At Microbyte, we position ourselves as a proficient Managed Services Provider (MSP), supplying outsourced IT services through a dynamic and committed team. Our preventative measures and comprehensive service-level agreements guarantee seamless operations for our clientele.
The task of managing an in-house IT department without external assistance can be daunting, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Issues like recruitment, training, team management, and addressing rapid expansion present unique hurdles.
A Managed Services Provider is the solution for businesses grappling with network management, security concerns, or the need to stay on top of fluctuating application and infrastructure needs. An MSP is specifically designed to simplify business operations.
Here are 8 of the benefits of a Managed Services Provider.
1. Scale Services with Increasing Demand
The use of cloud-based technologies – from load-balanced services to cloud storage systems – allows greater flexibility with on-demand services.
When infrastructure is designed for scalability from the ground up, rapid growth is managed exceptionally well. Servers are scaled via additional CPU processor cores, extra memory, increased storage capacity, and greater bandwidth allocations to manage surging demand.
Also, in leaner times, it’s possible to scale down MSP requirements to reduce IT expenses during recessionary periods. A win-win.
2. Reduce Capital Outlay
For newer businesses or ones immediately requiring a highly capable IT team, the capital outlay and time required to get there is longer than expected.
An MSP already has trained staff familiar with the IT systems that clients regularly use, such as Azure technologies, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams, and popular CRM/SaaS solutions.
Working with an MSP from the start offers more predictable, ongoing IT expenses while requiring a lower upfront outlay compared to going it alone.
3. Blend In House and MSP IT Services
MSP is not an either/or scenario for businesses. Many companies already have an IT department staffed with a few employees. However, at a smaller size, internal IT teams genuinely struggle to achieve and maintain acceptable service levels.
For these departments, augmenting them with MSP teams with individual specialisations removes the burden from in-house IT staff. This frees them up to narrow their focus to what’s most pertinent to them and the upper management team. The MSP is then responsible for day-to-day monitoring, net management, 24/7 IT helpdesk, and other activities.
4. 24/7 IT Helpdesk
Anyone who’s ever tried to manage a helpdesk or customer support line 24 hours a day, 365 days a year knows how hard it is. There are no two ways about it; it is a trial and doesn’t get much easier with time, either.
Operating a 24/7 helpdesk in-house requires too many resources for smaller businesses. To do it well, it’s necessary to train and retain a deep pool of talented employees to properly manage incoming communications (live chat, email, phone calls, etc.). Gamely attempting it, it quickly becomes a drain on often short-staffed IT departments.
Microbyte operates at a scale, across multiple locations, to deliver robust IT helpdesk support when and where it’s needed by our clients. Whether this means supporting the needs of a few personnel or a client with several hundred employees, we’re there to resolve issues as they arise.
5. Proactive Approach to IT Solutions
An MSP takes a proactive, rather than reactive approach to managed IT services. The goal is to anticipate and resolve potential problems before they occur to minimise or remove business disruption.
Microbyte Managed IT Services are divided up into four segments:
Centralisation: Our network ops centre manages the corporate network and other related ones to avoid unexpected hick-ups or unintended downtime. This includes a remote monitoring team, infrastructure management personnel, and security specialists searching and protecting against the ever-present malware and virus threat.
Support: IT helpdesk support is present as the first port of call. Having an IT issue that’s cropped up? Reach out to the IT helpdesk first.
NetAdmin: The network administrative team ensures that the infrastructure and managed data centres are performing as expected. This team also handles updates and new configurations to ensure they do not unduly disrupt everyday operations.
vITD: As a virtual CIO or IT Director, this team anticipates future IT needs to avoid your business falling behind. They meet to discuss and provide updates on technology rollouts and anticipated future IT requirements. Additionally, they make recommendations from a ‘big picture’ standpoint.
6. Disaster Recovery
Major business setbacks, such as a break-in over the weekend or a fire at the business premises, are difficult to recover from. According to past UK research on business premises fires, up to 80 percent of companies that experienced one went out of business within 18 months.
The major culprits were the time to get back up and running, a loss of confidence from clients, and losses not covered by insurance claims. An MSP knows that maintaining business continuity is paramount. Their cloud-based solutions and disaster recovery planning ensure their clients’ core business survives traumatic events intact.
7. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is cost-effective, avoids system downtime, and improves operational efficiency.
Performing day-to-day tasks using online cloud services, whether that’s Microsoft 365 or a custom CRM solution, has become more familiar over the last few years.
Businesses now trust using the cloud due to its secure infrastructure, business data protection, and backup infrastructure, sidestepping business risks. Centralised data centres, with their virtual services, allow SaaS apps and other online solutions to scale effortlessly for the end user.
Additionally, MSPs assist many companies in fully embracing cloud computing. As a result, they benefit from long-term cost savings and greater economies of scale.
8. Cost Savings
The MSP market is expanding globally because it’s been found to reduce IT expenses by over 30 percent while boosting efficiency by up to 50 percent for companies that adopted it.
Companies get the expertise they require without needing to employ someone to fill a role just to obtain it. Expanded out to all the major IT segments, it is often far more efficient to make use of an MSP than to try to do it all in-house.
Predictable monthly expenses coupled with no unexpected upgrade charges allow IT costs to become more controllable and predictable. No more impromptu meetings with the Finance Director to go over the latest over-budget IT expenses from the last quarter.
How Should You Choose a Managed Service Provider?
If you’re sufficiently convinced but are wondering how to choose an IT Managed Services Provider (MSP), here are some suggestions to guide you:
Start Where You Are Now
Assess how well your current IT department is performing. How is the IT infrastructure managed? How often do issues crop up, and what’s the turnaround time to resolve them?
Is the team trying to manage a 24/7 IT support system and looking worn down by it?
What are the service levels like? Have they improved or worsened over the last 12 months? Are they where they need to be? Can the existing team get service levels to where you’d like them?
Are the allocated financial resources sufficient for what’s required? Are they being deployed as effectively as possible?
Request an Assessment of the Current IT Systems
Get an outside assessment of the IT systems. Let other experts provide their perspective on the current IT systems and the capabilities of the existing team to deliver what’s expected.
Let an MSP decide whether they see opportunities to provide the necessary additional resources, skills, and technologies to improve upon existing systems.
Can the MSP Scale with Your Business?
Ensure that the MSP has the broad capabilities to scale and grow with your business. If they’re too small, there’s a risk that they will constrain it. Therefore, choose one that has robust capabilities to accommodate future business growth.
24/7 Services and IT Support
Contact us to ask about MSP services. Reap the benefits of a lower operating expense model, greater efficiency, and protection for critical systems, ensuring business continuity.