Do you still rely on your in-house IT department to keep your systems up to date? Perhaps it’s time for a change.
Most internal IT services aren’t equipped to keep up with the rate of innovation, and technology has advanced significantly since the days of break/fix IT. As a result, many businesses’ IT departments are reactive rather than proactive, and their systems are incapable of meeting the demands of a growing firm in the digital age. Any Digital Marketing Agency can help you to get SEO benefits for your business Growth.
If you’ve ever dismissed the idea of outsourcing support to a third party because you believe your current IT infrastructure is adequate or due to cost concerns, now is the time to reconsider.
What exactly are Managed Services and how do they work?
Let’s start with the fundamentals before delving into the advantages of the managed services approach.
A managed service refers to the practice of outsourcing business administration and management functions to a third party. This term isn’t just for IT; it can refer to anything from supply chain management to marketing strategy to call centre operations. The most common type of managed service is managed IT services, which will be the focus of this article.
Benefits of the managed services model
1- Concentrate on the most important goals.
As your business grows, so will your IT requirements. Your IT team may be able to handle some of the increased workload, but they will most likely become overwhelmed and unable to scale in accordance with your company’s needs, forcing you to delegate additional responsibilities to employees who aren’t on the IT team, diverting attention away from core business goals.
One of the benefits of managed services is that you can fill in the gaps as needed, allowing your employees to focus on the jobs they were hired to do. A true managed services partner will offer you a flexible service model that allows you to select the level of care you require, whether it’s simply keeping the lights on or outsourcing your entire IT department.
2- Obtain the Knowledge You Require
New technology brings new challenges that your old IT team may not be prepared to address. Then there’s the issue of management: Whether your systems are in the cloud or on-premise, you’ll need a lot of resources to support your business solutions, which could be a problem if your IT department is truly just one person.
Both of these issues can be addressed by adding more team members, but the cost of acquiring and training new employees may be prohibitive – training alone costs more than $1,886 per employee. Furthermore, there is a persistent IT talent shortage to contend with.
One of the most appealing aspects of the managed services model is the ability to hire an entire team of IT experts for a fixed monthly fee. Some Managed Services Providers (MSPs) even take a shared approach to managed services, which mean you can add or remove specialists from your managed services team based on the needs of each project. Technical, functional, architectural, and training consultants are among the professionals who can assist you in keeping your systems operational while also maximizing their potential.
3- Maintain a low cost structure
One of the most obvious economic benefits of managed services is that it lowers labor costs and eliminates the cost of hiring and training new IT workers. The potential to scale skills is quite appealing, and most MSPs provide a hybrid model of onshore and offshore resources, which lowers the average effective rate and expands your resource pool.
You’ll never have to worry about unexpected service fees since you sign a service-level agreement that’s tailored to your organization’s specific needs. This will allow your company to transition from a capital expense to an operating expense model. For further savings, look for an MSP with a strong strategic connection with your solutions or cloud provider; they’ll be able to escalate and advocate on your behalf, allowing you can reinvest the money you save in your business.
4- Adjust the scale up or down as appropriate.
You’ll need to scale up or down your system as your technological requirements alter throughout time. Although systems like Dynamics 365 are designed to be very scalable, you may still want assistance. Because MSPs can respond to changes in demand in real time, you won’t have to worry about system downtime.
To get the most value and scalability out of your collaboration, seek for an MSP that not only has hundreds of consultants accessible (and can bring on more as needed), but also offers advanced services like proactive monitoring, updated services release management, reporting, and more.
5- You’ll have access to help whenever you need it.
Because most MSPs offer 24/7 flexibility, on-call alternatives, and weekend assistance (though it’s important to remember that these are typically given as cost extras), you’ll never have to worry about availability with an MSP. When looking for the ideal MSP, seek for a global firm that can support several time zones and provides round-the-clock support, so you can be confident that you’ll get help whenever you need it.
