Numerous companies rely on a Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) because handling their business’ information as well as in-house IT can be difficult and costly.
Digitalization has forced companies to change their procedures and also make IT a significant part of their everyday operations. Still, some business owners are unable to deal with the transition properly, so they work with an MSP to look after those responsibilities.
Many people nowadays still don’t know what exactly an MSP is or why it might be important to partner with one. So, we want to answer some of the most common questions about who and why an MSP.
Here are the top 10 questions about Managed IT Services & Managed Service Providers.
1. What exactly is a Managed Service Provider?
Put simply, this is a third-party business you can team up with to take care of parts of your infrastructure, such as your IT or cloud demands. It offers innovation as well as knowledge to increase your company’s scalability.
An MSP works proactively to monitor your network, deliver regular maintenance to their clients’ systems, assist with cyber security policy development, computer repair and providing strategic IT planning & consulting expertise for small and medium sized businesses, and even large corporations.
2. What is included in Managed IT Services?
MSPs provide a broad selection of services. Some are full-service, implying they resolve your cloud as well as IT requirements effectively. On the other hand, others might aid you with various individual items of your technology challenge. For that reason, consider your requirements very carefully as well as guarantee your MSP can fulfill them.
As for what’s included, this is what you can expect:
- Regular IT & network assessments to detect vulnerabilities
- Detailed cyber security & compliance guidelines
- Secure cloud-hosted network with automatic data syncs & backups
- Unlimited 24/7 remote & onsite support
- Efficient business continuity & disaster recovery planning
- Agile IT consulting & project management
No matter your solution plan, an MSP is required to stay on top of the most recent innovation standards. If not, many protection concerns might jeopardize your firm as well as enable your competitors to dominate you.
3. How much does Managed IT Services Cost?
Some MSP’s charge their clients by the hour to fix expensive IT repairs, which sound disingenuous because that means they benefit the more problems you run into.
However, others go with a more mutually beneficial model.
With something like a Flat-Rate monthly fee model, it benefits both the MSP and the client. Keeping clients constantly up-and-running maintains steady service costs as well as giving peace of mind to the company to know they’ll be able to succeed without worrying about IT pains. This, in the long run, will save your organization money and minimize downtime.
4. What are the benefits of IT Service Management?
Collaborating with MSPs can have incredible advantages for your venture.
For example, their extensive understanding of sophisticated innovation can assist you in boosting efficiency of your procedures, data protection while minimizing expenses. On top of that, they can use numerous innovative services to assist you in traversing the progressing online information landscape.
Their knowledge enables them to examine your company completely and also make their solutions according to your fortes and flaws. On top of that, they think about the compliance atmosphere to secure your business from lawsuits and other regulatory concerns.
5. Does my MSP have to be in my local area or can they operate remotely?
Your business can experience downtime for a variety of factors, inhibiting your staff members from functioning as well as your customers from reaching you. This circumstance may tarnish your track record, client base, and also earnings. At worst, it can even lead to your organization shutting down.
Luckily, a top quality MSP can assist you in preventing this situation, no matter where you and they are located. They can determine dangers to your system completely remotely, and also counteract them prior to your firm falling apart.
You may also require some on-site projects to be done such as cabling or network maintenance if your physical systems are outdated. For this case it would be beneficial to have an MSP in your local area, but for some this could be a minor issue. You can make this decision all according to your needs, but there is another version of Managed IT services that would circumvent this issue.
What are Co-Managed IT Services?
In some businesses’ cases, they already have a small in-house IT teams to carry out small in-person tasks. But, in the event they need much more advanced technology and a broader team, that’s where Co-Managed IT comes in.
It’s an IT service model that enables businesses to decide what is maintained in-house and what is done by a third party. It offers an opportunity to combine the benefits of having an in-house IT department with the up-to-date resources of an external IT management service with the skills and technology to maximize performance.
6. Who will be responsible for managing my data?
Your data will be primarily managed and monitored by a full team of experienced engineers and IT professionals.
A terrific aspect is that they can even be supporting your organization during after-hours.
They provide assistance procedures to uphold and also safeguard your company’s technology operations 24/7. MSP’s can also access your system to settle quick concerns and release updates without needing to visit your workplace, making use of DevOps solutions & remote modern technology.
7. Where is my data being stored?
Most MSP’s utilize what’s called a colocation solution, where all of your critical business data is hosted on remote servers in a secure, offsite data center, monitored by expert Managed IT support engineers.
This is the safest way to store & protect your data from any disaster including, but not limited to, fires, hurricanes, cyber breaches, etc.
Updating your applications also becomes easier and more efficient, and you can return your focus to your business activities instead of wasting time worrying about needing to maintain physical IT infrastructure.
8. How does an MSP handle disaster recovery and business continuity?
Among one of the most crucial responsibilities your MSP need to carry out is to secure your information from cyberattacks. Secure information storage may be heavily regulated in your market, which is why your IT division can make use of all the assistance they can obtain.
When you decide to partner with an MSP, they must develop vigorous safety strategies as well as endpoint defense to deal with damaging applications and malware.
An additional and key part of their goal must be the application of back-up processes and applications. It will allow you to access your information in case of a disaster, whether it’s natural or a cyber-attack. Such execution might entail automation, a recovery strategy, as well as a plan to minimize downtime.
Your MSP should not simply manage cybersecurity– they need to additionally recommend embracing the most effective & up-to-date technology methods. Your organization can function quicker, team up in real-time, as well as be much more tech-savvy.
With thorough data back-up and business continuity planning in position, you will have the ability to run your firm with a lot more confidence. The threat of downtime will certainly be considerably reduced, enabling you to run efficiently, keep high sales and happy clients, and maintain a good reputation for your brand.
9. How do I know if an MSP is scalable & qualified for my industry?
Your choice of an MSP should not be a rash one. Rather, there are a selection of aspects you should consider.
The greatest strength of MSP’s is generally their capability to provide custom-made services that seamlessly fit your firm’s needs according to your industry.
The MSP you partner with must offer examples and success tales to show they’re appropriate for your industry. Using reviews and recommendations, they will certainly aid you in identifying how long an MSP has been running, how strong their reputation is as well as what they specialize in.
In a way, an MSP’s success rests on your own business succeeding, which is why they need to consider you as an important companion.
That’s why you must take into consideration an MSP that goes above and beyond for your team, whether it be routine cyber security-training, giving in-depth reasoning for how the solve IT issues, or becoming officially certified in your specific industry’s compliance standard such as FINRA, SOC Types 1& 2 and HIPAA.
10. Why is it important to have an MSP?
There are various other reasons your business might need an MSP to manage your IT.
- Is your current MSP not certified with important industry compliance standards?
- Is your current in-house IT lacking the skills & technology to effectively oversee your systems, losing your business time and money?
- Are you constantly dealing with security & compliance issues that are difficult for your current IT to manage?
- Is your business is quickly expanding, and you want to make the investment with a fixed monthly cost to secure its future growth?
- Do you want to move your business operations to the cloud to give your team the flexibility it requires to work remotely from anywhere?
- Do you need more time to focus on your business and build client relationships, instead of worrying about your IT?
- Does your current MSP not keep up to date with technology?
If any of these questions describes your business’ situation, it’s time to start considering your options!
Is the MSP Onboarding process complicated?
The process is simple. There should be an onboarding roadmap which will allow the client to know what to expect and it will also allow for a smooth process. This includes a schedule which will not only keep the client informed from start to finish, but also keep the process on track.
Expectations should be clear and well-communicated with the client at all times for a happy and successful ending to the onboarding.
A Project Manager should be assigned to not only keep the process running smoothly and timely, but in case challenges occur, he/she can directly address them.
A Quality network assessment should be done to have a clear picture of the client’s network and operation infrastructure.
A plan to “Go-Live” ensures all of the tasks are completed. Meeting with the employees for the Go-Live process should be scheduled after the onboarding have been completed to be able to provide training, videos and guides that are helpful in getting employees on-board faster, especially if transitioning to new software or the cloud.
Proper metrics should be used in optimizing the onboarding as it helps to review quarterly to assist in improving business operations.
By doing all these, the roadmap can be evaluated for any possible inefficiencies which can be addressed to enhance the process. Documenting Information is particularly important before, during and after to assure the first call resolution is exceptional throughout.
An MSP should have a thorough onboarding process in place, and you have the right to ask for one! This will allow for a successful onboarding with the appropriate expectations and communications.
Choosing Which MSP to Partner with is Crucial
While costs are a key factor when picking an MSP, it’s nothing compared to the importance of the other central elements we’ve gone through that go into running your business. Without the proper technology, your business will not scale. Make certain the MSP is an excellent choice for your business, and consider the long term implications of cost-savings as opposed to the short-term!
With high proficiency, personalized solutions, as well as an understanding of risks, a reliable MSP can assist you to have a competitive edge on your business rivals.
If you use what we’ve gone over in this blog, your Managed Service Provider recruitment process will be a breeze!
And if you’d like to learn more about Managed IT Services, or to receive an IT Consultation, Contact us today for a Free Quote!
