Increasing competitiveness has driven businesses to seek more capable as well as complex technology implementations. As an unforeseen, yet inevitable consequence, many in-house IT teams are now struggling to manage their day-to-day administration.
Managed Services have changed that. Primarily because of the myriad of new features and benefits that managed services offer over the traditional break-fix repair.
Understanding Managed Services
Managed services give a third-party service provider complete responsibility for chosen projects at your company. A managed services provider (MSP) monitors the IT environment of your business and proactively handles many routine maintenance tasks. MSPs can assure optimal performance of the systems to increase efficiency within a predictable monthly budget.
This is followed by a comprehensive assessment of your firm, analysis of the network, hardware applications, and security tools. MSPs are efficient in detecting the potential gaps in your security posture, alarming you to act on them. Their goal isn’t to sell a bunch of add-ons but to ensure that the environment is robust enough to meet your business needs without incident or issue.
Choose Managed Services: What to look for
One of the key advantages of joining forces with an IT managed service provider could give your business full-time IT staff, without full-time expenses. That said, there are still things you need to look out for to ensure you can draw meaningful value, not the short end of a stick. Here’s what you should consider before signing on an MSP.
Availability
You don’t work 24 hours a day but your CRM systems do. So, you can never really tell when you could need your managed service provider beside you. That’s why you need one that assures complete availability, year-round.
Fast service & Response-time
Not only does the provider have to be available at all times but should also be active enough to quickly respond to your problems. It is important to be sure that the managed services have enough time to tend to your problems and fulfill commitments. There’s a fair chance that if you’re facing issues, a simple call or redirection to the call center won’t cut it.
Annual Budget planning
A managed services provider with an active interest in your success will sit you down and assist in your technology planning for the future, accounting for all possibilities and future issues. Look for their advice and expertise to assist you with yearly planning and well as with ways for you to save money and improve efficiency on technology. Sound advice from an expert will give you a heads-up for issues that could snowball as well as latent potentials that will help your company grow to the next level.
Disaster Recovery planning
Disasters come unannounced. Whether it is an abrupt weather disaster or vandalism, either way, you should prepare. Make sure that the managed services provider you choose is willing to prioritize protecting your data, thinks of contingencies, and shares your level of concern. Managed services must be able to help a business recover from a disruptive event (especially as there are so many of them so often).
Transparency & Communication
Whether it’s the time frame of the MSP’s service-level agreement or the details about project progress, managed services must maintain open-ended communications with you and be adequately clear with responses, so any emerging issues can be mitigated. This way, high-priority issues can get appropriate attention and everything is smoothly handled. This also helps you avoid setting anything into motion that may be doomed to fail by a delayed timeline. Also, ensure that the MSP’s track record for timely delivery and reporting is favorable.
Managed Service Providers for all your Business Needs
One thing’s for sure – when vetted correctly, managed service providers are the best friends a business could want, whether it’s to improve efficiency or save money on short-term issues or projects. But while considering the above-mentioned tips to find the right provider, make sure you keep in under your budget. That’s the only way a great managed services provider will be of any good to you.