What Is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?

what-is-msp

MSPs are great.

And a lot of companies are using them.

But, are you asking yourself, “What is an MSP? And, where do I get one?”

When you look at a managed services provider (MSP), you’re getting a team of IT experts to oversee computing systems. For example, TVG Consulting are experts in Linux systems management, and we provide defined services to your company while your technology officers maintain the overall accountability for enterprise business systems.

When you want to adopt a new technology or to change hardware, software, or computing methodologies, an MSP can orchestrate the process while ensuring business continuity. If you choose an MSP, you aren’t outsourcing the entire IT function. You are only contracting for the IT support that you need.

In this blog post, I’ve covered the ins and outs of MSPs and the benefits your company will get when working with an MSP. Here we go!

what-is-msp-guide

What is an MSP?

An MSP, also known as Managed Service Provider, is an IT support company that manages the day-to-day IT tasks of another company. MSPs can offer security management, network administration, IT consulting, help desk support, and so much more. Choosing an MSP ensures that your IT infrastructure and applications operate efficiently while supporting your business goals.

Common functions of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) include:

1. Monitoring, backup, and recovery. An MSP remotely monitors all servers on your networks 24 hours a day, keeping business data and applications secure and healthy. This includes fixing potential problems before they interrupt business operations and providing data backup and recovery services in the event of a disaster.

2. Helpdesk and technical support. An MSP provides the people to handle most IT questions and influences the adoption of future applications. They might also handle cloud computing, mobile phone and tablet management, network design and implementation, Office 365 email, and VoIP phone solutions. With an MSP, your employees focus on other business activities, such as servicing customers and developing products for the future.

The Benefits of an MSP

You don’t want to introduce an MSP until you have looked at the relevant cost factors. How much would it cost per desktop, for example, to manage all applications through the MSP? If you outsource the IT function to the MSP, the arrangement should make overall costs go down, increase employee productivity in other operational areas, and make the organization more efficient.

Here are 5 benefits to partnering with an MSP:

1. Fast service and response time. With external technical support, individuals are responding rapidly to any problems that monitoring software identifies on your network’s servers. These could be a combination of in-house and cloud-based servers.

2.Business continuity and disaster recovery planning. When you think about it, a weather disaster, an act of theft or vandalism, a major power outage, or a massive computer virus could cripple your IT infrastructure and interrupt services to customers. Your company should prepare for adverse events. An MSP protects all data and ensures that your nonprofit organizations or small- or medium-sized business (SMB) recovers. The recovery is possible if your MSP’s employees conduct regular security testing and monitor for attacks. With an MSP, you also get peace of mind that your networks are safeguarded against hackers and cyber-criminals.

3. Cloud services and daily backups.When you use an MSP, your data is secure. All business systems are backed up to an alternate location (or backup server system). There is a redundant set of all business data, which keeps your nonprofit or SMB protected from massive data losses.

4. Annual IT budget planning. Expect that the MSP lead contact will sit down with your top IT officer and map out the organization’s technology needs for the future. This requires knowledge of what applications that businesses in the same sector plan to adopt. How else will you develop infrastructure to keep pace with your competitors? You might add new technologies, but the MSP suggests strategies that will help the organization grow without breaking the budget.

5. Remote access support and proactive maintenance.Your employees are always technically supported when the MSP’s staff can provide onsite or remote assistance. It’s not advisable to just fix your systems when they stop working. You need pre-emptive methods for protecting all computing networks and to update all systems before they break down.

You cannot afford to leave your organization’s computing systems to a skeleton IT staff. Your organization would be too vulnerable to disasters, cyber threats, and employee sabotage. Choose an MSP with a pricing structure that will help you reduce costs while receiving the desired level of support. Don’t be oversold on services that your organization cannot afford at its present stage.

We’ve heard horror stories from our clients of MSPs they used in the past. Those companies just couldn’t meet their needs. Trust a known leader in Managed Services to provide cost-effective IT managed services, cybersecurity, business continuity, and lifecycle management.

At TVG Consulting, our dedicated Managed Service leaders are ready to help you increase your bottom line and reduce network downtime. For more information, download our Guide to Managed IT Services.