As we all know, technology is critical to the success of any organization, but managing your technology can turn into a full-time job pretty quickly, full of the hassle of dealing with computer failures, security issues, and unanticipated expenses. You need an easier way to manage your company’s IT operations.
Understanding what an MSP does and how to select one that best fits your needs can change your entire business. In this guide, we will review all of the important aspects of working with these types of technology partners.
Let’s start with a simple, clear definition of what an MSP is and what it means for your company.
What does it mean to be a managed IT service provider? For a flat, predictable monthly fee, it is a company that takes care of a business’s IT infrastructure and end-user systems.
An MSP is responsible for the health, security, and performance of your entire technology environment all the time, not just when things break.
An MSP is basically your IT department that you hire outside of your company. You can think of them as a group of tech experts who work for you, but for a lot less money than hiring your own staff.
They take care of everything from daily help desk requests and cybersecurity to long-term technology planning, so you can focus on running your business.
Both manage technology, but they do it in very different ways and with very different structures. When you hire an internal IT team, you have to pay for their salaries, benefits, and training.
On the other hand, with just one contract, an MSP gives you access to a whole team of experts in networking, security, cloud computing, and more. With a one-person IT department, there is a “single point of failure.” This team model gets rid of that and gives you a much wider range of skills.
The best managed service providers (MSPs) will offer your business a complete array of services that will cover all your technology needs.
MSPs don’t wait until items break down; rather, they are utilizing advanced software technology to monitor your infrastructure continuously by scanning the Network, Servers and PCs. As a result, they can preemptively fix issues before an actual outage occurs, such as a failed Hard Drive or a Security Vulnerability.
Why Businesses Choose 24/7 Monitoring & Proactive Maintenance:
If an employee has a computer issue (e.g., someone forgot a password, something is not working), you need an efficient and responsive method of receiving assistance.
Your managed service provider can provide a helpdesk to promptly assist the staff with a phone, email or ticketing portal with resolution.
Why Businesses Need Help Desk & End-User Support:
The protection of your company from cyber-based threats is a top priority for the highest-quality managed service providers (MSPs). Your managed service provider will be able to provide you with an extensive multi-level solution to provide protection against your foundation.
Firewalls, advanced security solutions for your end-user devices, and spam/phishing email solutions, and the protection of your data from ransomware, are just a few of the services offered by a managed service provider (MSP).
Why Businesses Need Cyber Security Management:
An MSP provides management for your environment(s) regardless of whether they are on-premises or in the Cloud. This includes the management and care of on-premises servers, Microsoft 365 environments, and how cloud environments such as Azure are set up and utilized so that they operate in a safe way, are cost-effective and operate in an efficient manner.
Why Businesses Choose Cloud Services & Infrastructure Management:
A good MSP partner does more than repair an issue. They partner to help you plan for the future. They also serve as your Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO), and partner with you to provide strategic direction for IT budgetary planning, technology roadmaps, as well as for compliance to ensure that your technology aligns with your long-term business objectives.
MSPs come in various shapes and sizes, each designed to meet different business needs.
MSP Type | Best For | Key Characteristic |
Fully Managed | Businesses with no internal IT staff | Handles 100% of IT operations |
Co-Managed | Businesses with a small, overwhelmed IT team | Shares IT responsibilities with internal staff |
Specialized/Niche | Businesses with unique tech needs | Focuses on a specific technology (e.g., cloud) |
Industry-Focused | Businesses in regulated sectors | Deep expertise in a specific industry (e.g., healthcare) |
This is the type of MSP that most people use. They are fully responsible for your IT environment. This is the best answer for small and medium-sized businesses that don’t want to or can’t hire their own IT staff.
Co-managed IT is a way for two or more people to work together. The MSP works with your current IT staff to make them more effective.
The MSP might take care of cybersecurity and monitoring around the clock, which would let your internal team work on projects that are more strategic and specific to your business.
Some MSPs work with only one type of technology. For instance, a cloud-focused MSP helps businesses move to platforms like AWS or Azure and then takes care of those environments. Some people might only offer cybersecurity services.
These MSPs know a lot about a certain industry. For example, a healthcare MSP knows how hard it is to follow HIPAA rules, and a financial MSP knows all about FINRA rules. They offer solutions that are made to meet the needs of a certain industry.
It’s very important to know the difference between proactive managed services and reactive break/fix support.
The break/fix model is the most common way to deal with IT. You only ask for help when something is already broken.
This may seem cheaper at first, but it often means more downtime and higher, unpredictable costs because the provider charges by the hour for emergency repairs.
You pay a set monthly fee with an MSP, which makes it easy to plan for IT costs. Costs are completely unknown in the break/fix model.
A big server crash could mean a huge, unplanned bill. Over time, an MSP’s proactive approach usually results in a lower total cost of ownership.
Keeping your systems online is what makes an MSP’s business model work. They want to keep downtime to a minimum. A break/fix provider only makes money when your tech breaks. This means that with a reactive IT model, you are much more likely to have long periods of downtime.
A break/fix technician is only there to fix the problem at hand and then leave. An MSP becomes a partner for a long time. They take the time to learn about your business and then give you ongoing advice on how to use technology to grow.
By partnering with an MSP, you are establishing a strategic alliance that will deliver significant benefits in both your overall bottom-line performance and operational excellence.
Predictable Monthly CostsFirstly, the flat monthly cost you pay to your MSP eliminates the uncertainty of surprise IT repair bills, which enables you to develop an accurate budget and facilitates better financial planning – effectively converting IT from an unpredictable capital expenditure into a predictable operating expenditure.
Improved Cyber Security Posture
The second advantage of partnering with an MSP is significantly improved IT security and reduced exposure to cyber-attacks and data breaches through access to enterprise-level security solutions and the expertise necessary to support them that most small businesses would not be able to afford independently.
Reduced DowntimeThe third advantage of partnering with an MSP is the reduction in downtime through proactive monitoring and maintenance of your IT environment, enabling your organization to address potential IT issues prior to their occurrence, thereby increasing both employee productivity and providing a better experience for your customers.
Access to a Team of ExpertsThe fourth advantage of partnering with an MSP is access to a team of experts in the areas of cybersecurity, networking, and cloud computing without having to hire any of these experts, which is extremely costly.
A partnership with an MSP provides you with an experienced, certified professional(s) for a single low cost monthly fee.
Scalability for GrowthThe fifth advantage of partnering with an MSP is growing your business will also result in an evolving technology environment. As your business expands and changes you can easily request that your MSP expand or shrink the services they provide to you; this means, whether you hire new employees, open new location(s) or experience any combination of these changes, your IT support will expand to support your growth seamlessly.
Choosing the right partner is very important. Use these standards to judge possible MSPs.
Evaluate Their Service ScopeMake sure their services meet your needs. Do they offer help around the clock? Do they know how to use the exact software you use? A clear Service Level Agreement (SLA) should list everything that is included.
Review Their Security ApproachInquire in depth about their security stack. Are they using modern tools like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)? Do they teach your employees how to be aware of security issues? You have to have a security-first mindset.
Check Certifications & PartnershipsCertifications and partnerships show that a provider knows what they’re doing. Look for partnerships with big tech companies like Microsoft. This shows that the company has a lot of training and access to support resources.
Understand Their SLA (Service Level Agreement)Your SLA is your promise of service. It should spell out how long it will take to respond to and fix different types of problems. When you need help, a clear SLA lets you know what to expect.
Look at Industry ExperienceIf you work in a field that is heavily regulated, like healthcare or finance, pick an MSP that has worked in that field before. They will know what your specific compliance problems are and have solutions ready just for you.
Here are some answers to questions that come up often when working with a managed service provider.
Not in the least. For small and medium-sized businesses that don’t have the money for a full-time IT department, MSPs are the best option because they give them access to enterprise-level knowledge at a low cost.
For a lot of small businesses, an MSP can be their whole IT department. An MSP can work in a co-managed model for mid-sized businesses, helping the internal team and taking care of specialized tasks like cybersecurity.
A professional MSP will have a structured onboarding process that usually lasts a few weeks. They work to make sure the change goes smoothly with as little disruption to your daily business as possible.
Any business that uses technology can benefit. However, MSPs are especially useful for managing risk and security in industries that have strict compliance rules, like healthcare, finance, and law.
Make use of an IT services provider to reduce both the stress related to using technology as well as the costs associated with it, and instead partner with a provider who can provide you with all of the security, reliability and strategies necessary to succeed in business today.
Let us know what’s going on within your company, we would love the opportunity to meet with you at no obligation to discuss how a true partner(s) solution will work to meet both your current and future challenges and goals.
Would you like to see the health and security status of your current IT infrastructure? Through a 360-degree IT assessment, you will receive identifying both potential risks and opportunities for improvement.
Are you ready? We can assist you with becoming more proactive in your business through our managed IT services partnership.
