Before you start looking for a managed services provider (MSP) near you, it is important to know what they can do for your business. IT support has undergone numerous changes in the last few years. The adoption of cloud technology has created a lot more opportunities for IT professionals.
The information technology industry has shifted from a side-line support model to a more partnership-driven model. An MSP can work together with business executives and managers to leverage technology to drive revenue streams.
Here are a few things a modern IT company MSP should do for you.
Establish regular business benchmarks
A good MSP should monitor the network infrastructure of your company. This kind of access allows the MSP to provide the C-suite with regular benchmarks (i.e. quarterly benchmarks). This quarterly scorecard should offer threat mitigation and system security, but it can also identify various opportunities that increase the productivity of employees and maximize the technology investment of the company.
Proactive response to security
One of the biggest concerns of any company is cybersecurity. Today’s managed services providers go beyond the old strategy of “set and forget” towards antivirus protection and proactive security. Providing security in the current risk environment involves warranties against Ransomware, constant monitoring, and the combination of various threat protection tools rolled into a robust security suite. A good managed services provider also provides resources to educate workers in an organisation. IT services providers in your location should also provide security education to mitigate the biggest security threat in a company.
Provision of a scalable technology roadmap
You need to hire a valuable partner who can grow with you. A company should be willing to share its KPI’s with their MSP to see how it can leverage technology to help the business achieve its long-term and short-term goals. Bottlenecks in either customer-facing processes or internal infrastructure can be identified. Once the bottlenecks are taken care of, the business can then scale with less resistance. You should ask your MSP to give you a one-year roadmap for technology success. This will be a great starting point.
Giving workers the freedom to work from anywhere
The traditional factory-style model of doing business has been disrupted. Nowadays, a lot of workers in businesses are remote. By the end of 2022, freelancers and remote workers will become the majority of the workforce for many industries. There are some simple IT solutions now that allow employees to work from anywhere and on any device. But with the benefit of worker flexibility comes enhanced security risks. The right communication infrastructure must be in place to enable workers to feel connected to the IT team wherever they are.
Allowing businesses to access transformative technology
Companies are experiencing digital transformation which is affecting the way businesses are operated all over the world. A managed services provider should ensure that your business has high speed and cheap connectivity to speed up decision making in your company, and bring closer contact between partners, customers and vendors. Your MSP should also make use of Artificial intelligence to make tracking, analytics, processing, reporting, and memory functions more powerful.
Is your MSP delivering on its promise?
Written by WHIA Staff Writer Luke Bonaventura
