Break out the confetti and start popping corks! Let’s celebrate how managed IT services in Chicago helped businesses thrive in 2023! A tech review of the year highlights the IT trials businesses faced and how Chicago managed IT services played a significant role in meeting those challenges.
Why use Chicago managed IT service providers? Prior to 2019 experts estimated 90% of Fortune 1000 businesses contracted with managed IT services to handle all or part of their IT needs. But small to mid-sized organizations, too small to adequately staff an IT department, turned to managed service providers, too.
Inc. magazine cited Chicago as high on the list of cities friendly to entrepreneurs. Little wonder many of these businesses turned to Chicago managed IT services to administrate their IT infrastructures.
Cybersecurity Threats
As noted in an earlier post, the FBI named Illinois as fifth in the U.S. for most victims of cybercrime. Chicago-area companies, threatened by cybersecurity challenges, recognized they did not have the in-house expertise to put safeguards in place. Adopting cybersecurity software, maintaining secure virtual public networks (VPN), applying regular software updates, designing backup schedules and disaster recovery plans, and educating employees required the attention of professionals continually schooled in combatting the latest threats. Chicago managed IT service providers like JMA Consulting, LLP employ licensed professionals who know the latest tools for fighting cybercrime and who can monitor the threats to IT infrastructures.
Budget Constraints
IT infrastructures age and the IT needs of growing businesses change. In 2023 businesses turned to Chicago managed IT services to help them develop their roadmaps for growth. Assessing the needs to replace hardware and to update software applications as well as adding cybersecurity safeguards, the consultants employed by these services developed growth plans that not only met corporate needs but also satisfied budget constraints.
Digital Transformation
Organizations recognized their need to depend more heavily on digital technology in all aspects of their businesses. But while they could understand the need for digital transformation, these organizations did not have the time or expertise to find digital solutions. They relied on managed IT service providers in Chicago to develop the plans for digital transformation manage the process of making the changes.
Cloud Computing
In 2023, companies who wanted to move to Cloud computing turned to Chicago managed IT services. Cloud computing, the use of the Cloud to house data and applications, offered benefits of increased security, data recovery features, and the opportunity to meet the technological demands of a growing business. Migrating a company whose IT infrastructure resided on proprietary servers demanded expertise. So, organizations contracted with managed IT services and their cloud migration consultants, professionals with experience in various forms of Cloud migration. These individuals mapped the project and managed the migration from inhouse servers to the Cloud.
Regulatory Compliance
Companies also turned to Chicago managed IT service providers to help them comply with various regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), the amended version of the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act. Under this act businesses needed to comply with standards of data privacy and security. Other states also adopted similar legislation. In 2006 the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) was created and quickly outlined security standards for the payment card industry. Businesses turned to Chicago managed IT services to help them comply with the 12 PCI DSS requirements.
With their myriad of services (managed IT, managed backup, project planning, Cloud migration, troubleshooting, cybersecurity, and business consulting), Chicago managed IT services and their professionals helped Chicago-based organizations thrive in 2023. 2024 promises to present these challenges and more. Consider contracting with JMA Consulting LLP, a Chicago managed IT service provider, to oversee your IT infrastructure and help you face the IT challenges in the new year.
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