If you’re a business that uses technology (in 2019, this should be EVERYONE) and your IT staff is spending too much time focusing on functions like email hosting and backup, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications, data backup, storage and network monitoring that they really never get time to actually focus on strategic projects, then it is really time that you as a business leader consider the services of a Managed Service Provider (MSP).
A study was conducted by IT industry trade association CompTIA, titled ‘Fifth Annual Trends In Managed Services. Authored by CompTIA’s senior director of industry analyses, Carolyn April, and it brings to light the fact that companies are relying on external providers for many IT functions. Many organisations, she discovered, use MSPs to complement rather than replace their IT departments. A study that has gotten a lot of traction, and has changed the way even Enterprises operate their IT departments.
“It elevates the IT staff … and allows them to focus on a custom app dev project or cloud initiatives – something highly strategic.”
Very few of these companies get rid of their IT staffs just because they join up with an MSP.”
Carolyn April – CompTIA Senior Director.
Benefits and Growth of the MSP industry
According to Ma April and compTIA, companies are now focused on additional benefits, such as efficiency and generating revenue. This complementary role demonstrates that the reason organisations enlist MSPs has changed from the past when cost savings were regarded as the primary benefit.
Organisations have even turned to MSPs for security, and this push has come from security issues often being traced to the result of human error by internal employees.
According to the study, managed services currently comprise the socond-most business model in the channel, with three in 10 MSPs ranking managed services as the leading revenue generator over the previous 12 months.
This also demonstrated the success rate of clients when it comes to the smoothness and security of their technological environment.
How do I choose an MSP?
Just email us, we’re the best MSP in the industry 🙂
If you are truly thinking of partnering with an MSP and believe that freeing up your internal IT staff to work on other projects would benefit your company, these are the qualities that Ms April suggests you should look for:
1)A MSP must understand your business not just talk technology.
“You want a partner that can talk about business outcomes and how their services are going to further your goals from a business perspective, not a technology perspective,”
Carolyn April – CompTIA Senior Director.
2) A proven track record.
Has the MSP you’re about to partner with worked in your industry before, with organisations that require the same needs that you do? Ms April says to not focus on “cookie-cutter” service-level agreements (SLAs). If the MSP partner you are looking to align with is trying to create a customised contract based on your business requirements, that’s a good sign.
3) Advanced Services
Many Chief Information Officers (CIO) are now seeking out MSPs that can also deliver advanced services, such as cloud infrastructure management, application management and business process outsourcing. There is also an apparent increased demand for data analytics, business intelligence and advanced application monitoring.
Now whatever your requirements from an MSP, though, the survey found that establishing a strong, strategic partnership is essential.
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