IT today has changed from a break/fix model to a bedrock for business success. However, the continuously evolving technology and the adoption of newer services by SMBs have brought a slew of IT complications. Most internal IT teams aren’t equipped to handle them well as they lack the suitable resources and skills. A Managed Service Provider (MSP) effectively covers this gap.
An MSP helps you stay ahead by constantly maintaining and refining your IT infrastructure without incurring overhead costs. Consider our client’s case. It employed the robust SonicWall for protection, but a sophisticated hacker got through it due to a VPN vulnerability. If the client had relied on internal IT folks, the issue would have gone undetected as it occurred outside their working hours. However, our team detected the compromise and acted swiftly, stopping the hacker, isolating the affected systems, and bringing them back in a couple of hours.
Why Is Using MSP More Beneficial Than an Internal It Team for SMBs?
An MSP’s capabilities are not only at par with internal IT staff but also above them. Take a look at them below
1. Continuous Support
Quick, hands-on assistance is one of the cornerstones of IT management. While your internal IT experts are there to provide such support, an MSP’s team is equally competent to do so at a competitive price.
It offers continuous help with issues such as ongoing monitoring and maintenance. In addition, MSP protects your entire IT infrastructure from problems occurring outside the working hours of your internal IT team or during weekends and holidays.
The coverage spans every day and all days of the week, and issues are handled on priority as and when they arise. This proactive approach resolves potential problems before they cause downtime and compromise an IT system.
Key areas where SMBs get continuous support from MSPs include the following:
- Remote monitoring and management of the IT system
- Advanced cybersecurity protection
- Migration to a cloud environment, like AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure
- Tailored IT strategies to enhance business operations
- Accessibility to budget-friendly hardware solutions for short- and long-term needs.
- Backup and disaster recovery
- Prompt help with cybersecurity attacks
2. Extent of Knowledge
Your IT team uses its expertise to tackle issues related to your company’s specific systems, software, and processes. While this is great for customized solutions, remember that the IT environment is ever-changing. A business’s evolving tech stack also increases the associated issues and threat scenarios.
An MSP works with multiple clients across industries. They are up-to-date with the latest technology, trends, and best practices in IT management, ensuring your applications and infrastructure are secure and geared for high performance.
Reputable MSPs invest heavily in ongoing training certification renewals for their teams, ensuring they have diverse knowledge. They also have a more nuanced troubleshooting mindset and the ability to work under high pressure.
3. Mentality Related to Managing Technology
For SMBs with tight budgets, a proactive approach that optimizes productivity without sacrificing quality is invaluable. MSPs embody this proactive mindset, ensuring that nothing hinders efficiency.
A proactive and preventive mindset defines a managed services mentality. This, in turn, gives you peace of mind about having expertise at hand to work efficiently and cost-effectively.
Protecting your network from constantly evolving threats requires a proactive and multi-layered approach to security. MSPs have a proactive and trustful mindset, so they assess potential loopholes in your IT systems, strengthen defenses, and reduce the attack surface.
In contrast, in-house IT teams work with a firefighting mindset mainly because of their small size and the focus on daily IT necessities. As a result, long-term IT planning and preventive measures often take a backseat.
4. Access to Tools
An internal IT team is equipped with a broad range of tools, but most are geared to the needs of the immediate company they work for. In contrast, MSPs, by necessity, use a diverse tool set.
In fact, a recent survey shows that 36% of MSPs use over 10 cybersecurity tools. They have access to enterprise-grade tools for supporting IT infrastructure at scale. This facilitates automation, remote monitoring, and centralized control, which allow services to be delivered across clients.
Tools like Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, advanced ticketing solutions, and predictive analytics platforms are typically not a part of an internal IT team’s regular toolkit. The team is also not familiar with emerging fields like AI and IoT, which are used to detect and prevent sophisticated security attacks.
5. Fulfilling Regulatory Compliance
If your business is in an industry with strict regulatory compliance, the support of an MSP is way better than your in-house IT folks. Major security breaches at some of the most prominent organizations have made government and industry regulators require companies to enforce robust security controls.
An MSP’s support for increasing compliance demands is unrivaled. The around-the-clock monitoring and proactive maintenance allow you to meet regulatory requirements and lower the risk of cyber threats. Highly experienced MSPs also enforce a layered security approach and offer ongoing advice about the latest compliance developments.
6. Cost Related to IT Support
Before signing an agreement with an MSP, it’s important to understand the expected return on investment. Typically, an SMB spends 4-7% of its revenue on IT. By outsourcing to an MSP, you can often achieve significant cost savings while gaining access to a wider range of expertise and resources.
Typically, an SMB spends 4-7% of its revenue on IT. Take your firm’s gross revenue and use this percentage to estimate the usual cost of IT for your company. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that benefits comprise 31% of a professional’s compensation package. IT people often demand higher salaries, which translates to additional costs.
Next comes staffing costs. With an MSP, you do not need to invest separately in consultants, network administrators, database administrators, and the like. Instead, you invest in a team of experts for all of this for a fixed fee per month. Moreover, you do not need to spend separately on training and retraining IT staff when choosing an MSP. The service level agreements of MSPs have different tiers, allowing you to select the level of service that corresponds with your business needs and budget.
Downtime related to system outages or attacks is another source of lost revenue. The ongoing monitoring, threat detection, and quick response prevent a company from losing money due to cybersecurity attacks or outages.
Service Provider | MSP | Internal IT Team |
24/7 support | Yes | No |
Depth of knowledge | Diverse | Company specific |
Mentality | Proactive | Reactive |
Toolkit | Broad | Narrow |
Help with Regulatory compliance | Yes | No |
Scalable | Yes | No |
Cost flexibility | Yes | No |
Choose TechHeights as Your Managed IT Service Provider
As an SMB, your primary focus is on product development, customer satisfaction, community building, and navigating your competition. IT efficiency, through our comprehensive managed services, cuts unwanted costs and simplifies processes. You access the needed skills and high-level expertise on-demand and all day, which protects your IT infrastructure and enables seamless scalability. Moreover, our proactive approach based on your needs ensures continued success and growth.
Categories: Managed IT Service, Managed Service Provider