Managed services unload specific IT operations to a service provider, known as Managed Service Provider. Administered for managing, monitoring and/or problem resolution for selected IT systems and functions on your behalf assumed by managed service providers.
Services offered by (MSP) managed services providers are such as security, patch management, alerts, data backup and recovery for different client devices: desktops, notebooks, servers, storage systems, networks and applications.
The charges for managed services set by providers, usually price their services on a subscription basis. It depends on the services they provide, pricing is usually based on the number of devices, with different packages priced at different levels. Some providers provide customer support on-site when required.
With a monitoring service, basic services often start, which notifies you of problems, which you resolve on your own. Fully managed services offered by service providers that occupies everything from alerting through problem resolution.
Why Should You Care?
As like big companies, small companies or businesses also need technology to operate efficiently and to compete effectively. But as dependency on IT comes, the resources to support an increasingly complex IT environment may not. IT resources are meagre, in many small companies and businesses, and can be quickly overwhelmed with the day-to-day responsibilities of keeping the IT infrastructure that the business depends on up and running.
If someone falls back to keep up patches, backups and security, the probability is that he will face an IT interruption or may be another problem that will negatively impact his business. For instance, if your customer relationship management system, email server, financial application or network goes down unexpectedly, you face substantial productivity and revenue losses as a result.
In the IT department, the MSPs act as an extension, supporting and maintaining IT infrastructure monitoring and management around the clock and making your staff concentrate on higher value projects. Monitoring and maintaining your systems proactively, an MSP helps you keep away from many technology problems in the first place. An experienced MSP can troubleshoot and resolve it more efficiently if any issue occurs.
What to Consider
A wide range of different services offered by MSPs. There are many to focus on managing specific areas and functions, like storage and related management services, or help desk services and desktop management. A few provide management services for middleware, server hardware and operating systems, but limited support for applications such as e-mail. Onsite services as required provided by many, but perhaps have local coverage areas or limited regional.
The MSP label can be a confusing one, with so many different types of MSPs and offerings. So, think first about your requirements when you consider managed services. The question is how pleased you are with the level and quality of support that you have today? In IT infrastructure management, where are the pain points, gaps and inefficiencies? How do outages, downtime and other problems impact your business?
Evaluate MSPs that map to your IT, budget and business requirements and provide a flexible, proactive approach that can adapt with you as your needs evolve.