Managed Service Providers Explained

Managed Service Providers is another term for IT professionals, but when it comes to Managed Services themselves, are they all the same? We have put together this blog to explain all, so that when it comes to outsourcing your IT support you know exactly what you should look for.

What are Managed Services?

There isn’t a single, holistic definition for managed services, but here are the key points that you need to know:

1. Managed Services include the monthly maintenance of your technology, for a set fee.
2. An MSP monitors the health of your computers, and has a detection system in place in the event of a system breach / breakdown.
3. Managed Services usually include the application of critical patches, fixes and updates to your computer systems automatically (this varies depending on the provider).
4. Both your computers and networks are maintained as part of the Managed Services.
5. Most MSPs work remotely, so they don’t need to physically be at your office each time you need some work carried out.
6. Most MSPs used a ticketing system for their clients, allowing them to efficiently provide IT support for businesses.

Why System Monitoring is Key

Like with most things, prevention is better than cure. This is no different when it comes to your IT systems. By outsourcing your IT needs to an MSP, they monitor your computers and are able to alert you before something goes wrong (or as quickly as possible after it has gone wrong!). There are lots of different tools available, which means critical functions can be monitored 24/7, 365. Helping to reduce unplanned downtime within the business.

Predictable IT Expenses

As mentioned previously, one of the best features of taking up Managed Services is that your systems are maintained on a regular basis, and for a fixed fee. Of course if you require add-ons or alterations to your IT systems then this will be an additional cost. General maintenance is included though, so if anything suddenly stops working then this should be fixed within the price of your maintenance contract. This means that allocating an IT budget is nice and simple, as you will pay out the same amount each month.

Choosing The Right MSP for Your Business

If you are looking for a Managed Service Provider to maintain your IT systems, but aren’t quite sure what you need to be looking out for, here are some pointers for you:

• They must be able to monitor & patch all of your IT equipment
• They should provide you with a regular report (that isn’t full of jargon!) to give you an overview of the health of your IT systems
• They should have a ticketing system in place so that you can create & track service requests easily
• Whilst they should have a specialist IT team, they need to be able to talk ‘business talk’ as well, not just be super geeky!
• They should have back-up and disaster recovery systems in place should the worst happen
• They should provide you with a Service Level Agreement which you can review prior to signing

For any further information on the IT support that we provide here at Reality Solutions, feel free to give us a call on 01482 828000 and one of our team will be more than happy to help.