Why You Need a Managed Services Provider
Information technology systems are expected to meet high standards of operation, while offering 24/7 availability, security and performance. In today’s environment, you have to keep pace with the constant changes in IT, high performance demands and pressure to deliver competitive IT functionality. Many organizations believe outsourcing their IT activities to a Managed Services Provider (MSP) could effectively help them address these challenges.
But what exactly is managed services and what role does an MSP play?
Managed services is a practice of outsourcing day-to-day management responsibilities to improve operations and cut costs. Managed Services Providers let you delegate specific IT operations to them, whereby they’d be responsible for monitoring, managing and/or problem solving for your IT systems and functions.
More specifically, Managed Services Providers offer:
- Alerts
- Data backup and recovery for different devices (desktops, notebooks, servers, etc.)
- Patch Management
- Security
The extent to which a Managed Services Provider integrates into an organization can be anywhere from basic—which includes monitoring services that notify organizations of problems, but allows them to resolve the issues on their own—to more intensive services that cover everything from alerts all the way through resolution.
An MSP can act as an extension of your IT department, taking care of routine IT infrastructure monitoring and management around the clock so that your IT staff is freed up to focus on more important projects. An MSP proactively monitors and maintains your systems in order to help you avoid problems and downtime.
Outsourcing your IT is not like outsourcing other services, in that you continue to maintain control. You decide what you want your provider to take care of and what you want to handle yourself. And with the various MSP subscription models, you benefit from greater budget predictability.
MSPs have begun to play an integral role in many organizations’ overall business strategies. As you consider incorporating an MSP into your business, understand that this decision is not one to be taken lightly. Take your time and consider your needs against what the Managed Services Provider has to offer, as it can have a significant, long-lasting influence on the reputation and the performance of your organization.