing systems every year.
Cloud or On-Premise?
One of the key decisions you will make is what infrastructure and software can be hosted in the cloud and what will need to be hosted on-site. You should aim to host as much as possible in the cloud which offers a number of benefits over on-premise hosted infrastructure (see here). Some equipment like firewalls, switches and managed WIFI systems will always need to be hosted in your offices to bridge the gap between your end user devices and the internet.
Accessibility
Your infrastructure needs to be easily but securely accessible to all of your employees wherever the work.
Cyber Security and Disaster Recovery
Your systems need to have the appropriate security controls. You also need to consider how you will recover your business operations in the event of a disaster. If your core business systems are hosted in the cloud, recovering from a disaster will be far quicker and easier because you should be able to access them anywhere with an internet connection.
Cost
Capital and operational costs should not be your primary focus. If your business is not efficient, your systems are prone to going down or you suffer a cyber-attack; you could lose far more money than your investment in IT infrastructure.
Cloud systems generally give you better control over costs because you know exactly what you will pay as you scale up and down your business and you are not responsible for purchasing, upgrading or maintaining any hardware.
Software
For many standard business requirements there are suitable cloud software-as-a-service solutions (SaaS) available which negates the need to host application or database servers. SaaS is not always the answer though. Depending on the applications you need to use and the size of your organisation, you may need to host your own on-premise or cloud application and data servers.
Management
Applications, devices and users need to be easy to manage and as centrally manageable as possible. The bigger your organisation, the more important this becomes. For example, if you have 5 users it is easy to manually manage devices and software deployment/updates. If you have 50 users, automation and centralised management is going to be essential.
For 20 years we’ve delivered proactive, efficient and honest outsourced IT support in London to companies of all sizes in varied sectors. As a local company with historical links to The City and its establishments, we understand the various needs of businesses located in the area. One of our first clients remains with us to this day, and we have completed projects for the City of London Police, west end tourist attractions and major rail infrastructure firms.
Maintaining good IT can be time consuming, resource intensive and expensive, especially when you have a business to run. The evolving nature of IT means that businesses need to ensure their IT staff are up to date with the latest technologies and this usually involves training, which comes at a cost. In addition, staff turnover means a need to recruit, which is a similar drain on your precious resources. By outsourcing your IT support, you get a guaranteed team of experienced, skilled and professional staff with a wealth of knowledge to manage your IT. And because training, recruitment and so on for that team is the purview of the IT support firm, your costs are reduced.
A good IT support company helps your organisation focus on its core business, reducing the need to divert resources to IT issues. By providing a service that is always at least equal to an internal IT department, but at significant cost benefit, it helps your business to drive revenue, reduce costs, reduce risk and increase productivity. An IT Support company provides outsourced IT Support services to organisations across all industries, locations and sizes. A good IT Support partner will offer proactive support, technology advice and consultation, project management and 3rd party IT supplier management.
External IT support is a cost effective solution for businesses who would like the experience of their own IT department, without the cost of hiring one. This is particularly popular with SME’s as the monthly cost is often based on the number of users or computers, and this offers the flexibility to scale the service as your business grows.
The reality of today’s inter-connected world is that digital technology is used to drive virtually every aspect of a business. Whether it is product development, project planning, accounting and finance, communications or HR, there is usually a keyboard being tapped or a mouse being clicked to facilitate a process. And when that technology fails, or even slows down, your business is seriously affected. So Labyrinth Technology aims to provide business IT support that delivers fast response times, reduced system downtime, assurance that your business is using the best equipment and software, reduced cost, and time to focus on your core business goals and objectives.
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Empowering London Businesses with Efficient IT Solutions to Save Time and Stay Ahead of the Competition.