Managed IT Services Guide for Small and Medium Businesses

Small and medium
scale businesses often experience a need for IT support for the smooth
functioning of their businesses. In an ideal situation, they should hire an
inhouse IT team of their own. But hiring such an IT team is costly so business
looks for an IT service that can provide the IT support for an affordable fee.
Must of these businesses look for managed IT support.

What is Managed
IT Services?

Managed IT
Services can be defined as a service that takes the responsibility of IT
services of a particular company for a monthly or yearly subscription. The
service provider company is also called a Managed Service Provider (MSP). This
service provider company is given full or partial responsibility of business IT
system as per service level agreement.

What is included
in Managed IT Services?

Managed IT
Services is an umbrella term and there are different services that are offered
under managed IT services. Here are the major services.

• IT Support
• IT Security
• Cloud
  Infrastructure
• Penetration Testing
• Firewall Services
  
• Software as a
  Service (SaaS)
• Wireless and
  Mobile Computing
• Data Analytics
• Communication
  Services
• SOC-as-a-Service
• NOC-as-a-Service
  

 What is a Managed
Services Model?

A Managed Service Model is a kind of
outsourced service that covers complete IT functions of a particular
department. Here the services provider takes all the IT decisions as permitted
by the business. However, the business has the right to review what kind of
managed IT support he is getting.

Also Read:A Guide to DRaaS Simplifying Disaster Recovery as a Service

What are Cloud
Managed Services?

A cloud-managed
service refers to the outsourcing of the day to day management of cloud-based
services and technical assistance related to it. Some businesses also entrust
the task of monitoring, security and backup and recovery to a cloud-managed
service provider.

Benefits of
Managed IT Services

There is a
complete array of benefits attached to managed IT services. It is why managed
IT services are popular among businesses. Here we describe major benefits.

Low Cost

A managed IT
service is highly cost-effective. Contrary to an inhouse IT support where you
have to pay for various types of expenses, a managed IT support can be obtained
for a monthly or yearly subscription fee. An IT ecosystem involves various
things like systems, networks and a lot of equipment. It takes lots of budget
that may disrupt your business plans. As small and medium scale businesses
don’t have much budget, they prefer a managed IT service.

Scalability

There are
companies that are understaffed and employees have to work extra hours. Still,
the work is not done up to satisfaction. The situation can’t continue for long.
To fill the gap, you have to hire employees and train them. Hiring and training
put a burden on your budget. Even after hiring and training, there is no
guarantee that they will stay with your organization for long. The benefit of
hiring a managed IT service is that you don’t have to worry about the hiring,
training and employees leaving the companies.

Reduced Downtime

Reduced downtime
is also one of the prominent benefits of managed IT services. There are various
reasons for downtime. Server failures, computer malfunctioning, equipment
issues and electrical disruptions could be major issues. The issues can be
better managed with replacing faulty equipment. Sometimes disruptions also
occur due to human error. The issue can be better resolved with implementing
safeguards. Sometimes cyber-attacks and network failures also lead to downtime.
A managed IT service is better equipped to handle this.

Proactive
Approach

Even the best IT
infrastructure is bound to disaster. And businesses have no option but repair
it. The cost of repair work depends on the size of business and security
breaches. This repair work puts a strain on your budget. Here adopting a
proactive approach is better. Most of the Managed Service Providers (MSP)
active monitors the IT ecosystem of their clients so that they can keep an eye
on a small issue that can become big. Such an approach stops small issues from
becoming a disaster.

Expertise

Hiring a team of
technicians and training them to meet your needs is often a time-consuming and
costly affair. Even then you can’t be sure that you can find a quick resolution
of all the issues. On the other hand, the technology of your business also
keeps changing. A Managed IT Support provider with experience across the
industry is better equipped to handle these challenges. It is better to hire an
experienced team than hiring a new team and training them.

Data Compliances

Your business has
to meet several regulations and compliances to keep your data protected. You
have to go through several compliances to know which compliance is better for
you. Going through all these compliances, finding one that is for you and meet
that compliance is time-consuming and burdensome for a small business. Managed
IT Services are better equipped to handle the compliances.

Improved Security

There is a hike
in cybercrimes and your business may be on the target of cybercriminals. Here a
managed IT support can provide your system security by keeping it up-to-date.
Such a service will also recommend necessary changes to be made to avoid
security breaches. However, you can also hire Managed IT Security services
separately.

Great Support

Apart from other
things, a managed service provider is also known for continuous support.
Contrary to an in-house IT team that works clock to clock, a managed IT service
works in a 24/7 environment. So even if your system meets an IT issue in the
midst of the night you can call your managed IT support for support. Such an
arrangement leads to reduced downtime and improved productivity.

Latest Technology

The technology
for IT support keeps evolving and getting new technology requires investment.
There are times when you invest in new technology but your team is not able to
use it effectively. Here a managed IT service provide you with the latest
technology without charging for it.

More Time
for Your Business

By outsourcing IT
support to a Managed Service Provider (MSP), you should rest assured that your
business IT is managed by experienced hands. With such confidence, you can
focus more on your core business activities.

How to
Choose the Right Managed IT Service?

A business should
take several things into account while outsourcing their IT support to managed
IT service provider. Here are some suggestions.

Relevant
Experience

The first thing
you should look for in a Managed IT Service provider is the relevant
experience. Some Managed IT Services providers claim that they can work for any
industry. But don’t go by their words. You are offering them a working
opportunity and not a learning opportunity. Managed IT support having worked
with an accounting firm is not an ideal fit for a hospitality business.

Check
References

Everyone makes
tall claims of providing quality service but this claim must be quantified.
There is no better way to check it than talking to one of the existing clients
of this service provider. If you talk to a client which is in a similar
business like yours then it is better. A client knows well about the quality of
service.

Choose a
Stable Company

As you hire a
managed IT service it gets acquainted with IT ecosystem. Such a company should
stay for long. So, while looking for a managed IT service you should look for a
company which is in existence for long.

Insurance

While looking for
a managed IT service you should make sure whether it is insured. The benefit of
insurance is that even if the vendor makes some mistakes, the costs can be
recovered. So, you must verify if your service provider is covered with
insurance.

On-Site
Availability

While most of the
issues can be handled online, there are some that need onsite attention. So,
you must check with your managed IT service provider that if it is able to
provide onsite support in the hours of need.

Experienced
Staff

Experienced
personnel are core to any service including managed IT services. So before
hiring it, you should ask whether they have qualified staff with all the
industry-recognized certifications. Because the quality of services depends a
lot on the staff.

Response
Time

One of the most
important questions you need to ask from your service provider is their
standard response time.  Smaller the
response time better it is. This will give you a fair idea about what to expect
in the hours of crisis.

Innovation

Some companies
have a knack of innovation that helps businesses better their services. You
should not allow them to experiment much but if they have any innovative idea
that they can implement for better then it is good for you.

Service
Level Agreements

Before hiring a
managed IT service, you should check the service level agreements completely
and know what it contains for you. Give a confirmation only if you are agreeing
with all the terms and conditions.

Reputation

You must check
the reputation of your managed service provider. As you are allowing them
access to your IT infrastructure, you must ensure that the service provider is
trustworthy. You can know much about their reputation from its existing
clients.