Tag Archives: managed service provider

How a Managed Service Provider (MSP) Will Benefit Your Business

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Using a Managed Service Provider, like Systemsnet, removes the hassle of having an in-house IT department, while still having the IT support you need.

Using a Managed Service Provider, like Systemsnet, removes the hassle of having an in-house IT department, while still having the IT support you need.

Information Technology (IT) can be a hassle, and it is often the last thing a company wants to worry about. That is, until something goes wrong. And with IT, a lot can go wrong. Depending on the size of your business, you may have any number of computers, all networked together, VoIP phone systems that rely on the Internet, and active Internet connection that must be maintained at all times with all computers connected to that Internet connection for employee productivity. If it is running smoothly, IT is just running in the background and no one even notices it is there. But the second a phone line goes down or a computer hard drive starts acting funny, IT is the first group to get called, and it is all on them to make things right while the employee stands there impatiently waiting to get back to work. Without properly functioning IT, a business in the 21st century simply cannot operate.

So what do you do to make sure that your business’s IT is working all the time, without having to worry about the headaches that come with managing IT all the time? Your business needs to turn to a Managed Service Provider (MSP) such as SystemsNet. An MSP is a dedicated provider of IT services, hired by a company to handle all the details of that company’s Information Technology infrastructure. Their services will vary from client to client, depending on the client’s needs, but they often have the capability to handle any IT situation that may arise. This leaves the client free to handle the running of their business, and frees up resources that would otherwise be dedicated to an IT team that no longer is needed.

By hiring an MSP, a company is able to reduce their costs because they are contracting out the IT portion of their business. Any business knows that by contracting out something – whether it be work or IT – money will (usually) be saved. By contracting out the IT services of the business, the management is making a decision to let someone else handle all of the IT problems. Someone else will be on call 24×7 to fix IT problems, rather than having employees of the business on call to fix those problems. Because, let’s face it, a business is an around the clock operation in one way or another, and without an active IT system that is working around the clock, that business runs the risk of falling behind. An MSP will ensure that the IT systems will be operating at all times, whenever someone needs them. And by contracting these services out, the management is saving money because they are not paying for the benefits or overhead cost of the MSP employees – those costs are covered in the contract between the business and the Managed Service Provider.

The contract between the business at the MSP could be such that the business pays a flat monthly cost for all of the services that the two parties have agreed for the MSP to cover. More services, which could include computer hardware and software maintenance, phones, VoIP, and Internet, in addition to other IT needs, will generally require a higher monthly fee. But service plans may be bundled, so that a business receives multiple services for one rate, or picks and chooses individual services at individual rates. It is up to the business, and the operational standards of the MSP, to work out the details of the contract under which the work will be carried out, but it is nearly certain that the business will be saving money and receiving a valuable service because they will not be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the IT infrastructure and ensuring that it is working at all times for their employees. They leave all of that up to the contracted MSP.

If you are interested in exploring the options that SystemsNet can offer your business as an Managed Service Provider, please contact us, and we would be happy to discuss with you how we can not only save you money on IT management, but resources on not managing your IT yourself.

10 quick tips about working with your Managed Service Provider (MSP)

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To take full advantage of the benefits of an MSP, you need to maintain a strong relationship with them.

To take full advantage of the benefits of an MSP, you need to maintain a strong relationship with them.

By outsourcing at least some of your IT operations to a Managed Service Provider (MSP), you could potentially save money and further your business growth.

However, to take full advantage of these benefits, you need to maintain a strong working relationship with your MSP. The following are 10 quick tips about working with your Managed Service Provider (MSP):

 

 

 

  1. Share your business goals with them. They can help you most effectively only if they understand what direction you want your company to go in and anticipate how your IT needs might change along the way.
  2. Keep communication lines open. Regularly touch base with them about your IT configuration, whether everything’s going smoothly, and whether anything could improve or needs to change.
  3. Understand what they’re doing for you. You don’t need to know all of the technical details, but you should understand the general picture of what they’re doing for you and why it’s necessary, even if you don’t consider yourself a computer savvy person. If they’re good communicators, they can explain to you what’s going on.
  4. Establish clear collaborative boundaries from the beginning. Understand the scope of their responsibilities from the start. And if you have an IT staff already, establish a relationship of collaboration and clear boundaries, to avoid a situation where your in-house employees think the MSP is pushing them out of the picture.
  5. Hammer out a clear contract. Make sure you know how long they’ll work for you, how they’ll bill you, and what devices, programs and services they’ll take responsibility for.
  6. Quantify results. How will you measure increased productivity, savings in costs, or other benefits you might expect from your MSP? What is your MSP’s response time to various problems?
  7. Keep being a manager. Even when you outsource various services, you still need to stay on top of things and make informed decisions.
  8. Look into security. When you outsource your IT needs, in whole or part, to another company, you want to ensure as much as possible that your security won’t get compromised. What powerful security practices does your MSP have in place? What’s their security record?
  9. Ask away. You should feel comfortable asking them questions and bringing your concerns to them immediately.
  10. Treat them with trust. This doesn’t mean blindly accepting everything they do or suggest; however, if you’ve taken the trouble to choose a reliable and effective MSP, you should also feel comfortable delegating things to them and not second-guessing everything they do. By following the other tips here, such as communicating regularly and quantifying various results, you can monitor their contribution to your company without potentially obstructing their work.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information about the managed services we offer. When collaborating with us, you will receive IT services responsive to your company’s needs and aimed at promoting its survival and success.