Entreprenista’s Guide to the Best Outsourced IT Solution for your Business

Tech is hard. Electric makes life easier!

When we pivoted our business to working remote, we found that our current IT solution was no longer relevant. So, we explored and tested the most popular IT software and MSPs.

IT is tricky because so many businesses rely on numerous different software and programs to facilitate their internal operations. Using this software and managing these tools are two completely different things, but it often doesn’t feel that way.

Every business is different, and so are its IT needs. From complicated back-end systems to heaps of API integrations, gone are the days of a one-size-fits-all IT solution. That’s why we wanted to explore the best IT management tools on the market.

Here's what we found:

#01. Electric

Electric is a modern IT solution offering a full-stack solution that spans all of your digital concerns. Designed for companies with 15-500 employees, Electric provides real-time IT support to 25,000 users and centralized IT management to over 400 customers. Even better, they offer companies a 50% reduction in IT spend and standardized security across all devices, apps, and networks.

With Electric, breaches are a thing of the past with a security system that scales not scares. Take confidence in knowing that Electric is working around the clock to ensure tight security across all channels while even providing best-practice recommendations.

Electric is changing the game when it comes to how businesses manage their tech stack by simplifying everything for the end-user (you!) and offering lightning-fast through chat-based support that guides you from response to the resolution. You can be certain that you’ll hear back from a certified IT specialist within 10 minutes!

One of our favorite features, however, is how Electric combines its state-of-the-art technology with over 50 certified industry specialists across premier B2B products including Slack, Jamf, Kaneya, and Cisco. Their proprietary technology combines unique industry insights with customer trends to deliver an IT platform that learns from every interaction to develop intelligent solutions.

Something for you, Entreprenista!

Plus, Electric is extending a special offer to Entreprenista readers! If you're a decision maker at a company with between 15-500 employees, follow this link to Get a free pair of Beats wireless headphones with your free 30 minute demo!

#02. ServiceNow

ServiceNow is called “the platform of platforms” since it provides a foundation for all digital workflows through their Now Platform. The Now Platform includes core capabilities that enable users to quickly and efficiently digitize workflows and run them at scale.

What sets ServiceNow apart from its competitors, is that it is not a standalone product, but rather a part of a much larger business app framework. But this can also be a bit of a hindrance as to get machine tracking, customers need to purchase an add-on to their ServiceNow pricing tier which would handle asset discovery. It’s also the most complicated system out of the three given the vast array of plug-ins available and the complex UI.

If you’re interested in ServiceNow, you’ll need a serious learning curve given the complexity of the system (and a fairly high price tag if you're a small business just looking for a basic solution). Prices for ServiceNow Express start at $10,200 a year while prices for their enterprise version start at $42,000 per year.

#03. Microsoft Intune

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for mobile device management and specifically for those who are running Microsoft-centric environments. Microsoft offers Intune as a park of a bundle with their Microsoft Azure security and identity management products. Intune covers all three management categories and offers a comprehensive set of policies covering a wide range of security settings.

However, feature parity between the two experiences is not fully realized, with the functionality of Intune lagging behind its competitors. There is also no device location capabilities and no way to customize your dashboard. Keep in mind that if you’re using non-Microsoft platforms then there may be some overlooked features.

The program starts at $6 per device per month for the basic plan, but given that you can’t even have a conversation with anyone on the Microsoft EMM team about their core MDM capabilities, we’re not too keen on this service.

#04. Rippling

Rippling is an easy-to-use HR and IT platform with a sophisticated benefits administration service that also boasts impressive payroll processing tools. The user interface is very intuitive and allows for quick and efficient onboarding for new employees.

These advanced features and customization make it excellent for mid-sized companies poised for growth, especially since it is priced at the small business level. Not to mention, its usability and support are incredibly reliable.

Still, Rippling has more of a focus on HR management rather than IT management as it lacks several important functionalities such as asset discovery and data loss prevention. With all of this considered, Rippling’s base cost of $35 plus $5 a month per employee may not be the best value.

#05. Moveworks

Moveworks uses advanced natural language processing to understand and resolve IT issues autonomously. This conversational AI platform delivers instant help at work to lower your resolve time from 3 days to just 3 seconds.

Whether you need help resetting passwords or managing approvals, this instant IT support provides companies with improved efficiencies to free up your help desk and work on the projects that matter. Moveworks also provides instant HR help as well such as answering benefit questions and announcing new policies.

You can even send targeted messages to employees for an immediate response and cut through the noise! Our biggest gripe, however, is that while Moveworks offers a fantastic conversational tool, they do not provide any direct help with backend management, but rather give you instruction on what to do. There are no asset management or CRM tools which means that if you’re looking for a more “complete” IT solution, this may not be what you’re looking for.

#06. BetterCloud

BetterCloud is the first SaaS Operations Management platform that bolsters your IT processes to define, remediate, and enforce management for SaaS applications. BetterCloud’s API enables this IT solution to continuously monitor events, complete individual and bulk remediation actions, and fully automated policy enforcement.

This unique solution enables users to leverage open APIs by providing users with a secure way to connect data seamlessly from its source. The service is touted as “the most comprehensive tool for cloud IT,” with a top range of features and functionalities enjoyed by more than 50,000 IT administrators. This capability allows BetterCloud to manage all aspects of a user profile from their history to a single interface.

However, While BetterCloud boasts impressive functionality, their customer support leaves much to be desired. After trying out BetterCloud we found that their support staff was extremely unresponsive and often did not answer our questions when needed. It’s a shame that such a comprehensive program doesn’t offer the same level of instruction. Still, at a starting price of only $3 a month, it might not hurt to try it.

Final Verdict

Between these five different IT providers, the clear winner is Electric thanks to its robust functionality, affordable price, and top-notch customer support. Electric isn't simply a one-size-fits-all IT solution, but a framework that allows you to take back control of your business-related requirements. Such an all-encompassing product eliminates the need for new products or services down the road and gives you and your company everything it needs to achieve scale.

Why not an in-house IT team?

The strength of an IT team shouldn’t be measured by the number of tickets it can close, but more so by its ability to keep its business moving. Instead of focusing on lower-level tasks like resetting a team member’s password, Electric can take on this work so that your team can get back to the job they signed up for.

Likewise with on and offboarding, processing these requests can become a full-time job. Electric can handle operational leg work by setting the parameters around which devices, applications, communication channels, and files each department should have access to.

Managed IT solutions like Electric can also help you get support for strategic projects by leveraging an impressive partner network to oversee any project from ideation to completion--such as office moves, network upgrades, email and data migration, and much more.

Why not a local MSP?

Electric isn’t just regular IT--it’s IT, simplified. Instead of outsourcing your IT to a local Management Service Provider with staggered response times and an outdated user interface, Electric provides accessible and reliable support. No more complicated ticket submission processes or 48 hour response windows. Enjoy day-to-day troubleshooting and the utmost visibility through the Electric Platform that aggregates all of the aspects of your IT infrastructure into one place.

Something for you, Entreprenista!

Our #1 recommended solution, Electric, is giving Entreprenista readers a free pair of Beats wireless headphones for taking a 30 minute meeting with them as long as you're a decision maker at a company with between 15 and 500 employees.

Explore the best outsourced IT solution for yourself, and get a free pair of Beats headphones! If you're a decision maker at a company with between 15-500 employees, get your Free Beats Wireless Headphones with your free 30 minute demo here!