What is a Managed IT Service Provider?

When you’ve decided that you’re done with underperforming IT and you’re looking for a way to turn your situation around fast, Managed IT Services is the solution. Your IT department may have done very well in the past to effectively manage IT and cybersecurity. However, there’s no denying that technology has evolved at a breakneck pace and continuing to do what you’ve always done isn’t going to keep up.

You may never have considered bringing in third-party IT support because you think you can’t afford it, or you simply don’t feel like you know enough yet to make an informed decision. Whatever the reason for holding back, if your current IT situation is causing you to struggle to meet the demands that your business faces in digital world, you’ve got to do something different.

How can a Managed Service Provider (MSP) help you overcome your struggles? Read on.

Managed IT Service Provider Defined

A managed IT services provider takes care of all or part of your IT and/or cybersecurity management, acting as your outsourced IT department or augmenting your internal IT team.

What Exactly Do You Get from a Managed IT Service Provider?

An MSP offers IT services and support for a flat monthly fee. It’s a strategic way of bringing in IT expertise that you don’t have in-house.

MSPs apply best practices and their proven processes to help businesses improve operations. Not only do they fill gaps in technology capability, but they give business leaders access to advisors who can guide them in the creation of IT strategy and help them make well-informed decisions about technology investments.

Managed IT services makes sense for small and medium-sized organizations that can’t resource a whole IT department on their own. However, enterprise companies also benefit from outsourcing some IT services, especially cybersecurity.

Some of the services that can be provided with managed or co-managed IT include: help or service desk support, cybersecurity management, network monitoring, system maintenance, escalation support, project support, and compliance.

What Benefits Can You Expect from Managed IT Services?

Relief from the Burden of Attracting, Hiring and Retaining IT Staff

MSPs can provide access to qualified and experienced IT experts that otherwise, businesses have to pay as full-time employees or through expensive consulting hours. MSPs offer expertise in many technologies and are continuously upgrading their service delivery methods and using automation to improve efficiency. 

Access to Sophisticated Technology Tools

An expert MSP will provide tools like a ticketing system, remote monitoring & management software, documentation portals, and security information & event monitoring platforms.

Scalable IT Department with Built-In Redundancies

MSPs can bring efficiencies, experience, and the right scale to manage IT requirements. They act as an extension of your business and can ensure that even if your IT manager goes on vacation, you’ll have a team that can step up to the plate.

Visibility Into IT Projects and Ongoing Activities

Some MSPs utilize client portals to provide a holistic view of all the activities that are taking place on the client’s behalf. These portals are communication hubs and allow clients to trigger automations that streamline processes like new employee onboarding.

Improved Security

Helping businesses protect their infrastructure from scams and cybercrime is among the most essential benefits that organizations can get from an MSP. A managed service provider helps small businesses identify threats, prevent cyberattacks, and keep systems and applications patched. 

All Managed IT Services Companies Are Not the Same

As you’re vetting different managed IT service providers, be aware that not every company that says they’re an MSP is one, and not everything that’s called “managed IT services” delivers the same results. As you evaluate companies, what you want to uncover is if the provider’s managed services model fits your needs and can they do what they say they can do.

Learn how to evaluate Managed IT Service providers.

Managed IT Services for New Orleans Businesses

Here at Bellwether, clients get all of the benefits that an experienced managed service provider can bring with a local connection. We’ve been serving the IT needs of small and medium-sized businesses in New Orleans and the surrounding area since 1980. All of our staff are US based, located mostly right here in New Orleans.

Get in touch to explore how Bellwether can help you turn underperforming IT into fuel for your business growth and improvement.