Below you’ll find the most common questions you may have on Softlanding and IT services. If your question is not answered, feel free to reach out to us.
What are managed IT services?
Managed IT services providers (MSPs) are third-party vendors that manage a client’s 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.
How are managed IT services and professional IT services different?
Professional services are usually on-demand projects that include the following areas: IT consulting, cloud migration, deployment, change management, etc. They are projects but can be incredibly comprehensive since they can include planning, design, solution rollout and, training. Managed IT services, on the other hand, are ongoing services that help organizations with their day-to-day IT operations and maintenance. Managed IT services will ensure you stay on top of your systems and can provide strategic guidance to help you solve your challenges and achieve your business goals.
Choosing between professional and managed IT services can be daunting and will depend on your business needs, budget and the time you require for IT support.
How much do managed IT services cost?
There is no standardized cost for Managed IT services as it depends on multiple factors. Each business has specific technology and needs that are more or less complex and that will define the level of service needed. MSPs can provide different Managed IT services pricing models to meet their clients’ needs: monitoring only, per device, per user, tiered, a la carte, etc.
Consequently, the cost of Managed IT services vary depending on your business, technology and the level of service and expertise you need.
Softlanding’s pricing model encompasses flexibility for both proactive and reactive activities by combining the two scenarios into one agreement. Proactive work carries a fixed monthly cost, whereas our reactive services can be budgeted and provided on a tiered basis with the option to roll over any unused balance. Many clients enjoy the ability to ‘bank’ funds so they can plan for small projects without additional need for asking their business for further approvals.
What are the benefits of managed IT services?
Managed IT services offer a proactive approach as they let you offload specific IT operations to a service provider, who assumes ongoing responsibility for monitoring, managing and/or issue resolution for selected IT systems, and functions on your behalf. This usually gives your IT staff more time to focus on projects that bring business value, reduce unexpected costs and fix issues before they arise.
With Softlanding as your trusted partner we can help you to plan and implement your strategic IT roadmap so that environments and infrastructure are managed in line with industry standards and with security at the heart of all activities.
How to choose a managed IT service provider?
When your organization has reached a stage where it needs managed IT services, choosing the right provider is never easy and usually takes time. An MSP should be a true partner that will help you achieve your goals, drive efficiencies and ensure your data and environment are secure.
After identifying the type of IT services you need, you should look into the MSP pricing model, SLAs (Service Level Agreement) they offer, certifications and references to help you guide your choice. You can learn more by reading our blog post here.
What size business is a good fit for Softlanding’s Managed IT Services?
Softlanding’s Managed IT services are well suited for small and medium-sized businesses i.e. companies who have 50-300 employees, but also larger organizations including many large private and public sector clients. Our managed services can complement an IT person or an IT team to free them from ‘keeping the lights on’. Additionally, if your business is looking for a strategic IT partner to strengthen its security, modernize the workplace or implement processes and workflows to increase efficiency and productivity as well as work with a dedicated virtual CIO, you will make the most out of Softlanding’ s Managed IT services.
What industries do you serve?
We are proud to have clients in most industries: manufacturing, financial services, legal, healthcare, energy, real estate/construction, non-profits, etc. Over our 20 years of history, we have served more than 100 clients, mainly medium to large organizations. We typically work with clients that have minimum 50 end users. You can check our case studies here.
What geographic areas do you support?
Softlanding is headquartered in Vancouver BC, but we have staff and offices in Toronto, Montreal, Regina, and Calgary to serve clients across Canada.
Why hire Softlanding as your managed services provider?
At Softlanding, we are committed to delivering the highest quality of service and support to our clients and you will always get a truly collaborative partnership. Our managed IT services are designed to give you the daily support you need while providing strategic IT guidance to help you solve your business challenges and grow your business. Indeed, your unused hours of support are transferable to help you invest in strategic projects/solutions.
Furthermore, Softlanding deploys and runs the same Microsoft technology as its clients so you will always get the highest level of expertise when it comes to Microsoft solutions.
What are the services Softlanding offers?
Softlanding offers both managed IT services and professional services to help you build your digital future confidently.
From architecture and design, service and application delivery and project management, our specialties include end-to-end managed IT services, Azure cloud services, Microsoft 365, Security and custom application development.
Do not hesitate to reach out to us to discuss about your project.