Virtually every business today needs someone to manage IT for operations to run smoothly. From computers and phones to networks and passwords, there are many moving parts that keep businesses running and their data safe. But many don’t have the time, talent, or money to keep IT tasks in-house.
That’s where IT managed services come in.
The benefits of managed IT services
Managed Services Providers (MSPs) allow businesses to reap the benefits of receiving IT support at a significantly reduced cost compared to creating a comparable in-house team. Additionally, MSPs can offer a wealth of experience from actively managing multiple client accounts that in-house teams would not have.
When partnering with an MSP, businesses can forecast their monthly, quarterly, and yearly expenditure on IT, freeing them from having to focus on this area of operational readiness. This allows businesses to focus on growing without worrying about day-to-day IT issues or requirements.
Another benefit is a greater opportunity for cybersecurity expertise and successfully enacted cybersecurity policies. MSPs work with standards day in and day out, and they should be able to steer a business within the parameters and regulations it needs to adhere to, such as HIPAA compliance.
MSPs can mitigate risk in this way while assuring that the experts in charge of your IT operations are always up-to-date on the latest information, technologies, and processes that will keep your infrastructure working efficiently and successfully into the future.
What kinds of managed IT services are available?
Managed IT services can range from general to specific, depending on your needs. Common services can include the monitoring and maintenance of equipment, IT systems management, remote monitoring and management of servers, network monitoring, and other support services.
The traditional approach to managed services is a break/fix model which monitors systems until there is a problem to remediate. Many modern managed service providers take a more proactive approach to maintenance and management, which can include patch management and predictive maintenance.
Cloud-based managed services can range from specific applications delivered “as a service” (Software as a Service, or SaaS) to platforms and infrastructure as a service (IaaS and PaaS). These services can help businesses scale rapidly to meet increasing demand without the associated datacenter and IT infrastructure costs. Cloud-based services can also provide greater access to data, analytics, and storage.
Other companies provide managed security services for both traditional bare metal infrastructure and cloud services. Having reliable and trusted security experts is especially important to companies with hybrid cloud infrastructure.
What’s the difference between managed IT services and cloud services?
The phrase “managed IT services” sometimes appears alongside other terms like “cloud services,” but what’s the difference?
Cloud services are software offerings managed by vendors and delivered to customers on demand. Cloud services generally include vendor management of application, data, and platform services, but usually don’t include management of the customer workload itself, whereas managed IT service providers typically provide the cloud platform on which their service is delivered as part of their service.
About Plow Networks
Plow Networks is a leading IT services provider, connecting businesses to technology since 2012. With deep expertise in network, cloud, and end user support services, we partner with clients to leverage technology in ways that simplify operations and fuel growth. Plow Networks is based in Brentwood, Tennessee.
