🚀 7 Shocking Secrets of Top Managed IT Services Providers Revealed!
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It is your IT tasks offloaded to a third party - A Managed Service Provider (MSP), so your organization can focus on what matters most, your bottom-line. This strategy helps businesses eliminate unexpected IT Cost, augment IT staff, quickly resolve issues, and improve service quality. At its core, Managed Services covers the maintenance of the operating systems and software. However, it doesn't cover Add/Move/Chance (AMC); you'll be billed for it unless it's specifically covered in your Managed Service Agreement(MSA).
What is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?
A Managed Service Provider is the third party providing the Managed IT Services needed for that business. This MSP manages all it services and needs, assuming the responsibility to provide a defined set of business technology services proactively or as the MSP determines a particular service is needed.
Why Do I Need Managed IT Services?
Small and medium-sized businesses need an IT service provider to handle critical IT functions, particularly email and application hosting, storage, backup and recovery, custom applications, and network monitoring. As such, if you are looking to improve security, gain access to new technologies, free internal staff for more strategic work, looking for a proactive approach to handle IT issues, and tap into cloud innovation, then the time is now. Hiring a Managed Services Provider will give you the peace of mind you are looking for, including better uptime, ability to access remote offices, cost savings over in-house IT staff, and most importantly, augment current staff if required.
What is a Managed IT Services companies:
Managed IT Service companies are referred to as Managed Service Provider (MSP). They provide third-party IT Services to support your IT services needs. This MSP manages all IT Services and needs, assumes the responsibility to provide a defined set of business technology services proactively or as the MSP determines a particular service is needed. These services are normally covered under a Service Level Agreement and/or a Master Service Agreement (MSA). With an MSA, Moves, Adds and Changes (MAC) are not covered; they are an additional price because they fall outside the scope of the MSA agreement. In general, the term MAC is for routine work performed on computer equipment in an organization, including installations, relocations and upgrades.
What is a Managed Services Level Agreement (SLA)?
The MSP provides most or all its IT Services under a managed Service Level Agreement (SLA) for a contracted period e.g. five, seven, or 10 years. This agreement is auto-renewed on the anniversary of the signed contract. The client will notify the MSP if the services will not be continued beyond the contracted date normally six months prior; otherwise, the contract will be renewed and the client will continue to receive the excellent services of the MSP.
What is a Master Service Agreement (MSA)
A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is an agreement that governs all future transactions or agreements. This contract lays out the basic conditions and requirements for each party to negotiate terms for future business. As such, the generic terms includes payment terms, product warranties, intellectual property ownership, dispute resolution, etc. In fact, the MSA must be modifiable for future changes, including the termination clause, which should not be specific or demanding.
10 Things to Look for in a Managed Services Provider
Availability - Is the MSP available during your business hours? Mainly your core hours of operation.
Customer Support - Is there a customer support hotline you have access to 24/7/365?
Industry Expertise - Does the MSP have industry experience and expertise?
Automation Technology - Will the MSP use automation to manage your computing environment?
Third-Party Vendor Partnerships - This is very critical to realize economies of scale.
Local On-Site Maintenance and Support -
Transparent Pricing - There should be no unexpected IT cost or surprise pricing. The MSP needs to show you what you are paying for and ensure they are services you are using.
Comprehensive Services - The list of services provided to your firm, must cover all products and service needs.
Customization to Meet Your Unique Needs - You should look for an MSP that addresses all you needs; there is no need to have more than one MSP servicing your business.
Proactive Maintenance - There should be proactive maintenance conducted before things happen; the maintenance conducted proactively will protect your company before things go bad.
What is the difference between managed IT services and cloud services?
Cloud Services and Managed IT services are two distinct IT Services provided to our clients. Cloud services are a wide range of IT services delivered on demand and over the internet to companies and customers. These services provide ease of access and affordability to applications and resources on a infrastructure provided by a Cloud Service Provider (CSP). A typical cloud environment may include a Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). To that end, the Managed Service Providers will typically provide the cloud platform on which their service are delivered for customers consumption.
What are the benefits of using Managed IT Services?
IT Services provides benefits for organizations small, medium, or large. Regardless of the size of the company, it's important to note that leveraging the services of a Managed Services Provider, such as Ravyn Systems helps your organization eliminate unexpected IT cost, fills the skills gap by augmenting or introducing new technology staff, and most importantly, allows your organization to focus on your bottom-line.
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Some other benefits of using a Managed Services includes the following:
Predictable Pricing. Managed IT Services allows organizations to set a budget for their IT needs, eliminating surprises and unwarranted costs while keeping to a flat monthly fee.
Certified Expert IT Staff. Gaining access to your own IT staff is one of the most effective tool in any organization tool-bag. It allows CEO's to focus on increasing profit margin, digital transformation to improve processes, and automation to add speed and reduce operational costs.
Root -cause Analysis & Remediation. To eliminate the frustration from repetitive problems, CEOs need a reliable Managed Services Provider. The MSP needs to be able to effectively define a problem; collect the data; identify possible causal factors; identify the root causes, and provide recommendations and implement the solutions.
So, what is the best IT Solution for your business? Well, that depends on your business needs; however, we provide experts to eliminate unexpected IT costs, augment your IT staff, quickly resolve issues, and secure your sensitive data.