Taking advantage of managed services is a beneficial way to improve productivity within your company. Dedicating valuable time towards phones, data maintenance, IT support and other essential business requirements can prove both costly and a drag on your productivity. However, when first looking at a managed services provider it can quickly become overwhelming. That is exactly why taking the complication out of managed services is so important.
What Are Managed Services?
Before diving into the services provided and identifying what your business needs, you need to understand what managed services are to begin with. Managed services is a service you outsource to a third party. If, for example, you need IT support but can’t afford to pay for a full-time professional, you can outsource it to a Managed Services Provider (MSP). Costs are greatly reduced as other companies like your own outsource the same service. This way, you pay only a fraction for IT support, yet you are completely covered for the level of service you sign up for. Managed services are used as cost saving opportunities for when your business needs a specific service, but may not have the financial resources to perform these services in house.
Services Provided By an MSP
Now that you have the general understanding of what an MSP is, you need to know the kinds of services provided by such a service. Realistically it does depend, as each MSP is slightly different. However, in terms of technical support services, you can typically expect to find services to include IT support, cloud support, phone and voice services, networking support and other Internet and phone based services. If there is a technological aspect to your business, chances are an MSP will provide coverage and have the ability to work with you on your needs.
Why Use an MSP?
So why use a company offering managed services? It comes down to cost saving potential. If your business needs IT support, paying a professional salary, benefits and taxes, you may face paying upwards of $100,000 annually. However, by using an MSP, you’ll pay just a small percentage of this. Knowing what your monthly costs are for IT support can help you manage your budget better.
Another reason to work with an MSP is work flow and processes don’t get interrupted if someone leaves your company or even that of your MSP. Because the MSP manages the service for you all of the documentation rests with them. Having those strategies documented means that anyone can step in and assist with a problem resolution or process issue. It means less brain drain on your business, saves time when problems occur and means your business can keep moving with efficiency.
A managed service generally also means that your business will get priority for support issues over another business that is paying time and materials for support. (Depending on the severity of the issue of course)
Most managed services agreements also come with some kind of maintenance or upgrade support. What this means that your hardware or software can be continuously upgraded so you are always using the latest solution which generally means less down time. This of course is dependent on the level of agreement you have decided upon.
Service Level Agreements also mean you can feel confident that your support issues will be addressed in a timely manner. Guaranteed response times can save you a lot of headaches, especially if you are running a business that cannot afford to be offline for very long.
By taking the complication out of managed services, your business stands to boost productivity while reducing costs and improving customer support. When initially looking over managed services, it may seem confusing, but by using these quick tips and resources, you and your business can avoid the complicated pitfalls and focus on only what your company needs to thrive.
If you have been thinking of having a managed services agreement for your business speak with Ginko IT today. They have been supporting many businesses in Australia for years and understand the importance of designing a managed services agreement that suits your business and your budget. Speak with a technical consultant here.
