What is a Managed Service Provider?
Let's start with the basics - what is a managed service provider (MSP) and what do they do? Simply put, an MSP is a technology company that offers workstation and server management along with helpdesk support. While every MSP's offerings are a little different, most will also manage your network, copiers, scanners, printers, and phones too. They may also provide management of your business applications like email and productivity suites (Office 365). There's a number of pricing models out there, but most will charge by user, by device, or some combination of the two.
Why use a Managed Service Provider?
Knowing what an MSP is - why should you use one? Couldn't you do all of that yourself? The truth is, yes, you could - but you definitely don't want to. If you're a solo business owner, it may be no big deal to manage your IT all by yourself, but as your team grows larger, so will the burden on your shoulders. An MSP allows you to focus entirely on your primary business goals - not managing desktops, password resets, and cryptic error messages. But, let's take it a little further:
Cost
We know this is the first question on every business owner's mind, so let's get straight to it: expect to pay anywhere from $100-$300/user/month for business IT support. Yes, that definitely conjures up some sticker shock - and that's OK. The most important thing to consider, though, is how much you would pay to hire staff to perform the same functions instead. An typical salary for IT manager in California can range anywhere from $75,000 to $200,000/year. Breaking down the median national salary of $164,000/year, that's roughly $13,600/month - yikes! Need to bring on another helpdesk technician to carry the load? That's another $5,000/month.
Needless to say, managed IT services are a massive money-saver as an alternative to hiring your own IT staff.
Knowledge
Without thinking about cost, would you know who to hire for your internal IT team? What qualifications should they have? What kind of experience? How do you consistently measure performance? Not only does building your own in-house IT support team mean you need to know how to hire IT professionals - you also need to know how to manage them. How can you be sure your IT team is maximizing efficiency if you're not even sure what exactly their job involves?
When you work with an MSP, not only do these questions get wiped away, but you also benefit from their expanse of knowledge. Instead of hiring an "IT guy" and hoping he has the right knowledge your business needs, you now benefit from a team of professionals, each with dedicated knowledge and areas of specialization. MSP's hire a variety of dedicated cybersecurity professionals, network engineers, desktop technicians, and more.
Reliability
In the same way that your organization benefits from the array of knowledge an MSP team provides, you also benefit from not having a single point of failure. Having an IT technician on staff can be great, but what happens when they get sick? Go on vacation? Quit without notice?
When you work with an MSP, you benefit from a dedicated team of support staff who are ready to answer your calls, fix problems, and escalate and research as needed. Some MSP's even offer 24/7 helpdesk support for industries with critical needs.
Security & Evolution
A quality MSP will also continually work to make sure your organization is kept up-to-date, secure, and keeping up with the times. No more worrying about end-of-life dates and if your business is taking advantage of the latest tech! Some industries even bring strict compliance requirements that are simply too much for a busy business owner to have to juggle.
Conclusion & More Resources
By this point, we hope we've helped you see the benefit of hiring an MSP. But, this doesn't mean your job is over yet - you still need to find the right partner for your business! While this is a decision only you will be able to make, we've crafted some other resources that we think might help you in finding an answer:
What To Look For in an IT Service Provider
We hope you'll also consider Cosmistack for your business IT needs. You can contact us at any time and schedule your free, no-obligation consultation. We look forward to hearing from you!
