A question I often get from small business owners is “what does an MSP provider do?”. The short answer is that we help ensure your systems run smoothly. We make sure that it stays secure and up-to-date, and deal with the day-to-day technical issues. So that you can remain focused and productive on your core business. IT support has changed a lot in the last few years. The widespread adoption of cloud technology has created more opportunities for IT professionals to be a partner in complete business optimization. Now updated for COVID-19 response!
The IT industry has shifted from a sideline support model to a more partnership-driven managed services model. This shift has many benefits for every size of business. Managed service provider companies can work alongside business executives to leverage technology that will drive new revenue streams. And help your business through challenging times like the global spread of the Novel Coronavirus.
The long answer is that MSPs assume responsibility for one or more of your business’s IT services such as email, help desk, cybersecurity, networking, data storage, cloud integration, backup and restore, patching, and more. The MSP remotely monitors, updates, and manages the service while reporting on the quality, performance, and availability of the service. MSPs can help you acquire software and hardware, then keep track of and report on hardware assets and software licenses. In these modern days, many companies are now using the services provided by IT service providers. Let’s take a closer look at how MSPs help small businesses:
Why do you need an MSP provider?
MSPs provide access to experienced IT staff that you’d otherwise have to hire as full-time employees. However, if your IT needs are not consistently full-time work. Compared to hiring a single IT technician in-house, MSPs offer expertise in multiple technologies and vendors. MSPs provide support hours based on your SLA, which can be around the clock: something you can achieve in-house only with multiple hires that work shifts or are always on-call. Your small business benefits from having these experts on-demand, without paying for all of their time and benefits.
Why Do you Need Services of IT Service Providers?
Managed service provider companies use Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to keep track of the performance of your IT infrastructure and applications. MSPs usually operate from a Network Operations Center (NOC) which spearheads all deliverables like a mission control center. Round-the-clock monitoring can mitigate any issue that may arise with your servers, devices, equipment, or coding through short turnaround times to determine and solve the issue.
Disaster Recovery
Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and storms don’t come with a warning. Neither do man-made disasters like electrical fires or robbery, but they can all cause massive damage to IT infrastructure. Managed Service Providers often plan for automatic failover to a secondary data center at a different or virtual location that contains all your backed-up data to ensure your business continuity and gives you peace of mind.
Increasing and Upgrading IT Capacity
Computing and storage capacities need to be upgraded as your business grows and its needs expand. Every company has to go through a continuous cycle of investment in infrastructure. Every few years to keep up with rapidly evolving technology. MSP services are scalable on-demand, often with flat billing rates for capacity expansion. However, as needed with full visibility over your consumption so you can adjust accordingly.
Business Continuity
One of the most important benefits of an MSP that is forgotten about regularly is disaster recovery and crisis management. Because a cyberattack or natural disaster will never happen to me, right? Wrong!
Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and more aggressive. In 2022 43% of businesses experience a cyberattack. MSPs offer regular backup, off-site storage, crisis management, and disaster recovery solutions. Furthermore, if a crisis or disaster was to ever happen, you can rely on your MSP to restore and recover your lost data/information/hardware and software quickly and effectively.
Final Thoughts
Although MSP provider has been around for quite some time, only recently have they come to a point (in terms of cost, scale, and availability) where SMBs can take full advantage of the many benefits these technologies have to offer.Indeed, you can hire an MSP to provide a single-function (known as out-tasking) that you’d prefer not to handle in-house (e.g. backup and disaster recovery) or run your entire IT infrastructure, which would be full-blown outsourcing.