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The Problems Managed Services Can Solve In Your Business

September 14, 2022 | By: Scott Lard

Whether your business is just getting started or growing exponentially, having the right IT team and support on your side can make all the difference. Managed services can be a big part of a company’s overall success, whether used as a major support system or even as just a supplemental tool. Even if your business has an IT department, having a managed services provider, or MSP, can be helpful and beneficial over time. 

Here, we’ll dive in to all things managed services, including benefits, costs, what to expect, and more.

What Are Managed IT Services?

Managed IT Services

Managed services are when a company hires a third-party to provide a set of IT services that helps to support a company’s technology and IT infrastructure, either proactively, for maintenance, or as the client requires specific services. Typically, a company will sign a service level agreement, or SLA, with the MSP that defines expectations, service offerings, costs, and provisions for things like downtime, support levels, and more. As a part of the SLA, the MSP provides services as outlined and the company pays an agreed upon monthly fee. Some managed services available through an MSP include, but aren’t limited to:

Whether you are looking for a provider who can anticipate your needs or simply perform IT tasks on request, a managed services provider can be a great way to improve your business’s IT operations.

Benefits of Managed Services

There are many reasons a company may partner with an MSP, not the least of which is the array of benefits this kind of arrangement can provide. Some of the key benefits of working with a managed services provider include: 

  • Provide more features to your company’s end-users.
  • Allows in-house IT department to focus on strategic IT moves.
  • Free up IT team members to shift to helping other business initiatives.
  • Provides additional skillsets and bandwidth to your business that your internal IT team may not have.
  • Cost effective compared to building and supporting IT operations in-house.
  • Reliability is improved compared to managing all IT in-house, as SLAs typically include service, support, and expectations.

Costs for MSPs

When looking into getting a managed services provider, it’s understandable that cost is a concern. So, how does pricing for managed services work? Most MSPs offer subscription-style pricing, meaning that depending on how many services you want and how dedicated you want your provider to be to your business, you’ll receive a monthly cost to cover everything. 

MSPs will have you select the services you want, offer packages to you that are in line with your needs, and price accordingly. Examples of popular managed services packages include general maintenance, full service, basic support, and specified support. Whether you want a monitoring service or comprehensive managed services, there is likely a package out there for you that features upfront pricing.

Future-proofing IT Services

IT is an ever-evolving industry, which can be a challenge for businesses that rely solely on their internal IT department. Over time, internal IT teams can face funding, technical, equipment, and security challenges, requiring more investment in new software, hardware, and employee support. Managed services can help your business achieve the best possible IT experience that is seamless over changing times. 

Because they are dedicated to offering the latest and greatest in IT support, MSPs are usually the most educated, trained, and up-to-date IT professionals out there. They can offer businesses the best in IT service and support at a fixed cost, optimizing operations, lowering risk, and minimizing issues over time — no matter what the future of IT holds.

Managed Service Best Practices

Managed Service Best Practice

When it comes to managing your business’s IT, you need to know that the MSP you partner with is on your side and doing things by the book. To make sure your potential managed services providers are on par with industry best practices, here is a rundown on what to expect. 

First and foremost, working with an MSP doesn’t have to replace your existing IT staff. In fact, many companies find the most benefit from a managed services provider who is working in partnership with their on-staff IT team by supplementing services where most needed. 

Additionally, expect your MSP to offer a practical estimation of what they can accomplish or offer your business as how much that will cost. There should be few, if any, surprise costs from a managed services provider, unless new services are requested or equipment needs to be replaced.

When you find the right managed services provider for your business, you’ll see the ripple effect of having professionally managed IT services. Many business owners find they experience less stress, more uptime, fewer IT issues, and less negative consequences when an IT event does occur.

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