As you run your own company or act on behalf of a business executive, you know pretty well that SUCCESSFUL business is impossible without robust technology and well-organized IT infrastructure. Small companies and entire enterprises, they all need a person or a team to cover their IT needs.
Does your organization require a complete update of all your devices? Are you moving to a new office and need someone to configure the assets? Do your employees need assistance when connecting their computers to the Internet?
These are some of the tech challenges businesses face every day. Those companies that react to the issues faster win in the long run. Because they minimize downtimes and boost employees’ efficacy. But how can they ensure their IT environment is safely running?
Organizations manage their IT processes in a different way, depending on the company size and budget. Some firms are too small to invest extra cash in their IT infrastructure, so handle all IT-related stuff on their own. Others hire a system administrator or even a team of tech engineers to meet their needs.
The former solution might be a good choice only when you know what you are doing. Otherwise, you risk posing your company to operational failures and big security issues.
The latter is a better alternative but hiring a team of IT guys might cost a penny. And you can’t be sure that they will handle the required amount of work, especially when disasters or emergency situations happen.
So, if both options have dramatic downsides, is there any better solution for companies longing for agile and quality IT support?
Yes, there is. It’s known as managed IT services. This technology allows you to get help from a third-party contractor called a managed service provider (MSP).
In this article, we will explain what a managed IT service is about and will show you how it can benefit your business.
What is a managed IT service?
Simply put, a managed IT service is the practice of delegating the company’s IT operations to a third-party contractor, called a managed service provider (MSP) that gets a monthly fee for their package of services.
An MSP is responsible for a wide range of IT processes ensuring all your devices, apps, and the entire infrastructure run smoothly. The set of services vary depending on the provider, but their goal remains the same — to free the company from maintaining their IT environment so that the team could focus on critical business matters rather than handling tech issues or managing IT infrastructure at predictable and affordable pricing.
This might seem similar to an old-school break-fix service, but let us explain why it’s a completely different approach.
As your company goes for a break-fix service, you get your issues fixed as they have evolved and have probably resulted in downtime or other failures.
But as modern businesses rely on the IT infrastructure too much and even insignificant issues could lead to serious financial losses, managed IT services can save the day. Because MSPs monitor IT systems all the time, they detect any potential issues and eliminate them in the bud.
What services can you outsource to an MSP?
So, what can you expect from an MSP in terms of managed IT support? We’ve enumerated the most popular managed IT services that are frequently included in the package.
- Support. When things go wrong and your laptop stops working or you’ve mistakenly deleted an important file, your MSP will sort things out remotely or on-site.
- Service desk. An MSP company empowers your business operations ensuring smooth employee on- and off-boarding, deploying and syncing apps, managing and updating OS, procuring and configuring devices, and more.
- Cloud management. As you decide to switch your IT infrastructure to the cloud, your managed service provider will plan, implement, and maintain the cloud system so you do not worry about data loss and other stuff.
- Security. Your MSP will handle all security-related stuff like keeping your data protected from hacking, ransomware, or data leaking. They will also be in charge of preventing and detecting any security threats through 24/7 monitoring of your apps, cloud infrastructure, endpoints, networks, and more.
- Data backup and recovery. Your business data will be securely backed up by a trusted managed service provider. They will be monitoring your backup systems so that when a disaster happens, you could easily recover data without losses and with minimal downtime.
- Infrastructure management. Your managed services will include maintenance and monitoring of your key infrastructure elements that sustain business continuity.
To get to know the full list of services the third-party provides, ask for a service-level agreement (SLA). It dwells on the IT support services and explains how to measure the success of the service implementation.
What types of managed IT services are there?
For small businesses
1-100 employees
You can delegate all IT processes to an MSP and avoid the hassle of hiring an IT administrator.
For medium-sized businesses
100-500 employees
Empower your IT team or let them handle local helpdesk issues while outsourcing more complicated and complex processes like security monitoring, cloud and infrastructure management to your MSP.
For Enterprises
500 employees and more
Strengthen your IT team by allowing your MSP to take care of certain IT processes to free time for your IT administrators and letting them concentrate on more critical things.
What are the advantages of managed IT services?
Predictable monthly fees
As you switch to managed IT services, all your IT spendings are neatly packaged into a fixed monthly or annual payment plan. It means no unexpected charges and so you could plan your company’s budget more accurately.
Significant savings
Startups and small businesses benefit a lot from managed IT services. When you’re just starting out, hiring and training an IT team as well as paying for the servers and purchasing equipment might drain your budget. MSPs entrust the management of your IT infrastructure to experienced engineers. The contractor also maintains, repairs, and sometimes replaces assets at no extra charge.
Scalability and flexibility
You can scale your IT services up and down as your needs change. It means you’ll be paying for the number of services you are using and would be able to respond to seasonal market fluctuations without any risks for your business and any extra charges.
Preventive approach
Your managed service provider will be monitoring the health of your IT assets and infrastructure, so they will be able to detect insignificant issues and remedy them before they become a full-fledged catastrophe, minimizing downtime, saving your costs and reputation in this way.
Access to the best technology
MSPs will install the best software or OS on the devices that might be out of your reach because of a hefty price tag. They will also update software with no additional cost.
Fast response time
Most MSP companies offer 24/7/365 support and respond to your issues in no time. The team of experienced IT engineers could be reached via any convenient platform, including massagers and video calls.
Remote support
If your team is scattered all over the globe, MSP organizations will ensure your staff has equal tech conditions, no matter where they are.
Qualified IT support
Managed service providers will connect you with the experienced and skillful engineers who have a specific skill set required to cover your IT needs. In this way, you get assistance from seasoned IT administrators without the need to hire them.
Energy conservation
Since MSPs run your critical business systems on their data centers or migrate them to the cloud, your organization will be consuming less energy, lowering your carbon footprint and energy bills.
How to Choose The Right MSP
- Have experience in your niche. Give preference to an IT provider who knows your industry well and already has successful experience in maintaining IT infrastructure.
- Are flexible in their services. A good MSP is the company that responds to your challenges and is ready to work out a solution exclusively for your business.
- Ensure around-the-clock monitoring and support. An incident might happen even on Christmas eve and you would like to be sure you get support and have all your assets up and running, no matter what.
- Pay attention to references. Even a monkey could be advertised as an outstanding IT genius. So consider what other businesses say about the experience they had with your future MSP.
Managed IT Services by PRONKO
PRONKO is a team of proactive, ambitious, and qualified IT administrators with years of experience under their belt. We are passionate about sustaining a healthy IT environment within organizations so that they could reach their goals, both ideological and financial.
PRONKO takes away your IT headaches and allows you to concentrate on growing your business and pleasing your customers rather than fighting with a Wi-Fi router or preparing a workplace for your new employee.
We are flexible in the services we provide and can design and implement an IT project that meets your company’s needs.
