Managed IT Services

What are the advantages and disadvantages to managed IT services?

Over the last several years, more and more companies have been moving away from traditional in-house IT, towards the use of a Managed IT Service Provider. This has been brought on by an increase in the number of choices a company has in acquiring new technologies, as well as the growing trend towards increased mobility, and the use of cloud computing. With this increase in need for new tech systems, shifting to outsourcing your IT needs to a third­-party managed IT provider has become a strategic business move. Moving IT out-of-house has both pros and cons, which need to be explored when making this transition

Pros

The positives of using a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to handle IT needs include the added expertise of the service provider, increased productivity, and decreased costs. In the rapidly expanding field of IT, it is hard to keep up-to-date with managing IT in house. The added experience of using a third-party MSP can help you handle any IT problems more efficiently

In many companies, the in-house IT staff has a workload that is almost impossible to manage in a timely manner. Further compounding on this is the fact that unless your company headcount is into the 3-digits, your IT staff is likely only a few people, and so between vacations and illness, you’re often left vulnerable to anything that could happen. The addition of a managed IT service can free up more time for IT people to be used more effectively. While many companies think that hiring a managed service provider is too expensive, it is actually more cost effective. Specifically, a company can choose to pay only for the exact services that they need, as opposed to paying for an overall IT service, and can even forgo an internal IT resource if they so choose

Cons

There are some downsides to using a managed service provider as well. When moving any service out-of-house, there is a loss of control that goes along with it. Almost every company wants to micromanage every aspect of its operations, and decentralizing any aspect of the company can affect the ability to do that. If IT is not the company’s overall goal, the move frees up more time to manage the more important aspects of the company’s operations more effectively

The other objection to using a managed IT service provider is the sheer number of available IT companies. This can make it difficult for a company to determine what provider to trust with the technological aspect of its operations

Mitigating the Risks

To limit any risks associated with switching to an MSP, it is important to select an IT service provider with a proven history of high-quality service, and brand name customer testimonials to back it up. The move to using a managed service provider is a hard decision for any company to make. Any change in day-to-day operations can seem like a daunting task. However, to grow and keep with the times, a company must be willing to accept change

A managed service provider can offer a lot to a small-to-medium sized company looking to upgrade any of its IT needs, whether it’s improving data security, or switching to cloud storage. Using an MSP is also an effective solution for medium-to-large companies looking to better manage the IT resources they have on hand. Remember, without proper and efficient management, any IT service is bound to fail

Still Unsure?

If you are still unsure about switching to managed IT services, give us a call and we can help you with your decision