Managed service providers (MSPs) in IT are third-party organizations that remotely manage customers’ IT infrastructure and end-user systems. They deliver a variety of services across technologies including network, application, infrastructure, and security, via ongoing and regular support.
These MSPs help organizations by providing expertise and often complex services to supplement gaps that organizations may have in their IT infrastructure. They help free up organizations from worrying about glitches or IT fortification and allow them to focus on core business operations instead.
Choosing the right MSP for your business is a critical task, and the choice can significantly impact how services or products are delivered to customers. This decision requires time, proper research, and buy-in from all levels of your organization.
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What an MSP can provide to a business
Outsourced IT
An outsourced IT model is a cost-effective way for organizations to simplify their IT operations without keeping an internal IT workforce. It provides specialized expertise, which allows companies to benefit from the most recent innovations in technology and industry best practices, without requiring ongoing skill development and training for their existing staff.
The cons of outsourced IT include a dependency on third-party providers, security issues, and limited customization. While the best MSPs have strong security protocols, organizations should screen possible MSP partners to reduce risks. Further, MSP services are often standardized to meet the needs of a wide range of clients, which can reduce the customization alternatives accessible to companies with unique IT needs.
Co-managed IT
A co-managed IT model provides organizations that have an internal IT staff but need additional support with necessary resourcing by supplementing those existing teams. This is done by providing specialized expertise or extra hands during in-demand peaks. The partnership within a co-managed IT model allows organizations to leverage the expertise of an MSP while maintaining control over their infrastructure.
Expertise & speciality
Having an MSP partner with expertise or specialization in an area can be a beneficial and cost-effective way to fill gaps in your IT infrastructure. MSPs have varying levels of expertise across tasks such as helpdesk support, antivirus safeguards, patching, firewall protection, and security training for staff.
What a business should consider before hiring an MSP
The first step in choosing an MSP is first deciding whether your company needs an MSP. Every business is unique, so assessing your business needs is critical.
What is your current IT setup? The MSP you choose must be able to adjust to your environment. Take inventory of your organization’s software, hardware, and systems when on your MSP search. Identifying your organization’s pain points can help create a to-do list for the MSP you hire. This also provides the opportunity to ask the MSPs under your consideration how they would approach each challenge.
One must also consider the future of the business before deciding on an MSP. An IT infrastructure is a load-bearing building block for the foundation of an organization’s future so picking an MSP that can support the vision and growth of your organization is important.
Additionally, MSPs need to understand how to operate within the compliance requirements of the industry in which your business operates. Compile a list of compliance considerations that apply to your IT workflows. This adds another opportunity for you to ask MSPs how they intend to meet potential challenges– this time with compliance as the priority.
Overall, the MSP you choose must understand your business. It will put them in a position to make a positive impact immediately and help your organization thrive.
Finding an MSP to work with
Along with determining your business needs and ensuring your MSP understands your business, there are several other considerations for finding an MSP with which to work.
When finding the right MSP, you must review their services portfolio to ensure they align with your business needs. Some services can include automating time-consuming workflows, designing and implementing business intelligence solutions, or transitioning software hosted on-premises to the cloud.
Evaluating an MSP’s technical expertise is key because a deep skill set from the MSP you choose means that they could be able to finish jobs faster and with higher quality. Check what applications the MSP uses, the environments they work in, and the architectures with which they are comfortable. You’ll also want to ensure that the MSP you choose has experience in your industry.
Like many business partnerships, it’s important to determine how responsive, available, and communicative you want your MSP partner to be. Service providers should be available when you need them, either 24/7 or during certain business hours. Ultimately, your MSP partner should be able to address your needs within a reasonable time.
Furthermore, ask for references and consider reviews for any potential MSP partner. This is a key indicator for future performance, determining what kind of services they provide, and the satisfaction level other businesses have with the potential MSP partner.
Among other determining factors for choosing an MSP is to look for proactivity from a potential partner. It’s nice when an MSP can react to evolving needs, but having an MSP partner that proactively designs solutions to prevent issues before they occur can help avoid downtime, data loss, and other issues that can disrupt continuity.
Additionally, ensure you understand the contract terms when deciding on which MSP to utilize. Examine the contract thoroughly and analyze the pricing structure, whether it entails a flat fee, per-user, or other pricing models. Also, consider agreeing only to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that specify response times, uptime guarantees, and performance metrics.
Evaluating the partnership and determining ROI
While the cost of partnering with an MSP may seem daunting at first, it’s important to understand that reliable IT service is an investment, not a typical expense. Ensuring your technology functions well, improves your operations, and enhances your bottom line is critical.
Breaking down the basics and seeing how the benefits of working with an MSP can affect your revenue and productivity is essential. While it’s hard to put a numeric value on some of the benefits, identifying them is still important to the business decision-making process.
To receive a positive return on investment (ROI), an MSP should save time by handling the tiny details of your technology, reducing downtime, improving revenues and savings, and providing the latest tools and practices to prevent cyberattacks, along with training your team with cybersecurity practices to protect your data and technology.
Bottom line: Finding the right MSP is crucial to success
Ultimately, the right MSP for your organization should be able to enhance your business by providing expert services and high-quality customer service and communication. MSP returns aren’t always going to be immediately evident and quantifiable, but as long as the MSP is transparent and provides reliable services that reduce downtime, boost cybersecurity, and keep your technology functioning and up-to-date, the long-term ROI will reveal itself.
When determining the right MSP for your organization, the types of services they offer are critical. Discover what key standard services MSPs should offer.