Nowadays, outsourcing has become the norm. Whether you consider corporations or small businesses, almost all of them are understanding the power of employing third-party vendors to provide services. For instance, numerous multinational companies have begun working with freelancers. While a freelancer doesn’t oversee a major portion of a company’s work, he/she does provide services that would otherwise mean hiring an employee. By diverting the channel via which work shows up on the table, companies tend to save time, resources, and money.
Managed Service Providers
Similarly, managed service providers (MSPs) in this context, are companies that specialize in providing IT solutions to companies big and small. You may wonder how outsourcing IT infrastructure can be beneficial for your business? For starters, when you outsource your IT department to an outsider, you get the expertise of a team of individuals that are experts in the said field.
To put it in perspective, imagine the core of your IT segment. It may include wireless devices, printers, CRM and account software, secure and informative data, cables, servers, and backup equipment. All of these entities will require different people with different specializations. While you can go on to hire people for each requirement, the task can become very daunting, very quickly. And it will be expensive. Remind yourself of employee benefits, competitive salaries, and yearly leaves.
However, if you opt for a third-party managed service provider, you get a team of experts to handle different tasks. Most companies that offer IT solutions include managed services with flat-rate pricing, making it easier for businesses to assign a budget and take the call. This is especially helpful for small businesses that are starting out but want IT solutions as competitive as big firms.
Benefits that managed service providers offer small businesses:
- MSPs provide end-to-end service
to all businesses no matter how big or small they are. In fact, most MSPs
offer custom plans that best suit businesses that don’t require a lot of services
when starting out.
- The collection of wholesome
service ensures that a business functions with minimal interruptions,
lags, or downtime. If your business thrives on being online, you wouldn’t
want to lose money, brand image, and customer satisfaction because you
went offline for hours at an end. A good MSP wouldn’t let that happen.
- Since businesses today use a lot
of devices, tools, and software, something or
the other will inevitably break – that’s when IT service providers
come in use. They can not only anticipate the need to fix a tool but can
also help fix them so employees can continue working. While major
corporations tend to have an IT support team to handle all internal
requirements, they also tend to outsource server
management and
other tasks to MSPs. Whether you’re just starting out or have been in the
business for long, you can understand that problems arise when you least
expect them to. In such a scenario, having an IT partner you can rely on
is extremely helpful and stress relieving.
- MSPs can help small businesses
avoid regulatory issues that arise when proper compliance requirements
aren’t fulfilled. Since you must already have a lot to worry about, adding
compliance regulations to it, doesn’t make sense. Leave the work to the
experts, since almost all MSPs are compliant with rules of the industry in
which they operate.
- With the help of MSPs, small
businesses can avoid cyber threats and breaches. Most companies that offer
managed services with flat-rate pricing include network security as a
primary option. If you’re in business online, you need to save yourself
from hacks, phishing threats, and data breaches. The option to avoid
securing your servers will result in a loss of business and customers. For
that purpose alone, if you don’t have a well-structured IT department,
hire an MSP.
- Apart from the above-mentioned benefits, MSPs provide businesses with full support to the end-user, they monitor and maintain servers and devices, they come with a dedicated account manager and 24*7 helpdesk, they provide backup and cloud support along with many other services based on the needs of their clients. As a small business, leaving IT solutions in the hands of a third-party can be extremely beneficial. While it will not only allow you to concentrate on your core business but will also stop you from worrying about possible breaches, downtime, and data recovery.
Medium and small-sized businesses can benefit from MSPs because it allows them to utilize advanced IT services without paying too much! Hiring an entire staff for IT doesn’t make financial sense, at least not when you’re trying to grow. Similarly, small businesses can leverage the support of a team, instead of one IT person that can leave the company when something else comes along. As a business, you must be sure about your online systems, because that’s where your projects see the light of day!
[Image via: Google Images]
