Top 5 Benefits of partnering with a Managed Service Provider
Your organisation is growing and you’re at the point where you need some additional assistance to manage your business technology. It might be time to engage an IT Managed Service Provider.
There are three main alternatives to managing your technology support in Australia: (i) the reactive ‘break-fix’ model, where you engage an IT specialist on an ‘ad hoc’ basis to fix specific issues as they arise; (ii) a ‘Managed Services Provider’ who will proactively monitor your environment delivering better support, consultancy and advice; and (iii) an internal IT department.
In a break-fix arrangement, your business will experience downtime as each repair will need to be scoped and fixed as it comes up. With an internal IT department, this comes with considerable operational overheads and is less conducive to fast growth. In contrast, Managed Service Providers provide greater technical expertise, uptime and commercial advantage. Therefore, they are the IT Support model of choice for many Australian businesses, large or small, established and new. Here are the top 5 benefits of hiring a Managed Service Provider (MSP):
- Free up your resources
Allocating the daily running of your IT requirements to an MSP means that you can free up resources internally. This means you can spend more time doing the type of work that will propel your business forward, and less time needing to worry about the day-to-day operations.
- Access broader talent and skillsets
It is expensive and time consuming to build an internal IT department which has a range of skills and specialities. When you engage an MSP you have access to a whole team of technology specialists, without having to pay for their full salary. Their expertise can be used to fill any gaps your internal team has. The team available through an MSP, will also be well versed in the latest technology and will constantly be able to implement and maintain new systems and equipment as they get added to your technology estate. There is also a good chance that whatever the issue you have, they have already come across it, or something similar, with one of their other customers.
- Improve your I.T. security
Cyber crime is a huge problem for all Australian businesses and costs the Australian economy more than a billion dollars each year. Keeping up with the latest risks can be a fulltime job. Managed resource solutions are able to provide access to security experts and advise on how to make your business more secure. They will help ensure your business meets their compliance requirements and help take precautions to avoid a security breach.
- Provide business continuity and uptime
When you partner with Australian Managed Service Provider, you get the comfort of a resource pool that limits downtime and keeps your business constant. Most MSPs back their commitments with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Underpinning this is a framework that if your business has an issue, the MSP will work to get you back up and running in a short amount of time. An MSP can also provide peace of mind. You have a partner committed to ensuring your business is operational. If there’s a catastrophic breach on your infrastructure or data, your MSP, with the right tools, can ensure your information is recoverable and you are quickly back to business as usual.
- Consultancy and advice
A reputable Managed Service Provider will not only be able to help you with your current system, but can also provide you with advice and guidance around a technology roadmap for your IT environment. They will take the time to understand your business requirements and goals so they can provide advice around strategic initiatives such as data storage, cloud migrations, IT security and infrastructure improvements.
Of course, a Managed Services model can be used in conjunction with either a break-fix or internally staffed model. They’re not mutually exclusive. However, if you’re not currently utilising a Managed Service Provider to totally manage or provide some level of support to your businesses IT, then you’re missing out on a range of business benefits.
If you’re an Australian business looking to partner with Managed Service Provider, efex, with their fully Australian-based I.T. help desk, are ready to help transform your business.