IT Support For Small Businesses

The revenue of the global outsourced services industry rose from 45.6 billion US dollars in 2000 to 104.6 billion US dollars in 2014. Thanks to a host of private and public assistance programs and special initiatives to aid small ventures, Tampa's small and medium business (SMB) sector is thriving. Most of these businesses that have 20 or fewer employees lack budget to employ an in-house team to look after their information technology (IT) issues. These companies find it more practical to hire a third party vendor in the city to handle their IT support issues.  Here are some of the major types of support services that can be outsourced to a qualified vendor in order to save cost and get rid of untimely hassles:

Network Setup and Administration: A qualified IT service provider can help address this important aspect of your business at the fraction of the cost of hiring a full time employee.

Network Security Management: With cyber crimes becoming increasingly rampant and sophisticated, businesses need to monitor their network round the clock. This is not only time consuming, but also extremely complicated. A third party provider, whose business focus is to set up and secure network systems, has the expertise to use the latest intrusion detection systems to keep threats at bay.  The arrangement gives you peace of mind that your critical data is safe and sound.

Hardware Support: Ongoing hardware and desktop support is an essential part of running a business, as it helps to make the most of your limited man power. With a dedicated technical team always at your service to solve your hardware related issues, your team is always at its productive best.

Data Backup and Recovery: Data back-up and disaster recovery solutions allow you to obtain your business-critical data and carry on with your operations even in the event of a disaster. In Tampa, there are several IT vendors that offer cloud-based solutions to help you save cost.

Email Services: In an era, when emails have become the primary means of business communication, companies need to have an effective email-management system in place. An outsourced service provider will help you manage your emails at a much lower cost than hiring an in-house staff for the same purpose. While an in-house employee will only focus on a certain job area, an IT support firm gives you a complete bouquet of services that turn out to be much more cost-effective in the long run

While you can avail different types of IT support services in Tampa to speed up the revenue generation process of your business, it is important to make sure that you are outsourcing the work to a trustworthy partner.

Tampa Vendors! Take Cues from These Three IT Managed Services Trends

IT vendors across the globe are focused on delivering superior services at an affordable cost.  This is where the concept of managed services has entered the scenario. This booming sector has breathed fresh oxygen to Tampa’s IT industry that has been staggering due to the worldwide economic recession. Given the high growth potential of the sector, it is crucial for the city’s managed service providers (MSPs) to keep an eye on industry trends that are currently dominating the managed IT services sector in Tampa. Below are the three hottest trends to watch out for:

Rapid Adoption of Cloud:

Cloud technologies that allow companies to use remotely located Internet servers to store, manage, and process data, have been utilized by large enterprises for quite some time now.  However, medium-sized businesses are steadily marching toward a virtualized environment. Against this backdrop, Tampa MSPs are enabling large enterprises to optimize their cloud infrastructure, while facilitating a smooth transition from on-premise to cloud for the mid-size entities. To be successful, MSPs need to understand the complexities of integrating cloud into their clients’ exiting IT infrastructure.

Focus On a Backup Plan:

A disaster can destroy your business if you haven’t invested in the right services to back up your data assets. Majority of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Tampa that lack the resources to run business continuity plans on their own, are turning to MSPs for end-to-end solution to back up and manage their critical data. A thorough assessment of clients’ business is necessary for success in this area.

Uptake of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy:

BOYD policy that allows employees to use personal devices to access enterprise data and applications on the go, has found favor with both enterprise and SMB sectors. In a bid to enhance productivity, all sizes and types of businesses in Tampa are implementing BYOD strategy. The city’s MSP are hugely cashing in on the trend by helping them roll out a suitable program, while ensuring mobility security for their clients. Vendors should consider two factors – fluidity and affordability – to stand out in this space.

Today’s smart entrepreneurs prefer to partner with those managed IT services providers in Tampa that are aware of key industry trends and accordingly capable of customizing the solutions according to their clients’ needs. Stay updated and be ahead of your competitors.

Know About These UI/UX Design Trends Before You Hire an Application Development Firm in Tampa

Be it to perform business-critical tasks or to catch the latest blockbuster on the go, in our professional and personal lives, we all use a plethora of web applications — a type of interactive systems that we can access and use via any Internet-connected device, anywhere, anytime. As far as the development of these tools is concerned, the functionality is only one side of the coin; user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) represent the other side. As we use these tools in our everyday life, a neat interface is what helps to stay us organized and be at our productive best. UI/UX is, therefore, a factor that can actually make or break a web application and let it enjoy competitive edge. If you are out in the market in search of a competent application development partner in Tampa, it therefore makes sense to know where  UI/UX development is headed in the upcoming days. Below are some major trends to watch out for:

Mobile-friendly: Mobile-friendliness rules the roost to facilitate smooth content delivery regardless of screen size.

Flat Design: Flat design elements are in focus, while minimal use of gradients and animation is advocated for seamless access to content across the devices.

Modular Navigation: Tiled interfaces are in to facilitate breaking down of a mass of content into individual modules.

Intuitive Design: Aimed at giving better control over the application usage, UI design includes a number of sensors that are able to understand the users’ surroundings and even their activities, and accordingly suggest actions through enlarged buttons.

Animations: Use of subtle, yet contextual animations is on rise to enable users to know what portion of task has been completed.

While this certainly isn’t a comprehensive list, the trends discussed above will come handy to guide your Application development partner in Tampa to create a user-friendly tool for your mobile employees. You are going to use the application, so take stock of the UI/UX development process in advance.

Cloud Computing Services and Tampa

For organizations that are new to cloud services, the abundance of cloud companies in the market can be overwhelming. Hiring consultants who offer specialized service in this sector can bring in fresh set of ideas to enhance a company’s infrastructure and greater flexibility in delivering quality service to customers. Tampa, a bustling commercial city in Florida, is home to an array of IT companies that are specialized in offering cloud computing service to businesses.

Companies in Tampa, offering cloud computing service do not own the physical infrastructure of hosting the software platform. Instead, they rent usage from a third party provider, thus saving big capital expenditure. Here are the models that are currently used to offer effective cloud computing solutions to companies.

• Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is a cloud model that delivers on-demand applications hosted and managed by the service provider. SaaS solution offers a number of advantages over on-premises deployments including minimal administration, maintenance, improved communication and collaboration. In fact, some cloud-based tools have proven to be more cost-effective than their traditional in-house counterparts.

• Platform as a Service (PaaS)

The PaaS model delivers applications over the internet. In this model, a cloud service provider delivers hardware and software tools — usually those needed for application development. This cloud module hosts both software and hardware on its own infrastructure. As a result, users get relief from installing in-house hardware and software to develop or run a new application.

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS is a form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. It is one of the three main categories of cloud computing services along with SaaS and PaaS. In this particular model, a third party provider hosts hardware, software, servers, storage and other infrastructure components on behalf of its users.

As you can see, these three types of cloud computing models are integrated in IT solution services of Tampa. The best thing is that these services help companies to be more responsive to market conditions. Not just the biggies, with cloud computing services in place, even small businesses of Tampa can have access to high-end technology without hiring any specialized tech worker on their payroll. All they need to do is reach out to an expert IT solution provider in Tampa that has the infrastructure to manage cloud computing.

IT companies in Tampa Offering Complete Digital Solutions

With the spread of Wi-Fi enabled handsets, laptops and tablets, the Internet is experiencing an invasion, unlike every before. With businesses going online, apart from brick-and-mortar stores, netizens are not only getting to know about new products and services via the World Wide Web but  are also buying or subscribing to them over the Internet. Understandably, digital marketing has become a must for every business.  Tampa, an emerging IT hub of  the USA, is gradually becoming a one-stop-shop for digital marketing solutions that aggrandizes the power of digital media to achieve the business objectives of its clients. Here is a list of digital marketing solutions that Tampa-based IT companies are offering, often as part of their ambitious managed IT services bouquet.

Website Designing and Development:

IT companies Tampa offer specialized website designing, development and maintenance services. Thanks to the city’s pleasant climate and unlimited growth opportunities, it’s now home to millions of expert IT professionals and ace visualizers from across the world. These experts  have the ability to handle an array of websites spanning across myriad sectors — right from catalogue sites to multi-functional web portals, providing integrated front-end and back-end development based on latest technology and industry trends.

Social Media Marketing:

Social media marketing is new age advertising that has the ability to reach to target groups in the most effective way. For businesses looking for swift standing across quality client groups, this kinds of digital marketing strategy is the way to go. IT Companies in Tampa offer effective social media strategy to build your social presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and more.

Google Adwords Marketing:

This is a part of search engine marketing (SEM) that generates leads for your business and drives traffic to your website. It is a way of advertising and promoting your website to potential visitors. SEM is considered to be the most effective and efficient way of online advertising, involving a paid form of internet marketing technique.

Search Engine Optimization:

Search engine optimization (SEO) is about increasing your website’s visibility on the internet, and most importantly getting the traffic diverted to your site. If you want to expand your business horizons and page rankings, SEO is a must. Through innovative blogs, interesting articles, strategically designed websites and a gamut of such tactics, Tampa based SEO services are designed to help brands move up the rankings ladder and eventually stay on the top slot.

Thus, IT companies in Tampa provide a full suite of digital marketing solutions to help clients use the web more effectively and thereby usher in more business.