If you’re an IT admin, you’ve probably had times when your budget didn’t stretch quite as far as it used to. Maybe you’ve hit budget caps on specific items like maintenance and support, or maybe you have too many systems that you don’t have enough time to care for.
Managed service providers (MSPs) can help save your IT budget from stretching too thin. With an MSP, you get expert maintenance, IT support, and consulting services on an as-needed basis.
What Are Managed Services?
Most businesses today have at least one service provider that handles some of their technological needs. They may hire someone to create an intranet for employees or to take care of security breaches when hackers attack.
Of these outsourced vendors, an MSP is unique in that it takes on all facets of managing a client’s technology needs. It covers everything — hardware and software, repairs and maintenance, backup plans in case something goes wrong, and more. That leaves your internal staff free to focus on their day-to-day tasks.
Managed services providers offer more than just hands-on technical support, although that is a big part of what they do. Today’s MSPs provide a variety of capabilities to make your business operations more efficient and less expensive. They help you meet your critical operational goals and objectives, protect your data, and stay in compliance with regulations such as HIPAA, PCI, or CMMC.
Why You Should Consider Outsourcing Your IT Services
When you’re in a crunch, it’s tempting to save time and money by trying to do everything yourself. In reality, though, most new business owners have neither the skill nor the expertise to perform IT tasks as efficiently as a dedicated IT company. That leaves them with less time and money in the end for the work that really matters.
Outsourcing your IT services is often a good idea for companies of all sizes and at every stage of growth. Managed service providers can act as an excellent, highly efficient extension of your team.
By hiring an MSP, you can hand off day-to-day maintenance tasks like server and network monitoring, support, and complex software installation and upgrades. This frees up your internal resources to focus on larger initiatives like overall strategy development or business process improvement.
If you’re wondering how outsourcing could help your company, here are just a few benefits to think about:
- Higher-level support from certified technicians
- Easy budgeting with a flat monthly fee and fewer surprise expenses
- 24/7 monitoring and support
- Minimized downtime
- Better security and compliance
- Improved focus on maintenance
- Proactive security stance and capabilities
MSP vs. an In-House Tech Team
Companies that choose to hire an in-house IT team spend a considerable amount of money on salary, benefits, and space for their employees. On top of that, they must take care of all technology expenses – including computer hardware and software, network equipment, and cyber security updates – by themselves without any outside assistance.
MSPs are able to provide staff, equipment, and infrastructure for less because they do everything at scale. You effectively share the costs of the technology you use with the MSP’s other clients while getting all the same services or more.
Selecting a Managed Services Provider (MSP)
