How a Managed Service Provider can lower costs, improve security

IT support. Telecom support. Servers. Devices. Networks. Internet connections. Wi-Fi. Data backup. Phone service. Hosting.
It’s a lot for a business to manage and hiring an expert in each of those areas can be prohibitive. To simplify the task, a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can manage all of these services under one umbrella, from one central location, with a single point of contact and experienced professionals available in each area to assist your business.
“A Managed Service Provider supports, end to end, everything having to do with the infrastructure of your company, with experts available in every area that impacts your business,” says Majdi Ayoub, Director of IT Delivery at Blue Technologies.
Smart Business spoke with Ayoub about how partnering with an MPS can lower costs, provide access to expertise, and ensure security and compliance.
How does partnering with an MSP work?
The process starts with the MSP’s assessment of your current set-up and what your company is trying to accomplish. If it is starting from scratch, a partner will determine the type of business, what service it is looking for, how it is set up, what the connectivity is, what the needs are of people working in the office or at home, and what software is being used, among other things.
If you are not starting from scratch, a partner will make recommendations based on where the company is and where it needs to go, customizing solutions based on its objectives and unique needs. Your MSP should also not be a reseller; rather than pushing one product, it should offer the best solutions available in the marketplace based on your budget and requirements.
What are the benefits of partnering with an MSP?
With an MSP, businesses have access to an entire team of IT professionals, including technical, functional, architectural, and security consultants, who can help you keep your systems up and running and unlock the full potential of your company. It’s very costly for companies to have an experienced person on staff in each of these areas. Partnering with an MSP gives you access to experts specialized in each area if and when you need them.
There is also a cost advantage in that partnering with MSPs lowers labor costs and eliminates hiring and training, specialized staff. With an MSP partner, a business has 24/7 access to a help desk for support whenever it’s needed. In addition, working with an MSP allows a business to scale, lowering the average effective rate and widening its resource base.
Finally, you have a dedicated team that knows your company and your business solutions inside and out, led by a single technical account manager. And while the help desk can solve minor problems, if the problem requires boots on the ground, the account manager will be there to work as a middleman with the team of experts on your behalf.
How can an MSP partner help a company stay on top of technology?
Most companies don’t have the expertise in-house to know what needs to be done. Technology changes rapidly, and it can be challenging to keep up with all aspects of it.
Your MSP partner will look at trends and issues in the marketplace and evaluate products, vendors, and resellers. It will then make recommendations, highlighting how a specific product can best meet your needs, considering whether you are looking for the best available or something less expensive that adequately meets your needs.
In addition, businesses are not generally staffed to monitor their systems continuously, and some tasks are outside the scope of internal capabilities. An MSP can scan for vulnerabilities, and because it is on top of trends and regulations, it can help ensure your business stays on top of regulatory compliance requirements.

Your MSP should be committed to excellence, finding solutions to meet your business’s unique needs, resolving your issues and providing the best support the industry can offer.

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