As a business owner, you may have heard the term “managed service provider” (MSP) and wondered what it means. In short, an MSP provides services such as network, application, infrastructure and security through ongoing and regular support and active administration at a customer's premises, in their MSP's data center (hosting), or in a third-party data center. Managed services are tasks handled by a third party, often in the context of business information technology services. These services may include equipment monitoring and maintenance, IT system management, remote monitoring and server management, network monitoring, and other support services.
A managed service is an excellent strategy to help your IT organization be highly resilient and predictable in terms of costs, fiscal year to fiscal year. Managed services are available to small businesses looking for outsourcing options for their IT needs. Under this subscription model, the customer or customer is the entity that directly owns or oversees the organization or system being managed, while the managed service provider (MSP) is the service provider that provides the managed services. The MSP is responsible for the functionality of the service or equipment, managed according to a service level agreement (SLA).
When executed effectively, a managed service (MS) is like gaining the ability of an IT department with the expertise of experienced professionals to deliver focused application operations to your company's business application users. It can help ensure that your systems run smoothly, stay secure and up to date, and address day-to-day technical issues so you can stay focused and productive on your core business. As you embark on investing in a new application, consider leveraging the various managed IT services offerings to keep abreast of business IT needs and minimize non-systemic risks. There's no one-size-fits-all IT solution for every small business, so MSPs offer a menu of service options to meet your IT needs and help your business grow.
In the new economy, IT manufacturers are currently moving away from an immediate resale to a more personalized managed services offering. Managed services are beneficial to both large organizations and small businesses, startups and established businesses. A company may consider leveraging managed services experts to ensure greater predictability of IT costs in the midst of uncertain requirements.
