As your business expands, so do your technology needs. With technology evolving every day, most companies are struggling to keep up and meet customer and industry expectations. This gap comes with the realization that their in-house IT teams are unable to meet these technological needs.
This inability to perform by the IT team may be due to limited skill sets, resources, and time. The company might also not have a sufficient budget to cater for the technology. Some companies also seek to upgrade their available systems after a data breach or a case of network inaccessibility.
In such a scenario, a business would usually opt for a co-managed IT support service provider. However, businesses have the option of combining their internal IT team with an external IT consultant. The company gets the best of both worlds as the in-house IT team understands the industry, the goals (both short-term and long-term), and the strategies of the business.
In contrast, the external consultant has skill and expertise with the latest technology. Managed IT support comes into play in such a scenario.
What to Consider When Choosing a Managed IT Support Service Provider
1. Expertise in Applications and Partnered Solutions
The qualification of the MSP staff is very vital as it will determine their level of performance. It is essential to pick an MSP that provides employees that are qualified, highly skilled and certified. It is also advantageous to work with an MSP that specializes in your industry. This is because the IT support and software needs of various sectors vary.
Another critical aspect to check is what partnered solutions does the MSP also offer. Some MSPs have partnered with insurance firms to provide cyber-security insurance to their clients.
2. Experiences With Past Clients in a Similar Field
Examining current and past clients that are in a similar industry communicates the capability of the MSP. Their reviews, testimonials, references, and projects will help you understand the structure of the organization in terms of employee experience, delivery rate, and client preference.
3. Do Their Services Meet the Needs of Your Business?
Before consulting an MSP, the company needs to evaluate its current systems and structures and determine areas of risk. This analysis will help the company in assessing an MSP that offers services and solutions that particularly meet the needs of the business.
4. Billing by the MSP
Pick a managed service provider that offers flexibility in their payment options and is in line with the budget of the company’s IT department. Most MSPs have fixed monthly fees to cater for services rendered.
Benefits of Partnering With a Reputable Managed IT Service Provider
1. Productivity Is Enhanced
Using a managed IT support service ensures that your IT support is available 24/7, whether your in-house IT team is present or not. They also offer a helpline desk that is highly responsive in the case of technical hitches in the company. This enables the in-house team to focus on other issues such as developing programs, handling log-in errors, and responding to requests from co-workers.
The IT service will also cover patches, upgrades, and routine maintenance, ensuring that your systems are running efficiently.
2. Cost-Efficient
Most companies cannot afford to hire a full in-house IT team and pay their salaries, benefits, and overtime since it can be costly. Most managed IT support firms offer flexibility in their payment options ( a fixed monthly fee). Therefore, a company can procure services that they can afford
3. Improved Security
With cyber-attacks on the rise, companies must find better structures to ensure the security of their data. Most in-house teams do not have the technology or skill to counter these attacks. With managed IT support, the company gets access to this technology and expertise. The IT service is also able to intercept these attacks before they occur.
4. Cloud Services
Cloud services are becoming essential as businesses require their data to be accessible to their stakeholders, clients, and staff. A managed IT support service provider will not only help you move your data to the cloud, but it will also manage the platform for you.
5. Minimizes Competition
Most small and medium enterprises cannot afford the technology that large organizations use, putting them at a disadvantage. A managed IT support offers your company the latest updates in terms of technology, filling the gap between SMBs and more equipped corporations.
6. Vast Expertise and Years of Experience
Employees from a managed IT service provider are highly skilled, experienced, qualified, and certified. They have vast knowledge in the field and ensure that your company gets the best services. Their expertise will guarantee that your company is up to date with the latest industry techniques and trends.
7. Ready Infrastructure in Place
For companies solely using in-house IT teams, implementing and integrating the latest applications and new systems can be a time-consuming affair. A reputable managed IT service provider already has policies and structures in place that can be configured according to the needs of the company. Deployment of these systems becomes quicker and more effective.
Are You Thinking of Enlisting a Reputable Managed IT Support Company to Handle Your IT Needs?
A managed IT service is a third-party organization to which a business delegates its IT operations. It takes up the responsibility of maintaining and anticipating the needs for a range of processes and programs to improve services and lower costs.
Hampton Roads Communication Technologies offers expertise and years of experience in managed IT support services that will be instrumental in tailoring solutions to meet your specific business needs and helping you scale your business.
Consulting a managed IT support service provider that specifically meets the needs of the company is very vital for any business looking to scale up. As a business you must, therefore, be very careful when choosing a managed IT service provider.
Hampton Roads Communication Technologies is an IT service provider that serves businesses across the United States especially in the Mid Atlantic region, South to the Outer Banks of Carolina, North to Williamsburg, and Hampton Roads Virginia areas. Get started by calling us on phone: (757) 399-3350 or our toll-free number: (800) 319-1878.
Speak to us today to get highly professional, reliable, and customized IT solutions for your enterprise.
