Managed IT Services are not a fable, yet there are a lot of fallacies and stories that can cloud your understanding of these services. This article aims to provide you with all the information you need if you are looking into outsourcing parts of your IT operations and bust the most common managed IT services myths.

Managed Service Provider Versus Cloud Service Provider

IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are third-party vendors that manage a client’s IT environment and deliver services such as infrastructure, security, network and application development through ongoing support and proactive maintenance. MSPs offer a wide range of services; you can decide to outsource your IT fully or partially depending on your needs.

Today, the terms “cloud service provider” and “managed service provider” are often seen as synonyms but there are some key differences:

A cloud service provider offers different hosting solutions such as:

  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services , Google Cloud Platform
  • Software as a Service (SaaS): Office 365, Dynamics 365, Salesforce
  • File sharing: SharePoint, Dropbox, Box
  • … and a variety of industry-specific and other solutions

A managed service provider can deliver the services listed above with a high level of IT support that may include:

  • Service Desk
  • Infrastructure Support
  • Network Maintenance
  • Ransomware/Anti-Virus solutions
  • Security
  • Backup & Disaster Recovery (DR)
  • IT strategy and road mapping

 

Now that you understand better what an IT MSP offers, let’s take a look at the six most common managed IT services myths people have regarding MSPs and separate facts from fiction.

Six Common Managed IT Services Myths

Myth #1: Technology alone is the key to success

Technology has become the cornerstone of competitiveness and even if you have cutting-edge technology, it doesn’t mean you will be successful. It needs to be well-designed, deployed and maintained to be efficient and often requires change management and training to be adopted and efficiently used by your employees.

 

Myth #2: Managed IT services are expensive

At first blush, the monthly costs of an MSP can seem experience. These costs offset not only salaries, but also all the associated costs of hiring, managing, and training … as well as IP in the form of technology and business processes. According to Cisco, Managed IT Services can reduce recurring in-house costs by 30% to 40%.  In addition to reduced cost, there are also advantages in cost avoidance: MSP’s bring subject matter expertise and rigorous process to reduce the risk of security breaches or IT outages which can incur serious business cost.

 

Myth #3: An MSP will replace your current IT Team

Rarely will an MSP replace an entire IT department. Instead, the services of an MSP are a complement to in-house IT teams, addressing commodity tasks or specialized tasks better suited to the efficiencies of an outside team. This frees up in-house IT to focus on integration and strategic items of higher business value.  For smaller organizations, MSP’s can take on these strategic business initiatives as well in wholly-outsourced scenarios. In all cases, MSP’s can bring skills and experience that it is difficult to acquire working within an in-house IT department.  Ultimately, an MSP is here to empower, not replace, your IT team.

 

Myth #4: All Managed Service Providers are the same

Are all your competitors the same? Of course, not. Even though the core service of an MSP remains the same, each has a unique mix of expertise, culture, focus, rigor, and specialization. If you are looking to outsource your IT, it requires upfront research to define the tasks and services your business needs to be more efficient. Once you have established these criteria, take your time to understand the differences in the MSP offerings and schedule some consultations to figure out how they operate as well as the customer service they provide.

 

Myth #5: Your company data will be at risk with an MSP

MSPs work with compliant Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) which ensures that they will follow the required protocols to keep your data safe. Besides, MSPs know how important security and privacy are for their customers, therefore they are very proactive in maintaining and monitoring your business IT network to prevent issues before they happen. Consequently, your company data is not more at risk with an MSP. It is usually safer as your IT will be more proactive than reactive when it comes to security and data privacy.

 

Myth #6: Only large organizations can benefit from MSPs

Even though many large companies use MSPs, smaller companies tend to benefit the most from this type of service. Indeed, as small and medium businesses (SMBs) expand, their IT needs require some flexibility and scalability to support their growth. An MSP can help SMBs scale as they will take care of the IT maintenance to free up your IT staff to work on strategic initiative, will ensure you have access to world-class technology that you might not be able to afford to buy or maintain and as discussed above, will ensure proactive security and business continuity which are crucial for smaller companies.

 

As you’ll research on Managed IT Services and MSPs, you will discover that there are a lot of misconceptions about what an MSP can or cannot do as well as the benefits they can bring to your business.

If you are looking to outsource your IT, you need to dive a little deeper to make sure your MSP will provide the added-value you expect to make your business more efficient.

If you want to learn more about how Softlanding’s Managed IT services can help your business accelerate, contact us now.

Written By:

Caroline Blivet

As Softlanding's Marketing Lead, Caroline and is responsible for driving lead generation, developing a go-to-market strategy and, delivering marketing campaigns. Outside of work, Caroline enjoys hiking the beautiful trails of British Columbia.

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