The evolution of the IT services industry is an interesting one. In the 1980s and early 1990s, nearly all technology management was done by an in-house team. However, as technology began to rapidly change and expand in the mid-to-late 1990s, businesses started looking for external help for more complex projects. Technology is an integral part of doing business today. By the 2000s, organizations were looking to outsource their IT completely to a managed services provider, as it was no longer something they wanted to manage internally. They wanted to put 100% focus on running a successful business for their employees, clients, and shareholders.
Additionally, with the shift to remote work over the past year, businesses are realizing how essential technology and technology management is to functioning effectively.
There are a variety of benefits that come with using a managed services provider (MSP). Having access to the depth of expertise available when utilizing an MSP opens up a variety of opportunities to advance your business.
What are the reasons organizations just like yours use managed services?
Top Benefits of Managed Service Providers
1. Handle Critical Business Needs
A major reason businesses engage a managed services provider is because technology simply must be prioritized in today’s business world. Having effective, efficient technology allows employees to be productive and customers to be served well. In turn, this allows for your business to continually expand. In an era where workplace operations are hybrid and employees are often working remotely, technology downtime can be a huge roadblock and expense.
Strategic technology guidance is difficult to maintain in-house when your staff is constantly dealing with reactive end user issues and one or two additional projects that consume their time. Dedicated strategic guidance can be provided by your MSP, as they have dedicated staff to do just that. Their only job is to review your technology stack, understand your business goals, and align the technology you have or propose improved technologies to best support your business.
Typically, a good MSP will involve the executive and leadership teams in comprehensive assessments that allows you to see what’s going well and what can be improve in your business technology. This allows you to continually improve your technology infrastructure to will support your business goals.
2. Allow for Business Growth
An MSP can support business growth by offering flexible IT solutions that scale with the business. Whether you’re expanding rapidly and introducing new office locations, or adjusting to market shifts. By outsourcing some (or all) of your technology needs, companies can gain access to enterprise-level tools and expertise without the overhead. You can pivot more quickly and stay focused on strategic priorities while others handle IT shifts. This agility helps organizations keep IT operations efficient and secure while going through change.
3. Enable Focus on Core Business
A common challenge expressed by many executives when it comes to technology is that there is so much to manage, from day-to-day operations to long-term technological planning, that it feels like they are running a technology business rather than their actual business. A managed services provider takes the burden of technology management off the executive team’s shoulders, so that you can get back to running your business the way you intended to.
Leaving IT experts to sort through your technology needs and challenges offers space for you to focus on your business. Here are some small, but significant IT tasks that an MSP can take off your plate:
-
Patching and updates: Updates and patches are critical for maintaining the health and security of your software and hardware. Without a strategic plan, there can be delays to critical software and system updates, leaving vulnerabilities open for attack.
-
User access management: Onboarding new employees and setting up their account access takes times. It’s similarly important to review who needs access changed or removed. Failing to regularly audit permissions can lead to excessive access, insider threats, or even compliance violations.
-
Data backups: Many organizations assume backups are always running as expected. Without regular testing and monitoring, they may not be able retaining the right data that you need if your faced with a crisis and need to fall back on them.
- Vendor management: Navigating vendors and agreements can be major task! Without regular reviews, businesses may end up overpaying, relying on outdated tools, or missing better solutions.
4 . Enhance Service Quality
In any business, day-to-day technological problems like forgotten passwords, printer issues, and more arise, in addition to more complicated problems and maintenance. If you have an internal IT team of only a few individuals, those many different tasks are a lot to juggle. It can create a backlog of end user issues to resolve, as well as larger problems that need to be fixed. Managed services providers allow your business to have access to a help desk for end user issues. You also gain access to dedicated engineers for work like server maintenance, security, and more. Having different IT professionals on hand, you can mitigate extended downtime. You can even improve end user productivity due to technology issues, without overwhelming your team or your IT staff.
5. Get Access to Intellectual Capital
We’ve discussed previously the benefits of managed IT services, one of which being the access to expertise that your organization has when using an MSP. NetGain itself has over 100 engineers with 300+ technical certifications. Hiring and employing that many engineers is simply not feasible for a small to medium sized business. Furthermore, it’s a challenge keeping up with the cost and time of that many certifications. MSPs teams maintain high levels of expertise and are benefit to businesses without the astronomical cost.
6. Reduce Overhead IT Costs
Having predictable IT costs allows businesses to more confidently budget for their IT needs. Predictable costs mean avoiding surprise expenses that can derail growth plans. When you are proactive in monitoring and maintaining your systems, costly downtime is minimal. Reducing downtime protects productivity, revenue, and your brand’s reputation. Plus, with a scalable IT model, you can scale resources up or down, whether you’re expanding rapidly or streamlining operations.
7. Monitor Your Business Proactively
Being proactive with your IT means identifying and resolving issues before they disrupt business. Rather than scrambling to fix problems after the damage is already done, look ahead to prevent the issues from even happening. This approach reduces downtime, strengthens security, and keeps your team focused on strategic initiatives. Working with an MSP who prioritizes proactive maintenance and monitoring helps you stay ahead of potential risks. Proactive IT creates a more stable, efficient IT environment.
8. Meet Compliance Regulations
MSPs help businesses stay compliant by aligning IT systems with industry-specific regulations. HIPAA for healthcare, PCI-DSS for finance, or CMMC for manufacturing, different industries have different needs. Look for an experienced IT provider who exercises security best practices, can manage data access, offer employees security education, and provide audit-ready documentation to support compliance efforts. With regular risk assessments, policy enforcement, and up-to-date knowledge of regulatory changes, MSPs act as a partner in helping you meet regulation and compliance standards.
Getting Started with an MSP
The above reasons are why great businesses, from banks to manufacturing plants, partner with a managed service provider. There are a variety of business challenges managed services can solve. From allowing you to focus on your business needs, to growth due to increased productivity, MSPs support your IT journey. Partnering with a managed IT services team like NetGain, technology management is easy. With large teams of highly experienced and certified engineers, we offer the insights and resources that can meet any IT challenge. NetGain has over 40 years of experience working with local businesses, across all industries, making us one of the best choices for outsourcing your IT needs.
Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published in 2020 and has since been updated for relevance and clarity.
