Managed services are continuous support provided by managed IT service providers or MPS. Typically, they are offered on a fixed fee basis, which can be monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or annually. Managed IT services involve the process of proactive maintenance and monitoring, together with user and device management, as well as priority support. The main aim of managed IT services is to provide help with IT for business systems to keep them at their optimal performance.
When you outsource the management of your IT systems, you get extensive, round-the-clock support and monitoring from your MSP. Generally, this is cheaper than having an in-house IT team monitoring your systems. So, we can say that managed IT services are designed to take out the hassle and worry of managing your IT systems. And, since managed IT services are part of a service level agreement, it means you will know how much it will cost you and the result to expect.
What should you expect from managed IT services?
Every MSP has a different range of services that they provide. Therefore, it’s important to review your agreement to ensure that you understand what you’ve agreed with your managed service provider. With that said, let’s look at what’s included in managed IT services.
Security and Compliance
Managed IT services will identify vulnerabilities in your network and take steps to patch them. They will also monitor for intrusions, backdoors, malware, bots, ransomware, etc., ensuring that none cause an issue for you or your business.
Disaster recovery and business continuity
You’re managed IT services provider should be able to back up your data and provide you with a disaster recovery plan so that if anything goes wrong with your systems, the right steps can be taken immediately to minimize downtime.
Network and hardware monitoring
Your managed service provider will monitor system logs, such as firewalls, anti-malware, web proxies, vulnerability scanners, and patch management systems. They also monitor workstations, laptops, servers (physical and virtual), printers, routers, and switches.
User and device management Managed service providers manage user access to files on your network or cloud storage by setting up security policies for groups of users or individual users depending on their organization’s role. They also help you upgrade your devices’ operating systems along with apps regularly to keep them secure from the latest threats that appear all the time on various fronts such as viruses for mobile devices (such as Android and iOS), operating systems (Windows, macOS, etc.), Cloud apps (Google Apps, Office 365, Salesforce) and services such as Microsoft Exchange email server. Because of this, you need to make sure that your company is using the latest version of these applications.
Security-conscious organizations should choose managed IT service providers with a strong security posture who can provide them with up-to-date patches and other security updates for various devices and software throughout the year.
Virtualization
Virtualization of servers enables organizations to save space, energy costs, and time spent updating software on physical equipment. If you want the benefits of virtualized systems for your organization, make sure your managed service provider has expertise in this area. The MSP will ensure that all virtual machines run smoothly and efficiently with no downtime or performance degradation due to over-utilization or technical problems.
Storage management
Managed service providers manage NAS (network-attached storage) devices similarly to virtualization is done where they take care of storage pooling, provisioning, performance reporting & management. They also have expertise in setting up cloud storage services to save on storage space while taking advantage of the added benefits of cloud technology.
The experts from Bloo Solutions, Springfield managed IT services company say that the increased reliance on data sharing over mobile devices has forced businesses to look for new ways to ensure access to their information at any time and from anywhere. As a result, managed service providers deploy new strategies for accessing corporate applications or business-critical data stored within various systems, including file servers, databases, SharePoint portals, and other file repositories.
Managed IT service providers can help businesses plan, implement and maintain their virtual desktop infrastructure systems. The process involves creating virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) for end-users, making it possible to run full-featured client software on centralized servers instead of traditional PC workstations. This allows employees to access any application they need from anywhere.
Helpdesk support
Managed service providers offer customer support through various channels such as phone, email, web-based chat & social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. They also provide remote assistance for fixing technical problems remotely. The issue doesn’t require a visit to your business premises by an engineer in person, thus saving time & money for you while increasing productivity.
Operations management/support services
These include proactive monitoring, patching, updates, and incident response when problems arise so they can be addressed quickly and effectively before they affect critical business functions. This enables reduced downtime to ensure maximum productivity at all times. In addition, operations managers continually seek ways to improve performance while lowering costs by standardizing procedures across platforms for routine tasks such as server utilization. Finally, they provide centralized purchasing, which reduces costs through bulk purchasing and standardization.
Workstation management and support
Managed IT service providers offer a wide range of services designed to simplify the work environment by providing system updates, network configuration, software installation and maintenance, remote access, device security, virtualization, etc., all designed to help you become more effective and efficient.
