5 Compelling Reasons Your Business Needs an MSP

IT operations play a critical role in the growth and smooth running of businesses, regardless of their size. It is, therefore, important that the IT infrastructure is managed optimally. This is where IT Consulting Companies or Managed Services Providers​ (MSPs) come into the picture. 

The global managed services market​ is expected to exceed 200 billion U.S. dollars in size this year. Over the next few years, revenue from the managed services market is set to grow to more than 300 billion U.S. dollars.

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A lot of businesses are seeing the worth of hiring skilled and trained IT specialists in the form of MSPs. They act as an outsourced IT department and offer a plethora of solutions for issues related to information technology, network security, data management, and more.

​Reasons for Hiring a Managed Services Provider

​Hiring a reliable MSP is less costly than expanding your business's in-house IT team. Here are a few more pressing reasons why your business should partner with an MSP.

1. Proactive Security Monitoring and Constant IT Support

MSPs constantly monitor your network to detect and mitigate risks such as phishing attacks, malware attacks, ransomware, weak passwords, and insider threats.

Keeping up with the latest security measures is a full-time job. MSPs specialize in cybersecurity techniques, and provide innovative services to protect your business. These include data backup, network security assessment, end-user awareness, and endpoint protection. MSPs can also give you access to the latest anti-virus software, automatic patching, and updated firewalls.

Strategic planning is key to providing consistent IT support to businesses. MSPs have a dedicated service desk to provide IT support to companies. The service desk offers a full suite of skills that include Tier 1 to Tier 3 support. Let us look at how these support teams function.

● Tier 1

Tier 1 team captures the service requests and performs the initial triage.

● Tier 2

Tier 2 team works on the majority of end-user and desktop support needed by the businesses.

● Tier 3

Tier 3 team handles escalations and network-related service requests.

If the MSPs are unable to resolve an issue remotely, they schedule a support desk technician to go onsite.

2. Technology Management

MSPs stay abreast of the latest technological innovations. They keep your system updated and provide timely software and hardware maintenance.

The type of technologies they implement include desktops, servers, applications, and networking upgrades. They also provide support for:

• Server hardware and software upgrades
  
• Network design and hardware and software upgrades
  
• Cloud computing upgrades and migrations
  
• Desktop hardware and software upgrades
  
• IT security upgrades and management
  
• Implementation of business continuity solutions
  
• ​Network design, and hardware and software upgrades
  

3. Minimal Downtime and Increased Productivity

​Downtime brings your business operations to a standstill and leaves your employees with idle time, thereby reducing productivity and efficiency. MSPs work towards minimizing downtime and increasing efficiency in the below-mentioned ways.

• MSPs monitor your system 24*7 and detect issues before they start costing you time and money
  
• They are driven by Service Legal Agreements (SLAs) and are bound to resolve issues within a given deadline
  
• Redundant backups are provided to instantly recover your system data from issues such as cyberattacks, hardware failure, and natural calamities
  
• They offer a full range of cloud-hosted services such as cloud monitoring, public cloud management, and cloud automation. These services allow your employees to work from anywhere using any device with an internet connection.
  
• In short, MSPs make sure your teams continue to perform with minimal disruption, even if your regular workplace becomes inoperative.
  
• ​Minimizing downtime increases workplace productivity. With a secure, stable network and fewer help desk tickets, your employees will have more time to focus on core competencies such as quality and innovation. It will also improve your customer relationships and increase sales.
  

4. Predictable Cost Structure

The cost of technology changes drastically from month to month. This can make budgeting difficult for businesses.

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MSPs have an easy-to-understand and predictable cost structure. They help businesses create a precise budget and deliver accurate financial forecasts. They usually charge a monthly fee for their services.

5.Adherence to Compliance Regulations

A reliable MSP can help your business meet relevant compliance regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS.

​Regulatory compliance requires you to ensure that only authorized and authenticated users can access sensitive data. You must protect customer data against loss and accidental or intentional disclosure.

MSPs can implement strong security measures and keep your business in line with data privacy regulations. Here is how they do it.

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● Protection from Cyber Attacks

Cyber criminals can steal your sensitive business data and put you in violation of data privacy laws.

MSPs can prevent cyber threats from entering your network by making use of anti-malware, anti-ransomware, firewalls, and phishing mitigation software.

● VCIO Consultations

Virtual Chief Information Officers (VCIOs) strategically plan and manage a company's cybersecurity plan.

They can audit your network for weak spots and make recommendations based on important developments in data privacy regulations.

● Centralized Security Management

Unauthorized third-party data access can violate data privacy laws. MSPs centralize the management of your network's security and minimize the amount of data that can be accessed by third-parties.

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● Implementation of Real-Time Alerts

Data privacy regulations such as GDPR require you to inform your customers about a data breach within a certain timeframe ​. Failing to notify a breach when required to do so can result in heavy fines of up to 10 million Euros or 2 percent of your global turnover.

MSPs enable real-time data breach alerts across your business network and protect your business from penalties while neutralizing cyber threats.

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You can take the help of local MSPs to understand your state’s specific compliance laws. For instance, businesses in San Francisco can hire managed IT services in San Francisco Bay area to meet their local compliance requirements, thereby avoiding heavy penalties.

Wrap Up

When you work with an MSP, skilled IT professionals act as your business’s IT department MSPs also provide technologies that range from backup recovery to technology roadmaps and enable you to gain an edge over competitors.

In a nutshell, MSPs are involved in every facet of enabling all-round digital transformation in an organization. From cutting costs and mitigating cybersecurity risks to enabling cloud management and ensuring data protection, an MSP can do it all competently.