Managed Service Providers: What’s in it for you?
A simple search on the internet about getting help for your business’ IT needs will invariably run into the abbreviation MSP: Managed Service Provider.
Oversimplifying it, an MSP is a company that supports your IT either by supplementing your existing IT department or becoming your entire IT department.
What is an IT MSP?
Straightforward, it’s an IT Support company that coordinates and manages all or part of a business’s IT systems and networks.
Managed IT Service Providers, either on-site or remotely, to manage a company’s systems and IT assets. These services are like Lego pieces. You can choose a specific service or range of services to supplement your existing IT Department or a complete suite to fulfill all of your IT needs.
The services MSPs provide can range from the monitoring of your network to being responsible for all repairs, updates and patches. It can also include the provisioning of software, hardware, infrastructure, cloud services, staff resources from technical support to training, and more.
The extent of service provided to you by the Managed Service Provider is determined, of course, during the hiring process. Once you’ve concluded which services are needed, the corresponding Contract for services is issued.
Two Models for MSPs
There are 2 common ways managed services are hired by companies:
1. Break and Fix
2. Flat Fee
Break and Fix
This is when you only use the MSP when something breaks. You call them up to fix it.
This approach is generally penny-wise but foolish – many costly issues can be avoided with proactive monitoring and prompt resolution as opposed to waiting and reacting to a problem once it arises.
Another reason this is not advisable is that in some cases, such as ransomware, phishing and similar attacks, it may be too late to “fix” it by the time you call for help.
The approach saves the company money until it doesn’t.
Flat Fee
In this type of service agreement, you and the MSP will clarify the diverse services included for your organization. This is scoped out in a way that allows the MSP to be proactive and provide the level of support needed.
When working with Sequentur, data has shown that clients save 25% to 30% our their IT costs.
Core Benefits of an MSP
In short: more efficient, reliable, robust and scalable IT Operations!
What makes this such a good idea for companies of all sizes? The benefits include:
1. You are billed a flat fee each month, making it easier on budgeting.
2. Your staff and company data are protected at all times.
3. You have a team of experts proactively strategizing and consulting towards your IT goals.
4. It’s easy to scale as your company grows.
5. Your staff has access to direct technical support with diverse skillsets.
6. On-site resolution is available when you need it.
7. Hardware and software updates and patches are automatically handled.
8. The MSP makes sure your systems are updated according to current events and issues.
9. The MSP can work with your IT department/person or be your entire IT department.
With a highly-skilled technical team and state-of-the-art technological infrastructure, the efficiency and overall IT operations of any company can dramatically improve.
Because of their focus and expertise with cloud-based services, a Managed IT Service Provider can provide your company with a wide variety of scalable IT options to meet growth-related needs.
Competent MSPs offer 24/7 Help Desk services, improving the reliability of your company’s IT operations. Employees will see a dramatic improvement in IT ticket resolution compared to waiting for help from overburdened in-house tech resources.
An important service that MSPs provide to improve IT operations is Performance Monitoring. Using a high-end firewall, agents, and other tools your MSP will proactively manage and oversee your IT network’s performance. This shows when and how IT performance is being adversely affected or how could be impacted in the future to avoid detrimental results.
For example, an MSP will know immediately when your internet is operating slowly or is down and will quickly take the necessary steps to resolve the situation to minimize any disruption to your activities.
Significant IT Savings, Improved IT Inventory Management and Budgeting
As noted above, with the reduction of IT infrastructure and maintenance an MSP often provides substantial IT cost savings in both the short and long run.
With the use of flat-fee plans, your company can more easily get a handle on its overall IT inventory management and you will be able to predict and prepare accurate monthly and annual IT budgets.
Once more, we see savings of 25% or more when a company moves to our Managed IT Services plans.
Freeing Up Dedicated Resources and Help with Strategy
With a reliable MSP, you can reassign dedicated IT and other resources to carry out the many different tasks your company requires.
As your IT partner and advisor, your company can more effectively strategize how to utilize your IT assets to achieve your business goals. Our proven expertise can help guide you on how to most effectively utilize IT within the budgetary regulations you have.
Cutting-Edge Cybersecurity
Nothing strikes greater fear for many businesses, small and big, than the nightmare scenario of their network being hacked and sensitive data being corrupted or worse, stolen.
Reliable Managed IT Service Provider offers your company layers of the latest cybersecurity protection through firewalls, applications, monitoring, filtering and protective and reactive measures.
MSPs have the technology and expertise to keep hackers out or to quickly rid the system of their presence if they manage to penetrate layered defenses.
Even if cyber criminals do somehow overcome formidable cybersecurity defenses, an MSP will also provide robust back-ups of your company’s critical data and applications to ensure the continuity of business operations.
Updated IT and Compliance Requirements
Competent MSPs will ensure that your company’s IT network and applications are regularly updated to the latest and most effective versions to meet your specific needs.
A Managed IT Service Provider’s state-of-the-art technology portfolio is also continuously being used to benefit your company without the need for you to research and implement it yourself.
This can also include NIST compliance (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and other compliance bodies.
Peace of Mind Through Back-Ups
Through its emphasis on the important services of Back-ups, Disaster Recovery, and Business Continuity an MSP offers your company what it wants most: peace of mind!
With services like these, your management team and workforce can rest easy at night knowing that all your important data and business applications are comprehensively backed up at a secure remote location.
In the event of a harmful man-made or natural event, an MSP can quickly restore operations with backed-up data and applications and ensure that your business will not suffer the consequences from costly downtime.
What about Working from Home?
Before the events, we all saw during the last months and while more and more personnel were required to work-from-home, your Managed Service Provider became an important asset in making this happening in a fast and, of course, secure way.
During this trying time, unfortunately, cybercrime skyrocketed. Fortunately, MSPs worked as both a deterrent and a safety net for many, many organizations across the country.
Conclusion
There is, of course, the inherent benefit in terms of cybersecurity. This comes into play before, during and after any event.
For example, In the unlikely event that a cybercriminal overcomes the thorough cybersecurity measures provided by a Managed IT Service Provider, your data and applications will be quickly restored. This means that your company will not suffer from downtime because of corrupted data nor ever have to pay any costly fees if your company is affected by Ransomware.
Now that you know what an MSP or Managed Service Provider is and some important benefits they can offer your company, make it a point to contact one soon.
As we provide reliable, robust, and secure Managed IT Services with top-notch on-premise and remote support you will save time and money while having a team of highly trained professionals be your virtual IT team or even become an extension of your current one.
Get started. Call us.
Tampa Bay Office: (813) 489-4122, Washington D.C. Office: (800) 959-5731
