When I started out with Cloud Cover 7 years ago, there were so many people that had never even heard of an MSP, a ...
When I started out with Cloud Cover 7 years ago, there were so many people that had never even heard of an MSP, a Managed Service Provider. But so many businesses rely on MSPs to take care of all of their IT support and services now, most people understand what we do. But I still get asked, what is included in our managed services and how much does it cost to use a managed service provider. There are definitely different options and pricing models but I can give you some guidelines to get you started.
What do Managed Services typically include?
If it is IT related, it is probably included. It also means your support is always on, even when you aren't aware, we are supporting your IT systems. Remote monitoring agents installed on laptops, PCs and network devices allow us to manage your machines remotely so we can efficiently take care of systems proactively, or as issues arise.
Monitoring, patching, updating systems, checking for viruses, is going on 24 x 7 so we know if there is an issue and can remediate it without it becoming an issue for you or your business. Your software will always run smoothly and efficiently and you’ll avoid common update complications.
And then of course there is the day to day IT support services that you would expect. Hardware, email, network issues, your everyday technical support problems. Addressing end user support issues so your employees can get their issues solved so they can get back to work.
Data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity planning and management. Your data should be backed up continuously, checked for integrity and accuracy regularly, and stored in both on- and off-site locations. This will help protect your data from natural disasters, cyberattacks, and human mistakes or malicious intent. And we make sure we have a plan in case something catastrophic happens or there is an outage. We need to know how to get you back up and recovered.
Asset tracking and management. This is essential for streamlined deployment, updates, and installation. That way you can keep track of everything that’s important – from hardware and software inventory data to end-of-lifecycle replacements to forecast for budgeting as well as keeping hardware and software up to date so your team isn't losing productivity on old systems.
Business forecasting, future planning, and purchasing assistance. Forecasting and future planning help to proactively evaluate your current situation to see where you may want new technologies in the future or what upgrades might be needed now. This helps with budgeting and scaling. We also look for ways to cut costs today without compromising security or service levels. Being an MSP gives us the benefit of having exclusive relationships with vendors that the average business doesn’t have access to. This means better value and ROI for you, potential cost-savings in areas like telecom and hardware, and faster support.
Remember that most Managed Service Providers will work with you to decide what is best for your business because there are options outside the fully managed plan. For instance, some of our clients have their own small internal IT department and we provide Co-Managed IT services to them. We also have some clients that need very little day to day technical support so we manage their back end support, email licenses, backups, and then if we do technical support, they pay an hourly rate. So they have a monthly managed invoice for proactive tools, subscription and monitoring. And remember, one of the benefits of having a managed service provider taking care of your IT needs is having a cost effective team of experts taking care of your business for less than the cost of one full time IT technician. That one IT tech might be an expert in hardware troubleshooting but are they going to be monitoring your systems 24 x 7? Do they have the vendor relationships and buying power? With an MSP you have the leverage of an entire team from the helpdesk all the way to a CIO supporting your business for a fixed, monthly cost.
If you want to know more about if managed services would be a fit for your business, get in touch, we would be happy to learn about your business and see if we would be a good fit.
