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What is an IT Managed Service Provider? (IT Support as a Subscription)

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Managed service provider, managed IT services, IT service management, MSP—what does it all mean exactly?

It’s easy to get caught up in your own industry that you forget—no one knows what you’re talking about!

Have you ever had someone explain to you what they do and you walk away still having absolutely no idea what they do?!

what did you say
This post really is only the tip of the iceberg—get the full insight on all the services and benefits provided by an expert IT Managed Service Provider here.

So… What is an MSP?

An MSP (Managed Service Provider) is like an outsourced subscription based IT department for your business. We take over the management of your business IT systems with the goal of reducing costs and improving the effectiveness of your business operations.

Think of an MSP or IT service management as “IT Support as a Subscription.” Similar to your Netflix or Spotify subscription, you pay a fixed monthly fee and gain access to a wide range of expert IT services designed to help your business.

What does an MSP do?

The managed service provider is responsible for either all or part of your day-to-day technology and IT needs, maintenance and management.

  • Minimises downtime
  • Improves business continuity
  • Increases overall productivity
  • Improves security
  • Operational cost reductions
  • Remote and On-site IT support
  • 24×7 monitoring
  • Scheduled maintenance

Why use an MSP?

Oftentimes, businesses of all sizes find the hiring, training and maintaining of internal IT staff both ineffective and cost prohibitive. Likewise, even businesses with someone handling IT internally find that a single person or small team simply cannot provide the same level of knowledge and expertise that a qualified and trusted MSP can.

MSPs develop key industry partnerships with major distributors like Apple and Microsoft. This allows them to provide hardware and software at the best possible price.

Security

With over 43% of cyber attacks targeting small to medium businesses, it’s vital that vulnerability assessments, threat management and secure user access and verification become commonplace for your business.

Peace of mind

With a reliable IT managed service provider you can rest easy knowing that, no matter where you are or what issue arises, you have skilled professional IT experts in your corner who are prepared and ready to help you.

Minimised downtime

Computer systems crashing, software not functioning properly, computers running slowly—you know what this can do to productivity. With fully qualified expert IT technicians just a click or call away, and response times within the hour, your staff are no longer spending valuable work hours searching for fixes to IT problems.

Click here to learn more about eStorm’s IT Managed Service Brisbane.

If you’d like to learn more about Managed Services in Brisbane, feel free to get in touch by emailing [email protected] or calling (07) 3120 0640 for a no obligation chat about your IT needs.

What to look for in the best Managed Service Providers.

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Business owners and IT professionals alike know better than anyone that as your company grows, one of the most important items for consideration is your IT infrastructure.

When companies are small, they often handle their IT needs themselves, but as they grow, so does the need for better and more reliable infrastructure. Likewise, as the business grows, so do the number of staff hours being spent unproductively trying to resolve computer and other IT related issues. This is one of the many causes for lost staff productivity, which costs businesses a fortune.

One study showed that for every $13,291 worth of salary, unproductive employees account for a $4,520 cost to their employer.

It’s vital for growing businesses to partner with a reliable and proactive IT managed service provider. Your MSP (Managed Service Provider) can not only remove the burden of day-to-day IT management, but generate and implement solutions and strategies that ensure the company is able to grow and operate more efficiently by leveraging new and existing technology.

What exactly is an IT Managed Service Provider?

An MSP is an outsourced company that takes ownership of a defined set of IT tasks or operations. You can think of a managed service provider as an extension of your business—your own dedicated IT team—without the significant cost associated with an in-house IT department.

Managed service providers are predominantly used by small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) who don’t have a dedicated IT team. For example, a medical office uses a number of computers for managing patient records, data and billing, as well as utilising computer systems in their medical practice. This may not require a full-time IT employee, but still requires immediate expert attention when an issue arises to fix the problem, as well as the management of infrastructure over time. This is where an MSP would be useful.

For example, at eStorm Australia, our managed services deliver:

  • Day-to-day IT management and planning
  • Both on-site and remote technical support
  • The supplementing of existing IT staff
  • Proactive monitoring of your environment 24×7
  • 99% up-time on IT systems
  • A local and friendly help desk
  • Request responses within an hour

It’s important to note here that MSPs go by a long list of names. These include IT Support Provider, IT Managed Services Provider, Remote Monitoring and Management Provider as well as many others.

What to look for in the best Managed Service Providers

An Involved Partner

It goes without saying that all businesses are unique. Even within the same industry, each company differs on how it operates, the governing organisational values and culture, the people and what it’s aiming to achieve. That means a one-size-fits-all approach to managed services just doesn’t make sense.

The best managed service providers take the time to truly understand your business, your needs and what you’re trying to accomplish. Only when this is fully understood can an IT support provider suggest, design and implement strategies and technology that align with the goals of the business and help your business grow.

Proactive Monitoring and Support

Partnering with an MSP isn’t just about having a reliable expert in your corner when something goes wrong. A truly valuable managed service provider performs a number of proactive tasks in order to aid the prevention of future issues.

For example, at eStorm we proactively monitor your IT systems and environment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This allows us to identify and address any issues long before they cause interruptions, damage or financial loss.

Backups and Data Recovery

A vital service that should be provided by your managed service provider is robust and reliable backup and data recovery procedures. The true value of an IT provider isn’t shown until a catastrophic data failure takes place that ultimately requires data to be restored from backups.

Oftentimes if your managed service provider doesn’t have a way for your critical data to be securely and reliably backed up, it can mean they lack the necessary experience in this area, which could be disastrous in the event of data loss.

On-site and Remote Support

Having a fast, knowledgeable and responsive help desk that can deliver expert IT support remotely is the gold standard for an MSP. However, there are likely going to be times when a phone call or remote access aren’t going to be enough.

Partnering with a managed service provider that has the capacity to deliver on-site support, whether it be to remedy IT issues or manage on-site IT infrastructure, provides an additional layer of reassurance, reliability and growth potential.

Having a dedicated team of knowledgeable experts who are able to deliver remote and on-site support means, no matter what your current or future IT requirements may be, your MSP is equipped to handle all your IT needs.

Get in touch!

With over 15 years experience, we deliver an extensive range of IT services that help small to medium businesses, across a wide range of industries, achieve their goals and objectives.

At eStorm Australia, our managed service solutions have been designed with the core goal of reducing IT stress placed on businesses and staff, as well as increasing overall efficiencies and business growth.

Talk to one of our Solutions Architects about your IT needs today today.

07 3120 0640
[email protected]