Managed services providers (MSP’s) are lifesavers for business owners and executives when it comes to managing their IT equipment and services. Among many other things, MSP’s update software, provide data backup solutions, and keep files safe from hackers.
As the industry trade group CompTIA noted in a March 2015 report, over 70% of small to midsize businesses (SMB’s) used a third-party IT company at least occasionally — if not more frequently — during a 12-month period. This report highlights the versatility MSP’s can be for small companies.
1. Using A Team Of Focused Experts
Many organizations lack the resources for hiring dedicated IT staff members. Instead, they task employees from different departments with managing their computer systems. Companies that outsource their IT work, in contrast, don’t have to rely on non-technical staff members trying to squeeze IT tasks into their busy schedules.
Even some companies with full-time IT departments struggle to keep up with the work. These staff members are so busy handling day-to-day maintenance tasks that they are unable to focus on their companies’ long-term goals.
By partnering with a team of experienced outside professionals, these firms free up their IT staff so that they can concentrate on more strategic issues.
2. Offering a Cost-Effective Solutions
Budgets in most organizations are tight. Therefore, you want to make sure that the company budget is used in the most effective way. Some executives believe that the money spent on MSP’s could be used elsewhere. However, they don’t realize that using an outside partner could save them a tremendous amount of money in the long run.
MSP’s fix many of their clients IT pain points and make their operations more productive, translating into increased efficiency and lower IT costs. Additionally, these service providers can prevent security incidents and assist companies that are forced to recover from computer disasters. By helping businesses avoid data breaches, MSP’s effectively save them the money that would have been lost.
Transparent billing models show exactly what these service providers have been doing for their clients, allowing for executives to plan out their IT budgets in advance without worrying about hidden fees or mysterious charges.
3. Performing Proactive Preventative Maintenances
The well known break-fix approach to IT stems from a reactive mindset. This approach means that if there is a problem, you fix it. But it doesn’t call for determining how you can prevent problems in the future. MSP’s, on the other hand, help you take a more proactive stance on IT issues. Together with a team of outside experts, you can discover how to keep things from breaking, rather than just fixing them when they do.
Your MSP will ensure that you do not miss a software or firmware update in order to keep your systems running smoothly and securely. This ongoing maintenance keeps your computers operational for longer periods of time, and lets you avoid problems that would have caused downtime.
4. Providing Timely Resolution to IT Problems
Many MSP’s provide a quick way to reach an IT professional in case you encounter a problem — downtime is expensive. If you have an in-house IT person and they are out sick for the day or on vacation, that downtime can become extremely expensive.
The longer IT issues go unresolved, the more likely you are to lose money. Using an MSP allows you to have a reliable expert on-call to address any issues that come up, regardless of when they occur.
5. Helping to Scale
Since MSP’s are already familiar with your IT assets, they’ll know which products can improve your computer systems and which ones are compatible with your existing infrastructure. This will help you scale your IT infrastructure and facilitate your organizations growth in a reliable way. You can learn more about our IT Services here.