If office hours are from 9 to 5, should you still get 24/7 IT support?
Yes, you should.
In this article, we’ll explain why. What exactly are the benefits of 24/7 IT support that will help you?
At Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS), we believe all companies should have access to around-the-clock IT staff. With over 20 years of experience managing the technology of hundreds of businesses across the United States, we’ve discovered that 24/7 IT support is a must for companies of all industries and sizes.
Peter Swarowski, ITS’ Chief Operating Officer, will also provide insight into the nitty-gritty of tech support beyond the standard 9-to-5.
By the end of this article, you’ll see if these benefits will work for your business.
1. Someone is always there to handle cybersecurity issues.
A lot of cyberattacks happen out of office hours. In the first half of 2023, 43% of ransomware incidents happened outside regular business hours, including nights and weekends.
They don’t conveniently happen from 9-5 pm, with a lunch break in between.
“You see spikes of cyberattacks that happen around holidays, on weekends, at night... early detection matters,” Swarowski said.
Even if you have all the right tools, if no one is watching your systems, you’ll still suffer the effects of a data breach.
For example, your Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) software triggers a suspicious activity alert at night. Without 24/7 staff, those alerts go unnoticed, giving attackers time to burrow into your systems.
“Now there’s nobody there to see that something’s going on. [...] It’s kind of like a little playground for them [criminals],” Swarowski warned.
Real-time review of alerts isolates threats before they spread.
2. You have people to push IT projects forward.
It's a common misconception that night shift IT staff twiddle their thumbs waiting for IT issues to pop up – essentially getting paid to sit around and do nothing.
That is far from the reality.
Out-of-office hours are the best time to do important – but easily pushed aside – tasks like system updates, security patches, and routine maintenance. No one will interrupt you to fix a broken printer. No one will immediately see if your patch bluescreens computers. (Remember the CrowdStrike-Microsoft fiasco?)
At ITS, we call our night shift team members the Proactive Team. As their name suggests, they do the proactive IT work – work that the day shift won’t have to think of on top of day-to-day IT helpdesk tasks.
READ: Antivirus vs. EDR vs. MDR: What are the Differences?
3. You lessen your downtime chances.
Downtime can be financially devastating. In 2024, 41% of enterprises reported that a single hour of downtime cost them between $1 million and over $5 million.
Having IT support available around the clock allows for immediate issue resolution, reducing the duration and impact of unexpected outages.
“If your internet or server goes down on Saturday and comes back up the same day, your IT team can still investigate proactively,” Swarowski said. “We can contact the ISP or power company, identify root causes, and alert you if it’s a longer outage.”
Early detection means preparing workarounds before Monday. You ultimately avoid unexpected downtime.
“And if you know the downtime is going to be 3 days, [...] maybe you don’t go to the office, maybe you work from home. You get options,” he said.
4. Your team will be supported if they travel to a different time zone or work remotely.
In 2025, global clients, team members in multiple time zones, and business travel are becoming the norm.
Having 24/7 IT support means you’ll have someone to turn to in case of IT problems during off hours.
What if your sales teams have problems with their presentations on the road? Or a C-level loses email access while in a different country? Or a team member’s laptop crashes in Ohio, but your team in California is still sleeping? Or an employee requests to work from home but can’t access their files?
24/7 IT maintains your team’s productivity and helps meet deadlines without dragging you into out-of-office tech issues.
“Will they call you and say, oh no, I can’t get my work done?” Swarowski asked. “Or do you have a 24/7 IT shop where you pick up the phone and say, hey, my connection’s not working [...] and things get done?”
Ready to get 24/7 IT support?
Investing in round-the-clock IT support is not just about immediate issue resolution; it’s about proactive management, enhanced security, and ensuring your business always operates smoothly.
If you’re ready to improve your IT infrastructure and keep your operations secure, partnering with a managed IT service provider (MSP) like ITS that offers comprehensive 24/7 support.
Schedule a meeting with our team and ask about all the benefits of a managed IT provider, beyond the 24/7 support.
But if you need more information about MSPs before reaching out, here are some free resources for you to read:
- A Review of the Different IT Support Methods (Pros & Cons)
- 7 Ways Managed IT Services Can Support Your IT Team [UPDATED]
- IT Cost Calculator [TOOL]
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