Today, our businesses can’t function without technology. But when you started your own company, you probably didn’t plan on wearing so many hats—especially not the technology expert hat. Even if you’ve been able to afford an in-house IT team, your IT staff might not have the bandwidth to handle everything from complex server issues to 24/7 monitoring and cybersecurity. That’s where a managed IT service provider (MSP) comes in.
What Is an MSP?
A managed IT service provider is a third-party company that proactively manages and monitors your business’s technology infrastructure for you. This includes everything from ensuring that your systems are secure to providing Help Desk support to your employees.
MSPs typically charge a monthly fee, which can vary depending on the size of your business and the services you need. They provide services like:
- Network monitoring and integration
- Data backup and recovery
- Cloud solutions
- Cybersecurity
- Unified communications
- IT support for your employees and customers
MSPs can help take the burden off your in-house IT staff, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks. In addition, MSPs can offer your business a number of valuable services that can help keep your systems running smoothly, but you only have to pay for them if you need them.
The 5 Main Benefits
1. Proactive Support
The biggest benefit of hiring an MSP is that they proactively manage and monitor your systems, which can help prevent issues before they cause downtime. MSPs use tools like remote monitoring and management (RMM) to keep an eye on your network 24/7.
If an issue does come up, they can often fix it before it causes any downtime for your business. In addition, MSPs have a team of qualified IT professionals who can resolve any issues that do come up quickly and efficiently.
2. Increased Security
Another big advantage of hiring an MSP is that they can help increase the security of your systems. A company falls victim to a cyberattack every 39 seconds, so when we say that cybersecurity should be a top priority, we’re not messing around!
Thankfully, MSPs use tools like Endpoint Detection and Response, patch management, and 24/7 monitoring to protect your company’s data. They can also perform regular security audits to ensure that your systems are secure.
3. Improved Productivity
MSPs improve your team’s productivity by proactively monitoring your network to prevent technology problems that interrupt your team’s work and they also provide Help Desk Support, so your employees can get help with any IT issues they have.
Many businesses are now undergoing what’s called “digital transformation”. In the last few years, we’ve seen leaps and bounds in a business’s ability to understand their customer and automate manual tasks for its employees.
An MSP can help you use programs like Microsoft 365 and move your data to the cloud to automate tasks like scheduling appointments, sending emails, and managing customer data. They can also help you use data analytics to better understand your customers and their needs.
4. Cost Savings
An important benefit of hiring an MSP is long run cost savings. When you have an MSP manage your IT systems, you can avoid the high cost of hiring and training in-house IT staff. In addition, MSPs can often provide services like data backup and recovery, network management, and trouble ticketing at a lower cost than if you were to do them yourself.
5.Updates and Advancements
If your company is still working with legacy equipment and technology (older hardware and software), you could be wasting a big chunk of your IT budget. A 2018 Deloitte survey found that 57% of the average IT budget goes toward supporting current systems while only 16% goes toward innovating.
The right MSP will understand your business and help you invest in technology initiatives that will help your team save time, better understand your customers, and boost revenue. Unified communications is a great example of this. Not only will a strong MSP guide you to technologies that will spur your business forward, they will handle the implementation so you don’t have to worry about it.
Does My Business Need an MSP?
If you’re not sure if your business needs an MSP, there are a few things you can ask yourself:
- Is it difficult to hire and train in-house IT staff?
- Do you have critical IT systems that work around-the-clock?
- Are you confident you can recover your systems from backup?
- Is your time better spent managing your business than supporting IT?
Do any of those questions ring true to you? Handing the technology expert hat to an MSP can make your team more productive and give you more time to achieve your business goals.
Micro Technology Solutions Can Help
When you’re ready to partner with a reliable and experienced MSP, contact us at Micro Technology Solutions. We can support your IT needs from security to productivity. Call us today to learn how we can help.