What is a Managed IT Services Provider?
May 19, 2021What is a Managed IT Service?
A Managed IT Service is the process of outsourcing all or part of your IT and the operational management of it, to a trusted and reliable partner called a Managed Service Provider.
According to YouGov, 39% of UK businesses already use a Managed IT service provider for their IT. Managed IT services have grown in popularity in recent years as the complexity, risks and greater dependency on IT and data become a real strain on in-house IT teams and traditional IT services models.
A Managed IT service typically includes a package of services and service levels to manage all or part of the management lifecycle of an organisations IT – from provisioning & installing hardware, software and cloud services through to support, preventative or reactive maintenance and monitoring.
Managed IT Service providers are more commonly referred to as MSPs and are the evolution from traditional “break-fix” IT Support.
A managed IT service is delivered by a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and effectively allows organisations to outsource their IT infrastructure and the management of it to IT professionals in a MSP.
By signing up to a managed IT service you can expect the following services:
- Remote and in person support
- Anti-virus, Patch Management and web filtering
- Remote monitoring and management of your servers, workstations, laptops and network devices
- Professional advice and guidance
- Help desk support
- Continual service improvement
These services can be enhanced with extra layers such as enhanced security services, a virtual CTO and enhanced backup and disaster recovery services.
What is the break-fix model?
The break-fix model is essentially a pay as you go service where you pay your IT provider to fix something as the problem occurs. This might be charged on an hourly basis or per job instead of through a subscription like you would an MSP. What you don’t get with break-fix is the ongoing preventative and responsive maintenance as well as support services and consultation an MSP provides – All essential components underpinning the shift to Managed services.
You may also find yourself purchasing part of a service to deal with a particular problem such as Managed Anti-virus or Patch Management.
In recent years, the break-fix model has all but been replaced by the managed service model because of today’s essential requirement for always on, proactive and reactive management of an organisation’s IT. Anything less than always ON – is a serious risk to an organisation and its operations.
Why Choose a Managed IT Service Provider?
Access specific specialisms or expertise
Access specialist IT knowledge and expertise as well as complete tasks where small businesses and understaffed IT departments are struggling with gaps and risks.
Predictable costs
The majority of a managed IT service is wrapped up in a simple monthly fee unlike break-fix where the true cost is only really known once the final bill is received.
Maintenance and upgrades
MSP’s work mainly on preventative maintenance through continuous monitoring of all the devices they are responsible for. This is so they can stop issues before they become a problem. Updates to systems are also carried automatically without you having to worry.
Scalability
A managed service and provider can be flexible and handle the peaks or troughs in demand that an in-house team simply cant. A break-fix provider is not interested in the smooth running and management of an IT operation where as a Managed Service Provider is incentivised and bounded by SLAs to deliver this.
Peace of Mind & Focus
A Managed Service Provider is setup to monitor and manage your IT so can focus on your business priorities; confident that your operations or business are not being exposed to unacceptable levels of IT or data risk.
Let us take on all or part of the heavy lifting of your IT infrastructure and staff queries . Contact us on enquiries@processflows.co.uk or 01962 835053.
ProcessFlows transition to Konica Minolta – FAQ
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