VMS Blog

What Does Managed Services in the IT Industry Mean?

The definition behind Managed IT Services is an information technology (IT) task that is provided by a third-party contractor and delivered to a customer. In a productive Managed IT Services relationship, the customer benefits from predictable pricing and the ability to focus on their core business concerns rather than IT management chores.

Whew, that was a mouthful. All that means is that an MSP makes sure that your technology is working to help your productivity and not hinder it. What about all these acronyms? Do you even know what they all mean? Well, I’m going to tell you. IT stands for Information Technology. It refers to computing technology, such as networking, hardware, software, the internet, or the people that work with these technologies.

An MSP is a Managed Service Provider offering managed services to end-users and organizations on a proactive basis. Managed Service Providers are those responsible for hosting and then managing the servers, specialized applications, and networks for clients.

Different Managed IT Services:

  • Authentication: Making sure users are who they say they are.
  • Data Backup and Recovery: Protecting the data that is essential to your business.
  • Data Storage, Warehouse, and Management: Archiving data in electromagnetic or other forms by a computer device.
  • Cloud Transformation: The process of moving your work to the Cloud, including the migration of apps, software programs, desktops, data, or an entire infrastructure.
  • Network Monitoring, Management, and Security: Overseeing a computer network for any failures or deficiencies to ensure continued network performance.
  • Managed Communications: A flexible solution for your telephone system needs.
  • Networking and Infrastructure: The hardware and software resources of an entire network that enable connectivity, communication, operations, and management.

Why Managed IT Services Make Sense for Small Businesses

Managed IT Services can help to lower your operating costs. When you manage your own IT, you are on the hook for everything. If something goes down, and it’s far beyond your team’s ability to fix it, you’re responsible for hiring pricey specialists to come in and help resolve your issues.

Was it your most expensive piece of equipment that just died? Hopefully, you have the funds for an immediate replacement.

In just about any situation, your costs will be lower when you hire a Managed IT Service Provider. You won’t need to stress about the unexpected expenses of hiring specialists; you already have them on your team!

The unexpected/unplanned cost of failed equipment or pricey technicians is alleviated by having a proactive MSP monitoring and maintaining your infrastructure.

Productivity

Is productivity important to you? Of course, it is. Every minute of every day that someone in your business is spending making IT decisions or problem-solving IT issues is time not spent doing what makes your business unique.

For example, your Administrative Assistant is great with Excel spreadsheets, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be able to configure a firewall properly. When weighing the cost of outsourced IT services, make sure you are adding in your labor costs of lost productivity.

Partnering with a Managed Service Provider will free up your staff and allow them to focus on your customers and business needs.

Data Loss

What about the cost of lost Data? Data loss is a very serious problem for businesses of any size. Losing data means losing time and money to restore or recover information that is essential to your business. Data loss occurs when data is accidentally deleted or corrupted.

Viruses, physical damage, or formatting errors can also render data unreadable by both humans and software. Losing files and documents often have a lasting impression on your company’s financial health. What would you do if you lost all your customers’ data? Or all your staffs work projects? Are you prepared to handle that?

You can minimize your business’s potential for data loss by understanding what leads to data loss and preventing it from happening to your business. This is where using a Managed IT Services Provider can save you lots of time and money.

Data loss can come from equipment failures, natural disasters, human errors, and even cyber-attacks. An MSP can help you create a data backup and recovery plan. This plan allows you to focus on business productivity and spend less time stressing about or experiencing data loss.

Recap

Let’s recap some of the great reasons why YOU should consider outsourcing your IT needs to a Managed Service Provider. Training and maintaining an in-house IT Department is costly, by outsourcing this to an MSP you will reduce labor costs.

You will experience an uninterrupted flow of service, allowing you to remain focused on your core business. MSP’s can help You leverage expanded resources to help your business maintain productivity, mobility, and efficiency.

You will also guarantee compliance and security and know that your IT Provider has the resources available to help you recover as quickly as possible in the event of a cyber-attack or natural disaster. All of these things put together will help you reduce risk, which is crucial in any successful business.

IT Services Your Small Business Should Consider

Every business is different and has many different needs when it comes to IT Services. We thought we would help and list some of the services to consider outsourcing.

When you think of Managed IT Services, you are thinking about achieving your business goals and the future of your company. You need to think of the productivity and performance standards of your employees as well as the safety of your confidential business documents and files.

Managed IT Services can significantly free up the time wasted on a day-to-day basis so you can focus on more tasks that drive revenue to the business. These providers can also help you reach your business goals much sooner than you thought possible. They can help keep your relevant documents safe and secure and prevent cyber-attacks from taking over your business. Lastly, you can save your company money by hiring a professional provider to service your technology needs.

Are you ready to speak to an award winning Tampa Managed IT Service Provider about your business needs? At Data-Tech, our reliability, accountability, innovative solutions, and deep expertise make us your trusted advisor and a leading managed service provider in Florida, since 1996.

​We understand productivity is essential and the critical role IT Management has in your organization. Today’s IT Management requirements have become complex and require a full spectrum of skills that must include a profound business sense and understanding of compliance.