The Ultimate Guide to Managed IT Services Trends in Canada

Are the recent spike in interest rates and increasing costs of labour on top of mind in your organization? Don’t worry, you’re not alone – businesses of all sizes are feeling the crunch! But despite these ongoing concerns, according to a recent CPA Canada survey, 28% of respondents expressed optimism toward the resiliency of the Canadian economy in Q2 of 2023. At first glance, 28% doesn’t seem like a significant number, but when looking at individual organizational metrics, the optimism rises:

Having said that, cost-savings and doing more with less are still what every decision-maker is thinking about right now. To help you increase productivity and protect your pennies, our team of experts recommends closely following these five managed IT services trends in the upcoming quarter and beyond.

With technology evolving at a rapid pace, it’s tempting to invest in the latest and greatest solutions without first considering the impact on strategic growth. However, only some IT investment will yield a positive ROI, and Canadian organizations of all sizes need to be mindful of how they allocate their resources.

This means evaluating each expenditure based on its potential benefits, costs, and risks, as well as its impact on overall strategy and goals. By taking a strategic and data-driven approach to IT spending, you can optimize your investments, and achieve better outcomes.

Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone, especially when it comes to managed IT services. By outsourcing these functions to a managed service provider (MSP) you can gain back time to focus on strategic growth, and be confident that your IT needs are being met. However, before you start splashing that cash, let me remind you that you do still need to be selective when it comes to IT spending, and take the time to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of each expenditure.

Reporting revenue growth and gaining new customers is as exciting as it gets! However, without the right investments in the backbone of your operations, you’ll quickly see all that growth dwindle away. And in this day and age, that means investing in data-driven decision-making to survive.

Inadequate technologies/systems, immature capabilities, and lack of experienced talent are some of the many reasons that are getting in the way of driving data to insights. You can start by incorporating plans to address these specific challenges. Here are some quick tips to get started on facilitating the adoption of big data analytics:

• Invest in new automated systems and/or upgrade existing systems
• Implement talent/organizational changes where needed
• Streamline data structures and evaluating processes/controls

Moving full steam ahead in these three key areas as a top priority will ensure that you’re making the right moves for the future of your business. The shopping spree awaits – you just need to be smart about where to invest for long-term growth.

Now that you know where to spend, let’s look at how to spend. A newly released report from Trellix and Vanson Bourne surveyed over 500 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), to see where their focus is heading. To save you time, here are the key takeaways from this report:

• Reducing the number of ineffective solutions: Organizations reported using an estimated average of 25 individual security solutions, with 30% of CISOs indicating that the sheer plethora of technology (without a single source of truth) is a major obstacle.
• Overall, the need for the right solutions: 94% of CISOs agreed that having the appropriate tools would save them significant time, and 44% expressed a desire for a single integrated enterprise tool to optimize security investments.

At the same time, TechNavio is doubling down on its prediction that Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is where organizations will switch their attention. They estimate the market is set to grow by $20 billion from 2022 to 2027 – from about $13.5 to $33.5 billion – at a CAGR of 19.9%. The growth the NaaS market is experiencing can be largely attributed to several factors, including the increasing use of cloud services, high reliability and security for mission-critical business applications, the rising demand for widespread and high-speed network coverage, and the lack of enough IT expertise at many organizations.

This shift toward a usage-based model allows for greater flexibility, scalability, and cost savings, making it an attractive proposition for businesses of all sizes.

According to Nuspire’s Q1 2023 Cyber Threat Report, the need for cybersecurity investment is here to stay, and hackers are getting smarter with new phishing tactics to infiltrate systems. Specifically, there were elevated activity levels across all three types of threats the Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) monitors:

• Exploits: skyrocketed by over 150%, primarily driven by brute forcing and the exploitation of Apache Log4j vulnerabilities
• Malware: surged by nearly 40%, with JavaScript and Microsoft variants being the most prevalent
• Botnets: witnessed a significant 60% increase, with NetSupport RAT and FatalRAT emerging as prominent threats

As technology continues to evolve, investing in cybersecurity may not guarantee your organization a completely risk-free environment. But you can get close to it! Implementing effective solutions that provide maximum protection will help your organization stay alert and ready to counter any security threats it might face.

As remote/hybrid employees become more prevalent and companies face greater pressure to retain top talent, it’s increasingly common to adopt employee-centric work models as part of a broader business growth strategy. Today’s successful businesses recognize the importance of an employee-centric approach, which prioritizes the happiness and motivation of employees to improve productivity and achieve long-term success.

How does technology play a role in this? Implementing innovative strategies and access to the latest technology solutions boosts your employee productivity and creativity while enhancing their work-life balance. Ultimately, placing your employees at the centre of business strategy fosters loyal, engaged, high-performing teams that drive better customer satisfaction, increased profitability, and sustainable growth. Partnering with a leading managed services provider (MSP) in Canada can not only help assess your existing workflows and inefficiencies, but also collaborate with you to implement the right technologies.

There is no doubt that leaders are constantly thinking about strategic growth far beyond the next 12 months, especially in this current economic landscape. It’s most likely kept you up some nights! But no matter the trends of this year and beyond, there is essentially one constant survival skill that every business needs: adaptability driven by technology. Technology is constantly evolving, and companies need to keep up to remain competitive. By adapting to emerging technologies, businesses can streamline their operations, improve efficiency, and enhance the customer – and employee – experience.

Remember this – a leading Managed IT service provider in Canada, like Konica Minolta IT Services, has the expertise and resources to help organizations like yours stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, ensuring that they make the most of their IT investments. You have access to a range of services, including network management, cyber security, data backup, cloud computing, and help desk support, among others, at your fingertips. Ultimately, outsourcing IT can help businesses adapt to new technologies more quickly, reduce downtime and improve overall performance, allowing your business to stay ahead of the curve in today’s rapidly changing business landscape.

Learn more about Konica Minolta’s Managed IT Services here.