What are IT services & support? Understanding IT’s role in driving growth

Think of IT as your company’s circulatory system, quietly powering every tool, workflow, and login behind the scenes. 

From onboarding new hires to supporting cloud infrastructure, IT services and support are critical to driving growth and delivering smooth, frictionless experiences for both teams and customers.

And while they’re often mentioned in the same breath, IT services and IT support play different roles in keeping your business running at full speed. 

What are IT services and support?

IT services are the tools, systems, and strategic solutions that power day-to-day technology operations. Think cloud storage, device provisioning, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity environments, and ticketing systems. These services provide the backbone of your IT environment, enabling your team to work effectively and securely.

IT support, on the other hand, is the team (or partner) that works with care to keep everything up and running. It’s the human layer that steps in when something breaks, a user gets locked out of their account, or someone needs help installing the right software.

Types of IT services businesses rely on

No two businesses have the same tech stack, but nearly all rely on a mix of core IT services to keep things humming behind the scenes. Here are some of the most common types of IT services and how they show up in real-world operations.

Help desk services

This is often the front line and face of IT. Help desk services are the heroes responding to user requests, troubleshooting issues, and resolving tickets. From password resets to printer connectivity problems, these folks are working on Tier 1 and Tier 2 tickets.

Infrastructure support

Your infrastructure includes the servers, network equipment, and endpoint devices that form the backbone of your IT environment. Infrastructure support ensures everything stays online, secure, and up to date. 

Cybersecurity services

IT compliance is changing, and cybersecurity laws are getting stricter. For good reason, too. These services protect your systems from threats like malware, phishing, and ransomware and help you stay compliant with changing regulations. 

And no, you don’t have to be a Fortune 500 company to be a target — 82% of companies face phishing attacks and malware incidents. It’s best to assume you won’t be the exception.

Cloud services

Whether you’re running virtual desktops, managing files in OneDrive, or hosting AWS apps, cloud services make remote work and modern collaboration possible. They let businesses scale without being weighed down by physical infrastructure.

With cloud-based systems, you can typically recover faster after disruptions, which makes them a smart piece of any business continuity plan.

The role of IT support in business continuity

Strong IT support is one of the most important (and often underppreciated) pillars of continuity. That’s because IT support isn't just about fixing broken things. It’s about preventing those breaks in the first place. 

Here’s how great IT support makes a measurable difference for businesses:

1. Keeps your business running smoothly: When systems go down, so does productivity. Strong IT support reduces downtime by quickly identifying and resolving issues. 
2. Supports security and compliance: Support teams are often the first to spot odd behavior, like unusual login attempts, suspicious file downloads, or a sketchy link someone clicked on by accident. A responsive IT support structure is a second set of eyes on your digital environment. This helps to keep your security posture strong and makes regulatory compliance easier.
3. Improves the employee experience: Slow support kills momentum. But when employees get help fast, they trust IT more. That trust shows up in smoother software rollouts, fewer rogue tools (hello, shadow IT), and more constructive feedback when things go wrong.
4. Enables strategic growth: Strong support frees your internal IT team to focus on project-based work, like migrating to a new system. It shifts IT from a reactive function to a strategic asset that drives business outcomes.

How to choose the right IT support model

Not all IT support models are created equal, and choosing the right one can make the difference between a thriving team and one that's treading water. Here’s how to evaluate your options and make a smart choice.

1. Understand your current IT needs

Start by evaluating your current IT setup:

• What’s your ticket volume? Are you swamped with routine issues (like password resets) or more complex troubleshooting?
• What are your response time expectations? Do you have strict SLAs to meet, and are you meeting them?
• Are employees satisfied with the current support?

Use help desk metrics and feedback to clearly understand where you stand.

2. Evaluate internal resources

Ask yourself:

• Do you have enough in-house IT staff to manage tickets and strategic initiatives?
• Are your IT pros spending time on high-impact work or bogged down by repetitive requests?

If your team is at capacity, you might need a solution that complements them rather than replaces them.

3. Consider different support models

Here are the main models and when they make sense:

• In-house support: Best for complete control, but expensive and complicated to scale quickly.
• Outsourced MSPs: They can offload work but are often generic, costly, and less transparent.
• AI-only automation tools: Efficient for repetitive tasks, but have trouble handling nuance or edge cases.
• Hybrid models (like Fixify): Combines AI automation with human oversight. Ideal for companies that need to scale fast without sacrificing quality or blowing the budget.

Pro tip: Ask your IT team what tasks they’d stop doing tomorrow if they had help. Their answers can reveal which responsibilities you should offload, allowing you to choose a suitable model. 

4. Match support to business goals

Your support model should align with your IT goals. 

Ask these questions for better solutions:

• Want to scale without headcount? Go hybrid. 
• Need a better end-user experience? Look for human-in-the-loop solutions. 
• Want more transparency and insights? Choose a model that gives you a rich set of metrics and reporting.

5. Prioritize flexibility and integration

The right model should integrate with your existing tools (e.g., Jira, Freshworks) and scale as your business grows. Bonus points if it automatically generates a tailored support playbook, like Fixify does.

IT support that works as hard as you do

IT services and support are the backbone of every successful business. When they run smoothly, so does everything else.

Whether you’re scaling fast, stuck in ticket limbo, or just tired of Band-Aid solutions, it might be time to rethink your model. With the right mix of smart systems and thoughtful support, your IT team can stop firefighting and start driving real impact.

Start exploring how Fixify can transform your helpdesk today and book a demo.