Managed
services are becoming an important discussion for small and medium sized businesses.
Is it better to have your own in house IT expert, your Jedi, or to outsource
your IT services to an MSP (Managed Services Provider)? Some choose a third
option of paying an MSP, reactively when things break. Different models for
different businesses.
With more businesses
depending on the internet, computers, databases, emails and the general exchange
of information, outsourced IT services are becoming more and more an important
discussion. No doubt you've heard,
or you've at least read about, the benefits of managed services. Managed
services refer to clearly defined outsourced IT services delivered to you at
predictable costs. You know the exact IT services you'll be getting and what
you'll pay for them.
The misconception is that MSP’s are evil and only work off of
the break fix mentality or over charge for no service. I like to refer to this
as The Empire MSP program, never around when you really need them and only
there when something breaks after you’ve already felt the effects of the
downtime. The majority of smaller companies take this route because they feel
as if they're too small for a more sophisticated 24/7 approach to IT services.
They also feel pressure to direct all resources on the product or service, not
behind-the-scenes operations. Using on-call IT services only further
complicates and frustrates most users, the on-call’s lack of familiarity extends
downtime, wastes time of employees to re-discuss issues and is reactive, not
proactive, and it's a costly mistake too often made.
Now we have our famous Jedi, your in house technology expert.
This is a very valuable person. Typically this Jedi manages a company with
anywhere from 20-60 employees. This one employee usually comes with a high
salary and will need to be extremely proficient and cross trained in a diverse
environment. Managing both the end user and vendors as well as the software and
hardware including workstations, servers and network equipment. This Jedi will
likely be overworked and vulnerable to error or oversights that may prove to be
costly, and what happens if he/she is out sick or on vacation?
This is why many SMB’s today feel that managed services are
the most cost-effective way to support their IT infrastructure and the best way
to get more bang for their buck. Full time support, dedicated help desk
with account managers, engineers and help desk technicians. Outsourced IT
solutions, Managed Service Providers are a welcomed solution helping business
grow and stay focused on what’s most important, growing your business. Sign uptoday for a network evaluation to see where you can save or fix and get your
productivity back on track. Don’t fall victim to The Empire, let an MSP be your
cost-effective IT Solution.
