Updated: Aug 26
In this day and age, whether you are a small, medium or large business, keeping up with the digital trends and managing the ever-changing complexities of the IT systems is necessary for your business. However, limited budgets, shortages of IT expertise as well as the security concern, are the common challenges that many businesses face. As such, the demand for managed IT service providers (MSPs) has increased significantly over the last few years.
So what is Managed IT Services?
If you are staring at this question and your mind is blank with no answer to this question, then you are on the right page!
Well, simply put, a managed IT service is an information technology (IT) task provided by a third-party contractor, otherwise known as a Managed Service Provider (MSP).
It also allows a business to offload or outsource IT operations to a service provider, known as an MSP. The MSP has the on-going responsibility for monitoring, managing and/or troubleshooting problems for the IT systems within their client’s business. Under the managed IT service arrangement, the service provider maintains the functionality of the IT services and equipment. Meanwhile, the customer pays a regular fee for the service.
But why do you need Managed IT Services in Your Business?
Nowadays many companies have started to leverage the power of managed services to increase efficiency, productivity and drive revenue in their businesses. The basic managed IT services usually start with a monitoring service. This will then develop to fully managed services that cover everything from discovering and fixing problems before they can negatively affect your business.
Furthermore, the managed IT service has a multiplicity of benefits to business:
Expertise
For smaller businesses in particular, being able to outsource knowledge and expertise can be an enormous help, as well as having experienced technical support available. This would help you free up resources and people within the company to focus on other more important tasks.
I mean, let’s say you are an education centre, would you want to focus more of your efforts and staff on teaching or on trying to tackle the IT aspect of your business?
Proactive service
You know that security guard you see whenever you walk into your office building, or your flat? Well, think of them like a security guard!
Your IT environment is safe from cyber threats and vulnerable attacks with:
Proactive monitoring
Patch management
Desktop optimization (performed on a regular basis)
Cost-saving
Managed services are usually priced according to the provided services on a flat-rate monthly basis. Depending on the services that include the programme offered, the number of devices, with different packages priced at different levels.
Efficient monitoring and support
Of course, you can’t expect a managed service provider to be a 24/7/365 service – they are humans too who needs to eat, sleep, and spend time with their families. No one is a robot! However, with a managed services provider, you can always be assured that assistance is always within reach — days, nights, weekends, or holidays — to support users. How fast their response time is hence important to note as well.
Increased operational efficiency
Organizations that offload their IT tasks to the Managed IT Services provider will ensure productivity for their business. This is because they will find that their in-house IT experts can spend more time to do:
Quality research
Organizational development
Implementation of projects
Maintenance and upgrades
Organisations no longer have to worry whether software is up-to-date, as all this is taken care of by the provider. They can also get access to newer technologies which they may not have been able to afford by themselves
Time savings
Outsourcing management of services like security and cloud reduces the amount of time that in-house departments have to spend on it.
Let’s face it. As your business grows, the IT environment and system need to grow, too. A good managed IT service enables you to scale your business up or down with nothing more than a simple discussion with your provider. Moreover, its ultimate flexibility and customizable nature are the important reasons why the demand for managed IT services increase. This is because such services have the capability of expanding and contracting based on your business needs.
So whether your business is large or small, using a managed IT service can help you to cut operational cost. In addition, you’ll be able to scale the service as necessary, have reliable IT assistance and fast response times, and increase the overall efficiency of your business. Above all, the benefits of managed IT services is what your business needs to take it to the next level.
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eVantage Technology is a professional and trusted IT solutions provider, dedicated to providing exceptional service to companies in Singapore and across Asia.