South: Blue Chip predicts growing need for managed IT services

In 2015 there was a noticeable increase in the number of businesses choosing to use managed services for their IT, according to Blue Chip. The services and solutions organisation predicts that this trend will continue to grow in the next financial year.

Many businesses may be looking to incorporate upgrades or refreshes to their IT services to keep up with the fast-evolving world of business technology, it says. However, others are looking to the experts to manage their IT services for them for a number of reasons. 

Blue Chip’s sales managers say the size of the company can play a large role in the decision for a business to employ a third-party IT service provider. 

SME sales manager Guy Nelson said: “The customers my team works with can find it difficult to recruit and maintain talented IT staff. SMEs may not have the budget or even the need to employ a full-time member of staff to handle their IT requirements, which is why they turn to Blue Chip. We have access to a large pool of talented experts, and can easily utilise staff to take the weight off our clients’ shoulders.”

However, it’s not just SMEs who are turning more and more to companies like Blue Chip. Large companies, sometimes with a global reach, are also feeling the need. 

Enterprise sales manager Richard Bessant commented: “More companies these days are finding that their IT has to be available 24/7, particularly as ecommerce becomes increasingly popular. This 'always-on' requirement can mean that an entire department is required to manage the IT infrastructure, which may require a large, expert team who are up-to-date with all the latest technology.”

Many of Blue Chip’s customers also need support on an ad-hoc basis. For those not wanting or able to commit to a long-term financial obligation, Blue Chip offers flexible, pre-paid support packages.