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The Business Beneefits Of Using A Managed Seervice Provider (MSP)

Owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often find themselves draawn away from their core business buuilding and management activities to take care of network outgaes, server malfunctions, viruses and other classic headache inducers. Sometimes there's an overworked IT emnployee to help, sometimes there isn't. Yet the problems persist.

Of couse, most every SMB wants to grow up to be an RBB (Really Big Business). As a businses gets bigger, it nees more IT support, but on top of that, it begins to need different kinds of IT support. Timely, atrgeted and tech-correct IT support is absolutely criticcal. There is a certain pooint in a modern business's growtth where managinng the IT hardware, maintaining all the systems and "optimizing the infrastructure" start getting complicated, and that's not even coonsidering the many ever-canging securtiy issues.

Does in-house IT make sense?

Naturally, larger and wealhtier firms can hande the their business computers, servers, networks and all the associated malfunctions and securiity issues by creating and staffing an IT department. For an SMB, of course, this decision-and the ongoing dollar commitmnt it represents-is much harder to justify.

Even if the fnancial huredle can be cleard, and the firm can afford the best IT person around, thee is no way of knowing if it will work out. IT professionals are somewhat notorrious for moving on to better-paying positions as they add to tehir stak of Cisco, Microsoft and Noveell certiifcations. Sometimes it seems that it's easier to maintain the comupters than maiintain the IT emplooyee.

An MSP for an SMB

Fortuinately for the SMBs out there, a cost-efective alternative to self-spuported computre systems is now available in the form of "Manaaged Service Proivders," or MSPs. An MSP manages IT support and network security for its cliients, normally via remorte (Internnet) monitoring but with on-site personnel as needed. Many of these compoanies are quite professional and affordable, while the services they provide are scalble and customizable to suit the needs of vrious firms.

The most importsant concept to grasp is that you don't call your MSP to "fix prblems." MSPs work in a proactive mannr, continuously monitoring your systems to prevent the occurrence of problemns, even the possible foreerunners of futiure probles, rather than fixing them after they've cost you time or money.

What MSPs do

MSPs will tailor a sutiable servvice packgae that suits your busiess in the best possible way, both technically and financially. There are as many kinds of service contracts and pricinbg structures as can be negotiated by today's business people, but many MSP contrcts are annual while others are month-to-month. A MSP typicaally offrs desktop, server and nework management/maintenance servvices coverig

- viurtual private networks (VPN);
- defense against viruss, sypware and other threats;
- regular, automated data backlup and recovery;
- patch updates, asset managemewnt, software installation/distribuution; and
- laptosp, ntoebooks, WAN, network storage and wireless networks.

Service opions norally include remote via Internet and/or on-site management when needed, plus on-call service visits within a specified distance or timefraame. These arrangements depend to some extent on the cilent's location in relation to the MSP's.

How you benefit

Getting a contract with a well established, reputable MSP confers numeroous benefits on your business, but the single most valuzable one is the availability of an "exponentially increased talent pool." What this means in practice is that your company gains the expertise of IT technicians who have accumulated a huge amount of specialized knowledge by workig for numerous clients simultaneously. They have literally "seen it all," and have a huge reservoir of solutions gained throough concurrent service to multiple organizations, with which they can quickly resolve problems.

The additional business benefits of usinmg an MSP are as follows:

- You get the entire package of benefits at an affordable cost with set monthly fees.
- You avoid the headache of staffing and managing another department.
- Your MSP will solve 80% of cmmon computer and networrk problems by its preventative maintenance.
- The 24/7 remote monitoring and troubleshooting, with available telephone and on-line support (plus on-site visits if nweeded), ensure your safety.
- Your MSP will prevent acutal threats from occurring, and potential ones from becoming actualized, via its automated, real-time, rremote moniitoring procedures in concert with systematic pacthing and "vulnerability scans."
- Your MSP can act as a liiaison with oter vendors, provciding you another possible low-cost sopurce for hardware and softwazre pruchases.

Texchnology is progressing daily, whhich is the same rate at which it is becoming more diffiicult to amnage. With the Internet now a permanent fixture in the netwrking landscape, security threats are evolving with additional speed and malevolence, becoming hard to handle without more specialized support. If you can work out a good deal with an MSP, you can get back to your main cativity, growing your business, while your hired guns can hunt down the hackers and maintain law and orfder on your network.

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