Businesses are increasingly relying on technology to operate and grow. That’s why managed service providers (MSPs) have become essential partners for businesses. They offer a comprehensive suite of IT services, generally delivered on a proactive basis and through a subscription model. MSPs can streamline operations, minimize downtime, and keep up with the latest technological advancements without investing in full-time in-house IT teams.
This blog will explore how businesses can focus on core activities, drive innovation, and enhance productivity with MSPs handling routine maintenance, providing technical expertise, reducing the cost of IT management, and offering a higher level of security.
Understanding Managed Service Providers
A business typically begins its journey with managed services by making a local search (“Managed service providers near me”), and they’re ready to optimize their IT infrastructure.
An MSP or a managed IT service provider delivers services, including application, network, security, and infrastructure. This can be managed through regular and continuous support and administration on your premises, your MSP’s data center, or a third-party data center.
While some MSPs focus on one technology or one vendor, usually their core service, many include services from other providers, too. Traditionally, MSPs applied to device-centric or infrastructure-type services. However, with time, they have expanded to include ongoing and regular management, maintenance, and support.
How They Work & What They Are Used For?
Managed IT service providers are often expected to bridge gaps in your organization’s IT system or staff to meet business objectives. Usually, the MSP begins with an assessment that helps it evaluate your organization’s current environment. The assessment helps them understand the gaps in the current strategy and identify any scope for improvement.
Since each organization has a different setup, an MSP may provide you with different service options. The two common types of MSP offerings are:
- Technical support fixes that focus on fixing issues remotely or providing technicians at your business’s location to resolve issues. MSPs will usually charge you based on the amount of time invested in troubleshooting and for any parts that may be used for repair or replacement.
- A subscription service model offered by an MSP works on the quality of service of your organization’s network and bills you monthly. In case of any issues, the MSP fixes the same as part of your agreement with them. The payment is made as per the defined terms and rates.
Services such as monitoring, maintenance, reporting, and security are defined under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that documents your organization’s expectations from the MSP. Performance metrics, security specifications, and response time are also included in the SLA.
Getting an MSP on board will help your organization improve its operations. MSPs are usually utilized by smaller organizations that have limited IT expertise and in-house IT capabilities. However, it is also common for larger enterprises to onboard MSPs if they have restricted budget allocations and limitations on hiring. The government or public sector organizations may also contact MSPs to supplement their in-house IT department.
MSPs usually handle time and energy-consuming, complicated, and redundant tasks involved in managing end-user systems and IT infrastructure.
Types of MSPs
MSPs can be used as a dedicated resource outside of your organization. Some common types of MSP include:
- Managed IT services provide broad support to offer day-to-day maintenance of hardware and software components for organizations that are looking for non-specialized skills.
- A manager security service provider (MSSP) focuses on providing you with a secure system that protects your organization’s data and personally identifiable information. It ensures that your organization is safeguarded against data breaches and malware attacks.
- Managed networks provide set up and maintenance of the IT infrastructure.
- Managed helpdesk provides general services for troubleshooting, IT support to end users, issue resolution, and handling the day-to-day issues and fixes. This is usually employed by organizations that don’t have the budget or skills for in-house helpdesks.
- Managed backup and recovery focus on keeping access to your data active during or after a breach or disaster. This service involves securely storing your organization’s data.
- Managed cloud services focus on support services to migrate and maintain your organization’s cloud platforms.
- Managed SaaS is to provide ongoing user support for software as a service (SaaS) platforms and applications.
- Managed desktop and remote services provide assistance with the setup and maintenance of devices with end users, such as tablets and laptops.
What Are the Benefits of MSPs?
In an intensely competitive business landscape, it is crucial that your organization focuses on its core competency and functions. However, the importance of other departments, including HR, staffing, payroll, benefits administration, and IT application and infrastructure, is undeniable for your organization’s smooth and efficient operations.
Different MSPs have the expertise and domain knowledge of the processes that they manage. When you onboard an MSP for a process that is not central to your operations, you enable your team to focus and prioritize tasks that drive business growth. You also ensure that these processes are run by experts and not neglected.
Some benefits of partnering with an MSP include:
- Processes are operated by experts with the required skills and knowledge
- Cost-saving on hiring, training, and handling in-house teams to run the same processes
- Get access to the latest updates, applications, technologies, and processes
- Manage your scaling according to the evolving needs of your organization
- Since most MSPs are subscription-based SaaS, you will be able to predict your costs early on
What Are the Challenges of Managed Service Providers?
Despite the benefits, there are some challenges that MSPs face. These include:
- Your technology needs are usually connected with your business objectives. The MSP may be unable to understand what your organization needs. As an external party, the MSP may struggle with connecting your business objectives to the technology’s functionality.
- MSPs are an external party to your organization. Since they are not a part of your organization, they have limited visibility into your operations and control over your activities. As a result, you also will not have visibility into their operations and control and managerial oversight of their activities.
- Your MSP may not have a physical presence. In cases where you need an expert eye to look into an issue, you may not find an expert available readily at your premises.
Managed Service Providers: Pricing Models
A managed services provider operates under several pricing models. The most common pricing modules are mentioned below:
- A per-user pricing is charged based on the number of users billed monthly or quarterly.
- Per-device pricing is based on the number of devices connected. This structure proves convenient but can become challenging to manage when users start connecting multiple devices at once.
- Tiered pricing models let you choose a basic pricing structure and add comprehensive packages as you add more services to your evolving business needs.
- Ad hoc pricing is for one-time projects that your in-house IT team does not have the bandwidth for or is unable to manage because of a lack of expertise.
Conclusion
Managed service providers enable businesses to stay agile, secure, and future-ready. They manage complex IT functions and provide insights that support growth. This frees internal resources and offers businesses a strategic edge through the latest technology and proactive problem-solving. An MSP can be a competitive advantage, offering flexibility, security, and reliable support tailored to your business needs. Investing in a capable MSP means investing in resilience and sustainable growth, ensuring that your IT infrastructure remains an enabler rather than a bottleneck.
Imagine IT: A Leading IT Managed Service Provider
Imagine IT, a leading managed service provider Minnesota, provides you with the right IT infrastructure and technology that can be a spark for your business. We support you in anticipating future technology trends and how they might impact your business and its operations. At Imagine IT, our team of experts focuses on aligning technology with your business objectives and goals to help you leverage IT as a critical and robust tool for growth. Contact us today!
