Managed IT Services is increasingly being seen as a cost effective IT support model for businesses, as many enterprises increase their reliance on IT infrastructure, but with a cost-cutting objective. The Managed IT Services Provider is often a third party/ outsourced expert or team of experts such as iTeam Technology Associates that take on the proactive management of all your IT services, giving your internal team a chance to focus on growth.
Services of an MSP
Managed service providers are tasked with delivering services to their customers such as network security cloud management and network administration through active and continuous support remotely or at the customers’ premises. The service provider may offer native services or combine their offerings with those from other providers.
Qualities that define the best MSP include:
- Their approach should be proactive and preventive
- They provide a great overall value
- They respond fast and resolve issues efficiently
- They have expertise and tools that your business lack
- They help to increase the ROI from your IT
- Their services are scalable based on the growing needs of your business
Responsibilities of an MSP
1. Network security
The most significant part of the job for an MSP is cybersecurity. With the unpredictable dynamism and harrowing statistics of business losses due to cyber-attacks managed services represent hope for businesses. Why, if you ask, is because the MSP consultants tend to be more experienced at cyber defense and incidence response, and they come with cutting edge tools to accomplish that.
An MSP helps to achieve a cyber-secure environment for the business through:
- Continuous monitoring and generation of reports
- Regular risk assessments and compliance assistance
- Implementing active cyber defenses from access authentication to antivirus tools, firewall set-ups, encryption, directory access, and pen testing
2. Network administration
The other critical responsibility of a managed service provider is network administration. It involves all functions aimed at achieving improved and smooth functioning of your network. The experts take part in backing up data, troubleshooting common problems, and other maintenance tasks.
In both a large and small network, there are usually 1000s of things happening in the background. It can be impossible for an in house IT team to manually monitor all logs and still have time for business strategy.
MSPs often come on board with innovative monitoring tools that identify network anomalies and send out alerts. The highly trained experts will undertake speedy intervention in the case of a glitch or cyber-attack attempt to minimize damage and downtime.
3. Reliable response services
The reason why businesses turn to MSP in the first place is for the reliability of their services/ faster response times. An MSP’s expertise is often needed in all areas of business, from help desk to service desk responsibilities. That implies that the IT expert will participate in both break-fix solutions for short term issues and in IT planning and leadership.
The best-managed service provider should show a high-level commitment in every area as detailed in their service level agreement. They will participate in ticket resolution, policy formulation, IT inventory acquisition, and vendor management, among other tasks, all with a speedy response.
4. Cloud computing services
Most business operations are shifting to the cloud, whether in full or in a hybrid setting. Cloud computing has endless opportunities for expansion, storage, mobility, and cost reduction, among others.
However, an in-house IT team may not have the right expertise to handle the sophisticated performance and security challenges that characterize cloud operations. Most MSPs, therefore, offer this service as part of their package.
The cloud services of an MSP include:
- Feasibility assessments during cloud migrations
- Seamless cloud migration and application modernization
- Cloud security and optimization
- Data backup and storage
- Vendor management
Even with remote managed services, a customer gets an account manager that undertakes regular onsite visits to review reports, resolve issues, and participate in IT strategy formulation.
The outsourced expert/s has to be at the top of their game in terms of technical skills, and business savvy in terms of communication, planning, and leadership.
