Managed services providers (MSPs) are real champions for business owners, and can boost the efficiency and stability of your daily operations. They can help manage your IT infrastructure as well as provide solutions that are efficient and accelerate growth. There are several things MSP’s do that are essential for businesses. Some of the critical things that they do include patching 3rd party software, managing Windows security and reliability updates system wide, provide for data backup solutions, and keeping your network and data secure.
As the industry trade association CompTIA took note in a recent survey, over 70% of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) made use of a third-party IT firm at least occasionally, or had a maintenance contract, during a 12-month period. These businesses’ realize that investing in emerging technology is the way forward with innovating, generating profit, and making the workplace more efficient. There’s no denying that technology plays an important role in the daily operations of businesses. This demand highlights exactly how important an MSPs role has become.
Here are 5 advantages of using a managed services provider:
1. USING A GROUP OF FOCUSED EXPERTS
Numerous organizations lack the money for hiring highly qualified IT staff members. Instead they assign employees with the responsibility of managing their infrastructure, despite the fact that they have much more important roles within the company. These employees generally have difficulty managing their normal work responsibilities alongside of their “IT” obligations. Consequently, the company suffers because that employee cannot do either job effectively. Firms that outsource their IT work, on the other hand, don’t need to depend on employees attempting to cram IT tasks into their hectic schedules. They are able to fully concentrate on their primary responsibilities.
Firms that can afford a full time IT department may also find it’s difficult to keep up with the work load. Internal IT staff may find that they are so busy managing everyday upkeep tasks that they are unable to concentrate on their business’ long-term goals. By partnering with a team of skilled experts, these firms can augment their staff and free them up to concentrate on more strategic and immediate concerns. MSP’s also have the ability to automate many upkeep tasks and can provide those IT departments with additional resources, which in turn makes their day to day operations easier to manage.
2. OFFERING A COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION
Budgets in many companies are tight. You need to ensure that you are spending your hard earned money in one of the most effective ways. Some business owners believe that the cash invested in an MSP could be used elsewhere. However, they don’t realize that using an outside partner could save them a tremendous amount of money over the long haul.
MSPs can take out a number of their customers’ IT problems over time and make their operations much more productive. They can through careful and constant maintenance keep the environment clear of issues, while also introducing new solutions over time. This equates to increased efficiency and also lowers IT costs. Furthermore, these service providers can protect against security issues both externally and internally, and can offer assistance and disaster recovery options. By helping businesses prevent data breaches and data loss, MSPs successfully save their clients the cash that would certainly have been lost with those incidents.
Outside companies offer a wide range of IT expertise at a cost effective price point. Businesses can acquire an entire team of highly skilled individuals for a fraction of the cost. Transparent invoicing designs will show precisely what your service provider has actually been accomplishing for the client. This allows executives to plan their IT budgets beforehand without stressing over surprise fees.
3. CARRYING OUT PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
The once popular break-fix methodology comes from a reactive mindset. This method suggests that you if you wait until something breaks, and then fix it you will save money. This has been proven to be not only expensive but unsustainable with the increasing complexity of network requirements and the importance of data today. By the time businesses notice that something is wrong, chances are there’s more than one issue and it could end up being a costly adventure. It also doesn’t allow for determining how you can prevent similar issues in the future.
MSPs, on the other hand, help you take a much more proactive position on IT problems and challenges. Along with a team of IT experts, you can identify how to keep equipment and software from breaking, rather than simply fixing them when they do. Your MSP will ensure that you do not miss a software or firmware update, they can track system ages and warranties, and always keep your systems running smoothly. They can provide automated maintenance “under the hood” through scripts and scheduled tasks. This ongoing maintenance keeps your computer systems efficient, operational for longer periods of time, and avoids many problems that would certainly have triggered downtime.
4. DELIVERING PROMPT RESOLUTION TO IT ISSUES
Many MSPs have a fast means to get help to you if you experience trouble. They also have a vast array of software and hardware tools that can be deployed, and experienced engineers that can handle any situation. Downtime is expensive and when a problem does arise you need a fast resolution. If you have an in-house IT person but they are out sick for the day or vacationing, that downtime can become extremely expensive if you have no other options available. The longer IT issues go unresolved, the more likely you are to lose money. Making use of an MSP permits you to always have a dependable professional on-call to deal with any type of problems that arise, no matter when they occur.
5. ENABLING TO SCALE
Having an MSP that is familiar with your IT systems and how you do business is critical. They will recognize which products match your business needs and can improve your existing infrastructure. Having a hardware and software architect that can design these systems for you is a great asset. This will help you scale your IT in a reliable way that fits your goals for growth, and also allow for future expansions of your existing infrastructure.
Get in touch with us for examples of how managed IT services can save you time, money and provide you with peace of mind.
