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By: Janina Criador
- IT Consulting, IT Management
- April 4, 2023
- Comments 0
Understanding Managed Services And; Its Benefits to Business (2023)
If you’re reading this, it’s not too late. Most if not all high performing small businesses are using some sort of technology in their day-to-day tasks and management. No matter your business size, technology can be used as an advantage to boost productivity, produce insightful data, and keep you ahead of the competition. However, as your company becomes more reliant on technology, the need to effectively manage your network also rises. There’s no better time than now to pair consider adding automation into your business processes and this most definitely does not exclude IT management. IT automation is becoming the core foundation for high level managed services.
While your internal IT team may exist already, letting them do the work may not be as effective as letting a professional handle the task. Managed Services offers professional network support and maintenance so you can concentrate on what your company does best. Any size of business can benefit from managed services because of their commercial advantages and the money they can save.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how they work, the benefits they offer, and what you should look for when finding one. Let’s dive in and discover how managed services can help streamline your operations and improve your bottom line!
The Simple Definition of Managed Services
In its most basic definition, Managed Service Providers work with your IT Team to simplify your workflow for maximum efficiency and productivity. MSPs provide a wide range of services based on the demands and specifications of your company. Some of the main types of Managed IT services include:
Managed IT Services
Managed security services cover everything related to internet security and safety. Depending on your preference, they may provide services such as malware protection, program compatibility, patching, and maintenance that can be carried out remotely or onsite.
Managed Cloud Services
These services cover cloud platform management and control, from your migration through optimization. Most commonly, people refer to them as "cloud computing" services.
Cloud Computing Services can be categorized into four types:
- IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service
- SaaS – Software as a Service
- PaaS – Platform as a Service
- FaaS – Function as a Service
Compared to break-fix services that come in once there’s a problem, Managed IT Services have a more preventive approach as they provide consistent and constant system monitoring.
Do you Need it? What Managed Services Can Do for your Business
- You wish to have a more predictable cost and decrease IT expenses.
Most of the equipment that comes with networks needs to be maintained, occasionally fixed, or even replaced. It could cost you thousands of dollars, which may be out of your budget. Managed IT services cover this in their model to protect your spending against sharp fluctuations, enhancing the general stability of your company. As a contract binds you, your IT costs are predictable, neatly bundled into a predetermined sum paid annually or monthly. Foreseeing and lowering these costs is one of the remarkable advantages of availing of managed IT services.
Because the initial start-up costs are so much lower for managed services, small firms stand to gain significantly. The initial expenditures of hiring and training a team while concurrently paying for the servers and other necessary equipment can be financially burdensome when a business is just getting off the ground.
- You want to minimize your downtime.
The most frequent cause of downtime is equipment problems. Computer malfunction, electrical issues, intentional human error, and the like can happen anytime, no matter how much you try to avoid it. More than that, system attacks and cybercrimes are continuously and consistently increasing, which also costs downtime for companies.
An internal team might need more resources or expertise to successfully handle the complex task of reducing the risk of downtime. By avoiding downtime altogether, managed services can reduce their costs.
Part of the Managed Services’ role is to safeguard and fix your technical issues. They are committed to ensuring that your network operates as efficiently as possible. MSPs provide prompt and fast solutions if your system’s performance drops because this is their top priority.
- You need help with privacy and data compliance laws.
Many laws intended to protect data security apply to your company’s data. Besides ensuring they are followed, searching through them is essential to find the relevant ones for your business. Else, heavy fines and reputational damages may be the result.
Managed Services takes these burdens off your list as they handle the challenging aspects of compliance and auditing. They can also perform audits and create reports to demonstrate that your company is complying with all regulations. In the long run, this might save your internal staff tens of thousands of hours.
- You want to scale your business quickly.
An in-house IT team comes with a hefty price tag, so they are often understaffed, overworked, and unable to complete everything owing to a lack of time and resources. That is only effective sometimes while your business is trying to grow.
It costs thousands of dollars to train just one extra employee for your IT department, and there is never any assurance that they will even stay with the business. With an MSP, the expense of training is covered, so you’ll never have to worry about your IT staff leaving.
Network scaling requires a lot of organization, labor, and additional hardware. It comes at a significant expense to any business and frequently diverts an IT team’s attention from other crucial tasks like security. When you need to extend or enhance your systems, managed services can let you do so minus the additional personnel, training, and education. They will assist your company in maintaining resource flexibility and can quickly adapt to changes that an in-house team might struggle to handle effectively.
- You want access to the latest technologies.
The technology itself represents one of the largest IT costs. Even worse, it might be challenging to choose which improvements and software are best for your company because so many are available. It is essential since you would only want to spend money on new technology if your staff had the skills to utilize it fully or if it matched your business needs.
The cost of upgrades and new investments will be incorporated into your monthly or yearly fees, and you’ll have access to the most up-to-date technology your company requires.
Remote monitoring technology is used by managed IT services to keep a watch on your systems day and night. Real-time alerts enable you to address any issues as they arise, preventing any adverse effects on your organization.
Without regular monitoring, it’s simple for a network failure to happen during off-hours. It could take some time before someone notices if a system fails in the middle of the night. Sometimes the issue isn’t identified until the following day when severe harm has already been done. When an alarm is received, your MSP may immediately take corrective action thanks to remote monitoring.
- You want improved business focus.
What benefits do managed services have for your IT staff? Thanks to an MSP, your IT personnel may focus on tasks that are more important to your company’s success. The typical function of an IT specialist asks if you’ve switched it off and on again while conducting trivial fixes. Even though this is true in specific companies, it is unquestionably a waste of IT resources.
Thanks to managed services, workflows may be redesigned, the equipment can be upgraded, and some processes can be automated. It relieves your team of the burden of maintaining daily operations so they may concentrate on innovation.
- You want a preventative approach to your systems.
Waiting to fix network and data issues until they break can be expensive, especially regarding security breaches that can cost millions of dollars for a company. Instead, taking a proactive approach by partnering with a managed services provider can save businesses money in the long run. Managed service providers can monitor systems for faults and address them before they escalate into major problems. Ultimately, one of the most significant advantages of using managed services is the potential for cost savings.
Factors to Consider when Choosing Managed IT Service Provider
Like any service, choosing the right partner is essential to reap the benefits of managed services. Here are some of the things to look out for when selecting a partner:
- Contract Terms
Business owners must carefully review and approve the contract terms with their managed services partner. The contract should stipulate essential issues such as specialized services, network support, appropriate security procedures, or remote and onsite assistance. Depending on what works best for your company’s budget, you consider whether the contract is given annually or monthly.
Like any other product, looking into their previous clients can give you an idea of their work.
- Track Record
Just the same, as anyone you’d employ in your company, their credentials will give you a bird’s eye view of their capabilities.
Get in Touch with ECF Data for Reliable Managed IT Services
ECF Data holds a decade of experience in Managed IT Services industry. Ranked in the top 1% of Microsoft-certified partners, we deliver complete insight into your infrastructure, whether on-premises or in the cloud-managed service provider, assure the availability of your vital business applications, and avoid disruptions by spotting problems early.
Do you want to discuss Managed IT Service providers for your business with a passionate group of professionals? Contact ECF Data right away to learn more about our personalized services.
