Managed Services is the practice of outsourcing IT management and Computer Network Technical Support to a professional IT services organization as a cost-effective method for improving business operations, it is commonly practiced in small and medium-size business. In most cases you can have not just one “computer guy”, but a team of IT experts to service your business computer network, while paying less than a full-time employee salary.
Small to Medium size businesses do not always have the luxury of having a full-time IT department that would take care of everything. SMBs in New Jersey looking for computer services used to get tech support when something stopped working and needed fixing (a “break-fix model”).
NJ Businesses now benefit from Managed IT Services, — a planned, proactive model of support, and not a chaotic, reactive break-fix approach.
Let’s review 3 major differences between Managed Services and traditional tech support:
1. Range of Services:
In a traditional reactive approach most often then not small business services rely on a “computer guy” whose services they think they can afford, and only when they need them. This limits the knowledge and experience level and diversity of the tech support to just one or few persons.
A proactive Managed Services model affords SMBs access to a fully staffed outsourced IT department, with computer engineers that have various lines of expertise and meaningful cumulative experience to tackle any tech support challenge, from setting up and monitoring the network, to planned maintenance and vendor management. MSPs are also partnering and working closely with multiple IT vendors, staying up-to-date on all things IT.
2. Proactive Service Model:
The Managed Service support approach is proactive rather than reactive.
In a traditional reactive approach many businesses set p their network, bring it to a functional (sometimes “good enough”) condition and then leave it be… until a crisis occurs. Companies that choose this path typically disregard their IT technology until a major issue impacts their mission-critical business operations. So, when something breaks, they call someone to fix it.
A proactive Managed Services model is about continuously and consistently performing the services to keep computer network systems operations at their best performance. Schedule, routine maintenance, timely patches, regular updates and system work are performed to keep the network – and business operations – running smoothly. Systems are monitored and issues are indicated, reported, and addressed most of the time prior to a major critical event. Some services may be performed remotely, and when needed, techs are dispatched to resolve the issues before the business operations are affected.
3. Cost-Effectiveness:
In the traditional reactive approach, the IT vendor makes their money when you are in trouble, charging an hourly, sometimes emergency rate to work on the problem.
Traditional IT vendors lose money when your computer network works, and make money when something breaks and needs fixing.
A proactive Managed Service model is 180° opposite. It is different because it is based on a performance guarantee, and Managed Services Provider charges you a flat fee for their continuous service.
MSPs lose money when something in your computer network breaks and needs fixing, and make money when everything works as it should be.
Managed Services are about preventing the problems rather than reacting to a crisis.
Dina Dadian
VP Web Operations
powersolution.com – your one IT solution | New Jersey Tech Support, Computer Services and IT consulting