IT Managed Services

What is IT Managed Services?

A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that remotely manages a customer’s IT infrastructure and/or end-user systems on a proactive basis for a monthly service fee.

The software used by an MSP allows them to work towards two major goals:

1. Everything on the monitored network that will result in an issue or risk will send an alert to the managed service provider in real time, when or even before it happens.

2. Every alert received is something important that needs to be addressed.

With this model of reporting, issues are made known and can be addressed BEFORE they become a huge problem. This allows managed service providers and technicians to get away from the “firefighting” method of repair, and instead truly manage networks to ensure maximum up-time and reduced risk.

Texas Technology Support

Texas Technology Support

Why managed services?

Reliance on Information Technology grows every year. Unfortunately, many businesses (especially small ones with limited funds) do not have the resources or skills to effectively manage their ever-growing networks. Small IT teams can quickly become overwhelmed and fall behind with important things such as backups, patches, updates, and security, and this greatly increases the odds that you’ll face an IT outage or other huge issue that will negatively affect your business.

Imagine if your entire email server, customer relationship management system, financial setup, or network went down; you would likely face substantial productivity and revenue losses as a result. Employees are unable to do their jobs, and everyone involved scrambles to fix these major issues as quickly as possible to return to normal business procedures. This is a huge detriment to any company, and these situations are easily prevented using an (MSP) managed service provider.

Managed services also create a change in the overall philosophy of the way a business deals with its technology. Break-fix repair relies on waiting until servers, desktops, or other critical devices fail, then rushing to fix them as the company bleeds profit. A business operating under managed services focuses on prevention (rather than reaction) by monitoring and resolving issues before they disrupt employees, management, and clients.

With traditional break-fix repair, the only way for an IT support company to make money is if something goes wrong, which means it’s to their benefit to do a poor job. By charging a monthly fee managed service providers like TTS are now on the same page as your business. The service provider becomes invested in your continued success, becoming a win-win situation for both parties.

Managed service pricing

Surprisingly, managed services actually cost less than break-fix repair, especially when factoring in the cost of downtime that inevitably comes with this old method. Remote monitoring, remote maintenance, and the prevention of major issues allow a managed service provider to operate far more efficiently than a break-fix company that is constantly driving back and forth to customer sites. Likewise, rush fees and after hours or weekend support to handle emergencies can add up quickly. The managed service company can prevent these issues before they happen, and handle most maintenance and service remotely. The MSP can therefore offer a “better” service without charging more. Additionally, the monthly cost of managed services can be factored in as a business/operating expense, allowing most companies to deduct the service from their taxes to save even more money – something not available with the old break-fix model.a

Texas Technology Support

Texas Technology Support

Benefits of Managed Service

One of the biggest benefits of managed services is discovering and fixing problems before they can negatively impact your business. A well maintained, proactively serviced network will always perform better than the alternative. With proactive network monitoring, patch management, and desktop optimization performed on a regular basis, you will notice a tremendous difference in operations and reap the benefits of preventing fires, rather than fighting them.

Reduced costs is another beneficial factor when switching to managed services. Businesses are able to control and reduce their overall operating costs with the flat-fee billing model, and can easily predict their IT expenditures for the month or even year – something that is just not possible with break-fix repair.

Because the MSP also manages all of your vendor relationships, issues with devices, outages, peripherals, websites, and more are dealt with directly by your service provider, giving you more freedom to run your business instead of calling multiple vendors anytime a problem arises. 24 hour network/device monitoring and problem resolution gives businesses an additional level of comfort and security.

Finally; a managed service provider is better than a dedicated IT staff member as they will provide coverage year round. An employer provided single or small support staff will have gaps in coverage due to sickness, vacations, family obligations, etc. While a managed Service provider will not. Using a managed Service provider means not having to pay benefits and unemployment insurance and a reduction in HR related expenses of managing an onsite staff.

You can read more about The Business Value of Managed Services – study findings from IDC research sponsored by IBM HERE:

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