Lifting the curtain on cloud solutions.

Making the decision to outsource IT services or not is as much about determining how you want to run your business as it is about the best approach to address your technical needs. Today, many SMBs already outsource various components of their businesses to gain access to expertise, improve operational efficiencies, and simply remain competitive. Why – because outsourcing in its many forms has & continues to make good business sense. 

How do you want to run your business?

Most will agree technology is the primary force transforming and driving businesses today. With this constant evolution and the drive towards digital transformation data security, compliance, and IT complexity are becoming bigger challenges for small and midsize companies. To address these challenges more and more SMB leaders are outsourcing or considering outsourcing IT entirely or as a complement to existing full-time IT staff who are overwhelmed with day-to-day support tasks and are anxious to move on to strategic IT initiatives that will move their companies forward.

Techaisle recently estimated that 46% of SMBs outsourced IT services to a managed service provider (MSP) in 2018 with another 29% of companies indicating they plan to do so in the future. If these numbers hold 75% of SMBs could outsource some aspect of IT services in the next year. 

What are Managed IT Services?

More than a vendor. A trusted advisor. A managed services provider (MSP) delivers a set of services to clients, either proactively or as needed. For more than 20 years, large enterprises have relied on managed services businesses to manage information and customer workloads. Adding managed services to your business helps address your customers’ needs by uncovering opportunities that provide long-term value with ongoing services and potentially IP. Additionally, adopting managed services is also an efficient way to stay up-to-date on technology, get access to necessary skills, and address a range of issues related to cost, quality of service, and risk.

What else makes an MSP?
In its simplest form the managed IT service or MSP model provides remote services for desktop and end-user support, network monitoring and management, application management, cloud services, security and compliance, and data backup and disaster recover. MSPs help manage the IT infrastructure that is considered integral to a company’s operations and they work with client leadership to strategically align technology with overall business objectives. MSPs help ensure an organization’s network is current and that its technology provides seamless operations across all departments and roles within the company. Managed services are generally provided as a fixed monthly operational expense, making it an attractive alternative to costly traditional IT staffing and support models. The best way to think of about managed services is that it’s a long-term investment—not only in your own business, but also in your clients’ operations.

Think of a managed services provider as a trusted advisor who has intimate knowledge of the objectives that customers are trying to achieve. The true value of managed services is in the ownership of the endtoend solutions that allow both you and your customers’ businesses to thrive. Keep in mind that being an MSP is not so much an exclusive business model, but rather a value-added offering that allows companies like yours to further wrap your expertise around your clients’ businesses. You’re not just a one-off vendor; you’re a trusted advisor who can provide well-rounded solutions to your customers’ needs. Above all, the cornerstone of managed services is exactly what the name implies: services, provided as part of a long-term customer relationship. If you’re looking to launch a managed services practice, your first step is to determine which services you want to offer. From providing basic cloud support to advanced security solutions, there is room for managed services in your business.

Why outsource IT services?

Outsourcing, as an IT consumption model, continues to prove very popular, particularly for small and mid-sized companies. A substantial segment of SMBs (estimated at nearly 50%) are now using some combination of managed services to support IT and business requirements and this number is expected to continue growing over the next 12 months to as high as 75%. Here are a few key points why outsourcing IT services (or at least some portion of services) can be the answer to addressing today’s complex IT challenges while helping companies meet their business objectives.