Must-Have Features to Look for in a Managed IT Services Provider

Your managed service provider should have a ticketing system that ensures your website issues are resolved quickly. They should also have workflows to prevent helpdesk tickets from getting lost. Look for an MSP with real industry experience. For example, if you are in healthcare, find out how familiar they are with EHRs and practice management software.

Availability

When looking for a managed IT services provider, ask about their team and area of expertise. Find out who works on their team and what they specialize in, as you’ll want a vendor that can provide your business with the support it needs quickly and efficiently. A well-managed IT services provider will monitor your network day and night and respond to any issues immediately. If something goes wrong in the middle of the night, an alert will be sent immediately, and action can be taken before it becomes a significant problem for your company. An MSP can help your business with various tasks that would take up a lot of time and resources for an in-house IT team. This includes help desk support, IT advisory, local and offsite backup management, and more. This will allow your business to scale as needed and free up staff for other projects.

Customer Service

The best-managed services provider will go above and beyond to anticipate your needs. They should have a dedicated team ready to handle IT support issues when they occur. They should also have an internal ticket prioritization process outlined in their service level agreement (SLA) that pushes the most urgent tickets to the top of the queue. A good MSP will use remote monitoring technology to monitor your systems day and night. This prevents problems from slipping through the cracks and gives them the time to fix them before they cause much disruption. An MSP can provide a range of IT management services to free up in-house staff to focus on projects that can drive growth for your company. They can also help your business meet regulatory compliance standards like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, saving you thousands in fines and reputation damage.

Security

Security is one of the most important aspects of a well-run network. Find out if your potential MSP provides proactive monitoring and security solutions to mitigate risks before they become problems. This can include things like patching, firewalls, and anti-virus software. A good MSP will also use tools for backup and recovery to ensure their client’s data is protected in an emergency. It’s also important to note whether your potential MSP is a pure-play provider or if they offer more diverse services, such as IT infrastructure, cloud services, and communications support. Scaling networks takes a lot of coordination and workforce. MSPs often provide a cost-effective solution to meet IT needs that in-house teams don’t have the resources for. They can help with tasks such as equipment upgrades and hardware installations. They also offer a flexible pricing model that allows clients to adjust their coverage plans as their needs change.

Backups

Having suitable backups is essential in an era when hackers can break into computer systems and steal data. You can count on a managed service provider to be built like a bank for your information, keeping it safe from physical and virtual threats, such as ransomware. A good managed services provider has staff dedicated to backups and disaster recovery. They can be there 24/7 and have domain knowledge and the experience to handle any issue. Backing up your data is critical to your business’s RTO and RPO. It is also necessary to meet regulatory frameworks such as GDPR and CCPA. This can prevent your business from facing fines or reputational damage. It also helps you avoid paying a ransom to regain access to stolen or locked data. It also reduces your need to keep large amounts of hardware on-site. Using a managed service provider, you can save on upfront costs of storage devices and free up valuable space on your network.