Managed IT support allows companies to delegate their IT operational functions to an experienced third-party company that specializes in managing those duties. Cloud computing has made it possible for managed IT service providers to extend beyond traditional geographical and region limitations that would traditionally constrain the capacity of the average company-if only through the deployment of Software as a Service (SOAS) technology…to include the entire world! Today, any company that has an internet connection can have its own cloud server, hosted either within their own data centers or on the web via a managed service provider.
The managed service provider can also help the company with disaster recovery. When a business suffers a complete data wipe-out, it needs to be able to quickly and easily restore functionality of its website and applications, as well as perform the necessary upgrades to avoid new risks. These providers will typically deploy infrastructure that is virtual-based, meaning it is not physically located in the servers of the customers’ clients, but rather on a separate secure cloud. This helps to protect against a company’s own systems going down, while offering them a way to recover quickly and inexpensively.
For smaller enterprises, a managed service provider may include a specialized program for data center automation. With automated monitoring and management, the IT provider will take over aspects of the business operations, such as security, networks, time, and traffic. While it may include the monitoring and management of server functions, it may also include data center optimization. With this service, the provider will optimize the physical space and network resources of the data center, resulting in improved utilization of the available resources. This may include things like reducing power consumption, ensuring peak performance, and other environmental improvements.
Some providers may also provide in-house technical support. A number of organizations with a small staff do not have the budget to hire an in-house IT staff. Instead, these organizations may choose to outsource their technical support needs to a managed service provider. In fact, some smaller organizations may prefer to work directly with their IT providers instead of going through a managed service provider because they do not feel comfortable trusting an outside firm to oversee a sensitive system. Other concerns that some smaller businesses may have about an in-house technical support staff includes the expense involved, as well as the time required to effectively and efficiently handle customer service calls. These concerns can usually be lessened, or even eliminated completely, when working through a managed service provider.
Another aspect of managed service providers that may appeal to smaller businesses is the fact that they are typically much less expensive than in-house IT staff. This is particularly true for businesses that need a lot of temporary downtime, for example, during the launch of a new product or service. When a business experiences a short outage, it is often necessary to outsource some or all of its critical data storage and bandwidth needs, which can quickly become extremely expensive. However, managed service providers often offer a wide range of options that can meet a variety of business needs, and many of them are priced competitively. This means that small businesses can enjoy the benefits of a reliable and affordable cloud computing solution without having to worry about spending too much money in the process. This often allows small businesses to reap the benefits of managed services without having to completely commit to a long-term contract with an in-house IT department.
Finally, a managed service provider’s affordability can also be appealing to companies that want to focus on improving their own internal information technology systems. As previously mentioned, many managed service providers offer both in-house and remote IT support, meaning that companies can have the benefits of an in-house team but can also enjoy the benefits of remote downtime and application access. Furthermore, many of these service providers often provide a robust and feature-rich software package that can be customized to meet a variety of business goals. Therefore, a company that wants to improve its IT infrastructure and empower its own employees to use this highly accessible and cost-efficient solution can greatly benefit from using a managed service provider to do so.
These are just a few of the key reasons why so many different types of businesses utilize managed services centers today. However, these benefits extend well beyond the initial considerations that brought us msp. Simply put, a msp offers many of the benefits that any managed services provider can provide, but in a significantly more affordable and scalable form. Thus, even small companies can enjoy the best of both worlds without having to completely commit to a long-term contract with an in-house IT department.
While the benefits of an IT managed services provider (msp) extend far beyond the basic benefits that any other type of managed services provider offers, the benefits are especially important to small and medium sized businesses. For one thing, a managed services center allows a company to reduce its dependence on outside help when it comes to fulfilling its goals. In addition to reducing the number of personnel needed to ensure the completion of tasks, the reduced reliance on outside resources reduces the amount of time that a company must spend on internal activities, such as training. While a managed services provider has the potential to save a company thousands of dollars per year in IT expenses, the savings realized through a managed services center can be even greater.