A Comprehensive Guide to Managed IT Services: What to Look for In an IT Services Provider
NEW YORK (PRWEB) August 06, 2018 -- IT service providers, or more commonly known as managed services providers (MSPs), are companies that manage a client’s IT needs remotely, and – at times, on-site. Managed service providers typically render their services based on an output-basis or a fixed-price subscription model.
“Some of the most common pricing models would be per-device, per-service, per-user, and an all-inclusive subscription model,” explains Emil Isanov, CEO, ETech 7. “One important thing to remember is that managed service providers charge for their services under various pricing models – it’s a good idea to narrow down what your business absolutely needs to get the most out of your money.”
Isanov adds, “As your business starts to grow, your IT support needs to expand as well. Now, it’s just a mater of having the foresight to know where your business is headed and how to properly support that growth. Most of the time, business owners would rather focus on growing their business rather than focus on IT support, which can be a serious detriment.”
So, the question is, what do businesses need to look for in a managed IT services provider?
Talent Pool
“At ETech 7, the most important thing to us is properly nurturing our employees’ talent,” says Isanov. “We ensure that our employees are equipped with the right skills and knowledge to go out and successfully perform all the necessary IT functions on their own.”
In addition to having a great talent pool, businesses should also look for the necessary credentials when looking for managed IT service providers. Certifications from top IT trade associations like the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) to industry leaders like Microsoft would not only prove that these service providers adhere to industry standards but are also recognized in the IT field.
Efficient Help Desk and Ticketing System
Another important factor to look for in a managed service provider is an efficient help desk software and ticketing system. A competent ticketing system that accurately prioritizes various IT problems, is crucial for a well-oiled IT support team. Having an efficient help desk and ticketing system in place not only helps clients, but also helps MSPs as well in terms of keeping track of a plethora of technical tasks.
“Having an efficient help desk and ticketing system would allow us to resolve your issues in a timely manner. We value business continuity more than anything else and we understand that this is your priority as well,” explains Isanov. “Automated ticketing creation, multi-channel customer support, and ticket monitoring and reporting are just some of the services that ETech 7 offers.”
Value for Money Budget Planning
For IT managers, most of the time the bulk of the budget often goes to unexpected expenses – not from planned improvements or from purchasing new software. Thankfully for businesses – managed IT service providers ensure that your business runs smoothly while on a strict budget.
“The neat thing about working with MSPs while on a budget is that you can always customize the services that you get. For example, if you only want to bolster your cybersecurity, there’s a specific plan for that. If you only want daily backups and or disaster recovery planning, there’s also a specific plan for that – it all boils down to what the client needs,” says Isanov.
Disaster Recovery Planning
Think about disaster recovery planning as insurance – a disaster recovery plan is sort of a proactive preparation that can mitigate data loss or business disruption. Technically, disaster recovery tries to foresee future reasons for downtime and preemptively counters it to ensure business continuity. Often, MSPs design a comprehensive plan to prevent a disaster, identify potential threats, and place infrastructure for data recovery in the event of an unpreventable disaster.
MSPs provide clients with a written plan that includes different contingency strategies that would guide businesses in the event of a disaster. On-site maintenance and support would also be needed in the event of a disaster, especially if the problem involves hardware.
On-Call On-Site Maintenance and Support
“Superb service means being there for your client 24/7 365,” claims Isanov. “As for us at ETech 7, we pride ourselves in our quick response rates as well as on-site support when needed. We have different technicians – experts in their respective fields – that we deploy to our clients depending on the specific issue that they are experiencing. However, being a managed service provider, our main mission is to ensure that these things never happen. The smoother your business runs, the better it is for us.”
The key to getting the best service is establishing and nurturing a business relationship that has both capable and reliable support. While MSPs generally focus on off-site support, many issues which simply cannot be resolved remotely such as hardware failure and physical damage should be investigated on-site.
Proactive Support: Daily Backups and Cloud Integration Services
In today’s world, data is king. Almost every single business decision now relies on supporting data acquired through different channels. In fact, most managed service providers have data backups as a core service – with varying prices for different add-ons regarding the frequency of backups, what type of backup, and the integration of other cloud-based services.
Much like disaster recovery planning, regular backups are sort of an insurance policy for your business as well. Now that Information Technology (IT) is basically integrated into almost every function and in every organizational process – it makes more sense now more than ever to back up your data as frequently as possible to avoid any type of threat, data loss, and business disruption.
Cybersecurity: Testing and Monitoring
Companies should be prepared for cyberattacks from any direction since technology is integrated in almost every company process. Hackers can easily penetrate outdated software especially after figuring out an unpatched software’s security flaws – thus it is crucial to keep even the most seemingly unimportant software updated and secure.
“IT consulting companies oversee large data centers and put multiple layers of protection in place,” says Isanov. “However, users may still be breached by hackers. It is important to understand that as technology improves, the type of attacks become more intricate as well.”
With threat of cyberattacks hitting from anywhere, each security layer should have individual capabilities in case another layer has flaws or is missing coverage. Testing and monitoring a business’ cybersecurity measures takes patience, particularly when it comes to initial configuration.
Years of experience, type of industries supported, and testimonials/reviews are also some factors to consider when choosing a managed services provider. It is also best practice to have an overview of your business needs as well as a comprehensive list of questions to ask your prospective managed IT service provider.
For more information about ETech 7, you can visit our website at https://www.etech7.com/ as well as our tech blog at https://blog.etech7.com/.
Andro Yuson, ETech 7, http://www.etech7.com, +1 (212) 997-1202, [email protected]
Share this article