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Managed IT services provide many benefits for businesses. They cut overhead costs, provide the right expertise for the ongoing service, and free your inhouse IT department to concentrate on priority projects that propel growth.
Managed IT services can provide an excellent option in ongoing support for your company. Managed service providers often act as an extension of your own IT Department. Because these services are outsourced to experts in the field, your company can rely on best practices and updated technology that you might not have access to inhouse.
These solutions are cost effective and enhance productivity for your staff. The ideal managed IT services will take the frustration out of tasks, leaving your core employees available to proactively pursue growth opportunities. With a good managed service provider, you can improve client care, monitor IT systems, safeguard business continuity, and increase productivity for your company.
Managed IT services are tasks and ongoing responsibilities delivered by a third party or contracted managed service provider (MSP). The MSP may have different levels or tiers of service and work with a monthly fee structure.
When choosing a managed service IT provider, you’ll often research specialists in the type of service you require. For instance, you may look specifically for providers who specialise in your industry. Or you may look for MSPs that offer managed IT services in a type of technology.
There are several different types of managed IT services that your company can contract. They may handle anything that a traditional in-house IT department usually provides. For instance, typical services include help desk features and infrastructure. With these aspects of your IT needs managed, your in-house staff can concentrate on other areas of innovation.
Some services you might outsource to a managed IT service provider include technical support for IT systems, security and compliance, administration and user management, monitoring and maintenance, and backup and disaster recovery.
A managed IT service takes over all the responsibility for monitoring, managing, and reporting on the tasks assigned to that MSP. Typically, you would meet with the IT consulting team to discuss your needs, their solutions and consult with them on the optimal package for your current and future requirements.
Managed services should be scalable for your business. This allows you to grow without worrying about the infrastructure and its ability to scale with your business. There are different types of services you might choose. For instance, a help desk service would need to offer timely support for your staff and customers. You would look for providers who can keep your technical support managed at all times to ensure that there is little or no downtime for your business and to streamline processes for staff.
You might outsource network managed services for your business. In this scenario, your MSP will provide all the infrastructure management to keep your team and customers connected. This solution puts the technical aspects of hosting, network management, and compliance in the hands of seasoned experts, so that your internal team can concentrate on the business disciplines you specialises in.
Your in house IT team works directly for your company while a managed IT service is a third-party provider. There are benefits to both options. Here we’ll lay out the differences between these two choices so that you can develop a strategy that meets your business’ current and future needs.
Your inhouse IT team consists of full-time and part-time employees. This means that your company needs to source, hire, and payroll these experts on an ongoing basis, which is a significant investment. The inhouse IT team does have many benefits. These professionals are invested in your company’s success on a personal level. They also work within your industry and have a deep understanding of your internal needs and goals on a broader level than someone who only specializes in their IT discipline.
It is difficult to hire all the different types of specialised IT professionals internally. Many companies have truly talented IT professionals on staff, but they may not have professionals with the desired background for certain projects and ongoing needs. For instance, you might have very talented programmers but no one who specialises in infrastructure or cyber security.
The managed IT service provider specialises in the type of service they’re contracted to provide. This means that every professional on your team has a wealth of experience with the hardware, software and architecture they manage for your company. The Managed IT service often provides round the clock service, which internal staff is not often able to provide.
MSPs may or may not have experience in your industry (many specialise in certain industries and that’s something you can look for in your requirements). What the MSP offers is an expert level capacity in the type of service they provide for your organisation.
Managed IT services are often referred to as outsourcing, but they’re not exactly the same. An MSP is a third-party enterprise, so in that sense, you are outsourcing. But the term outsourcing is typically used for smaller projects and one-off tasks. It might also indicate a freelance capacity.
Managed IT services offer a more comprehensive level of service for the entirety of an IT discipline. The company you choose employs a vast number of experienced professionals to meet and exceed any business need in that type of technology. They offer different levels of service and options to scale with your individual business needs.
A managed IT service provides all levels of service for that type of technology. And most MSPs offer a range of different types of service, so companies can choose multiple managed IT services from the same provider if they desire.
Most businesses can benefit from managed IT service options. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your business currently needs to implement a service to survive. However, they do provide optimal support for businesses to thrive, increase productivity, decrease overhead, and improve profits.
How do you know your business needs to hire a managed IT service provider?
Here are some key indications that you should consider an MSP:
• Your internal IT department is overworked. This is often the case. You have a talented staff, and they are overburdened with too many tasks to complete everything they’re assigned.
• Certain aspects of your IT needs are beyond the scope of your in-house staff. You may need infrastructure or cybersecurity services that your current staff does not specialise in or that you don’t have the bandwidth to effectively oversee.
• Your business is growing faster than your internal IT department. Scaling is a big reason to employ a managed service provider.
• IT issues have impeded productivity. If your staff is spending a lot of time fixing technical issues and resetting passwords, you’re losing valuable opportunities to move your business processes forward.
There are various managed IT services available that can help businesses streamline operations, improve efficiency, enhance security, and drive innovation. Each business has unique requirements, and managed IT services can be tailored to meet their specific needs. Below are some of the most popular managed IT services:
Managed network services provide 24/7 monitoring and support for business networks, which can prevent network outages and improve network performance, driving greater business resilience and agility. By leveraging advanced monitoring tools and expertise, managed network services ensure that networks are proactively managed, identifying and resolving issues before they disrupt operations. This allows businesses to focus on their core activities while enjoying a stable and secure network infrastructure.
Managed security services offer a comprehensive security solution that includes threat detection, incident response, and data protection. With the increasing complexity and frequency of cyber threats, businesses need robust security measures to safeguard their sensitive data and systems. Managed security services provide continuous monitoring, analysis, and mitigation of security risks, helping businesses stay ahead of evolving threats. By leveraging specialized security expertise, businesses can have peace of mind knowing that their infrastructure is protected against cyberattacks.
Managed IT support services offer software, hardware, and help desk support, enabling businesses to resolve IT issues quickly and efficiently. Whether it's troubleshooting software glitches, fixing hardware malfunctions, or providing user support, managed IT support services ensure that businesses have access to technical expertise whenever they need it. This helps minimize downtime, increase productivity, and allows businesses to focus on strategic initiatives rather than getting caught up in day-to-day IT troubleshooting.
Managed cloud services provide access to the latest cloud computing technologies, which can help businesses achieve greater efficiency, resilience, and continuity. With managed cloud services, businesses can offload the management and maintenance of their cloud infrastructure to experienced professionals. This includes services such as cloud migration, architecture design, security management, and performance optimization. By leveraging the scalability and flexibility of the cloud, businesses can streamline their operations, reduce costs, and scale their resources as needed.
Managed communications services offer a unified communications solution with voice, video, and data capabilities, improving collaboration and communication within the organization. These services provide businesses with a reliable and secure communication platform that integrates various communication channels, such as voice calls, video conferences, instant messaging, and email. Managed communications services enable seamless connectivity, regardless of location or device, enhancing teamwork and productivity across the organisation.
Managed infrastructure services provide a comprehensive infrastructure solution with servers, storage, and networking capabilities. By outsourcing the management of their infrastructure to a trusted service provider, businesses can offload the burden of infrastructure maintenance and focus on core business objectives. Managed infrastructure services ensure high availability, scalability, and performance of IT infrastructure components, allowing businesses to operate smoothly and meet the demands of their digital operations. With proactive monitoring and maintenance, businesses can avoid costly downtime and ensure their IT infrastructure is optimised for efficiency.
There are many benefits to employing managed IT services for your company. Here, we’ll list the top five.
Compliance is a major concern for many industries, as well as any technology company. Regulatory requirements change rapidly and it’s imperative that your technology solutions and data management are up to date. An MSP can help you meet your compliance needs and all the requirements your company needs to maintain internally and through vendors.
Managed IT services are more cost effective than hiring internal staff. They are also more transparent in budgeting needs. Your company can easily see what the costs are over time and budget for new innovations and investments as you scale.
Managed services decrease downtime and alleviate tedious tasks from your staff. This means increased productivity and better business continuity, resulting in higher profits.
A managed service provider can offer a wealth of expertise in many types of technology disciplines. This is one of the most advantageous aspects of working with an MSP, you can augment your staff with some of the most brilliant experts for the type of technology you’re working with.
MSP can offer the most up to date cybersecurity and backup services to protect your business from the latest threats. A professional provider can reduce risks for damage from malicious actors and human error. This is increasingly important, not only to protect your business from attack but to insure your business.
A Managed IT Services (MSP) transition can be a complex process, but it doesn't have to be. By following these five steps, you can ensure a smooth and successful transition:
The first step is to understand your business needs and requirements. What are your current IT challenges? What are your goals for the future? Once you have a clear understanding of your needs, you can work with your MSP to develop a transition strategy that meets your specific requirements.
Key Activities
• Review and understand your contract and requirements
• Assess your current support arrangements
• Discover your environment
• Manage resource requirements (staffing, software, hardware)
• Prepare a transition-in strategy
Once you have a transition strategy in place, it's time to start designing the new IT environment. This includes identifying the right hardware and software, as well as developing new processes and procedures. Your MSP can help you with this process, drawing on their expertise in IT best practices.
Key Activities
• Prepare an operations guide
• Prepare a service catalogue
• Document all third-party details
• Transfer system and support knowledge
Once the design is complete, it's time to start implementing the new IT environment. This includes installing hardware and software, configuring systems, and training staff. Your MSP will work closely with you to ensure a smooth and seamless implementation.
Key Activities
• Implement systems and tools
• Configure reporting
• Run through support scenarios
• Conduct testing
The next step is to go-live with the new IT environment. This is a critical time, and it's important to make sure everything is working properly. Your MSP will work with you to ensure a smooth transition to the new environment.
Key Activities
• Conduct transition quality checks
• Performa a readiness review with support teams, the customer and stakeholders
• Enable an effective communications plan
• Provide safe hands - support
Once the new IT environment is up and running, it's important to close out the transition project and review the process. This will help you identify any areas that could be improved for future projects. Your MSP should provide comprehensive risk-based vulnerability management and remediation, ensuring complete visibility, control and peace of mind.
Key Activities
• MSP provides post go-live support
• Perform a project review
• Gather customer and stakeholder feedback
By following these five steps, you can ensure a smooth and successful transition to Managed IT Services.
The right MSP will bring peace of mind and improved compliance, and one of the ways to effectively deliver this is by applying the Continual Improvement Model. The CBS managed IT services team lives by the philosophy Proactive Service Review – that means we continually assess ticket trends, reports and activities happening in order to identify areas to improve and are not just triggered by an incident.
At Canon Business Services, our managed IT services are an extension of your IT team. We provide state of the art support, system maintenance, updates and repairs. This means that your company has round the clock, full scale support that proactively monitors and maintains your assets.
We provide the extensive expertise to maintain your IT environments at all times. Contact us today to discuss your ongoing managed IT service needs.
