With cyberattacks at an all-time high, cyber security has been a popular topic of discussion among businesses for quite some time now.
This concern has increased the need for MSPs, with every business looking for the ideal managed IT support to protect their sensitive data and deliver their technology needs with scalability and long-term success.
If you find yourself and your business in the throes of cyber security, here’s what you can expect from a managed service provider.
What is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?
A managed service provider is an IT firm that is appointed to look after the technical aspect of a business or organization. MSPs are responsible for improving the performance of a business’s hardware and network by using their expertise and experience.
Businesses often outsource their IT infrastructure or part of their operations to an MSP in order to improve productivity and scalability and focus on other aspects of the business. An MSP can also help an organization protect itself from potential cyber attacks and data theft by providing complete managed IT support.
With the help of a managed service provider, any organization can improve its operations. Many small companies rent limited in-house IT capabilities. Hence, according to these small companies, serving MSP is a great way to gain IT expertise. However, this does not mean that large organizations cannot take advantage of this service. They may also be required to appoint a managed service provider in many situations. For example, government agencies may fall short of their financial budget, and because of this, they may hire an MSP to balance their internal IT staff.
The job of an MSP is complex and involves repetitive work that requires specialized knowledge. In simple words, MSP involves the complete management of the technical or IT infrastructure. Let us have a look at the main functions of MSP:
- provide technical support
- Responsible for full management of IT infrastructure or end-user systems
- Add cyber security software to ensure security
- Provide compliance and risk management
- provide payroll services
How do MSPs work?
When an organization hires a Managed Service Provider (MSP), the basic goal of the MSP is to meet the business goals of the organization concerned. In short, the MSP has to fill a void, or play an effective role, in the organization’s IT systems or technical staff.
The process begins with a basic assessment of the organization that provides the MSP with a clear idea of the company’s current environment. Based on this assessment, the MSP determines areas for improvement and how by working on such gaps, it can help systematically achieve business goals.
There is no universal solution for every organization. Hence, MSP provides various service options based on the various demands set by the organizations. Two such examples of MSP services are subscription services and technical support fix services.
The membership service of MSP depends on the quality of the organization’s network. As usual, it bills the customers on a monthly basis. If any problem arises in future, the MSP fixes the problem by mutual agreement between the MSP and the organization. Furthermore, payment in this model is based on fixed rates per computer or device.
If the MSP provides technical support fix services, it focuses purely on fixing issues from a remote area or sending trained technicians to the business location to resolve the issue. For this service, the MSP charges the organization for the time it takes to fix the problem, as well as any equipment used to fix the problem.
MSPs also provide specialist software platforms that help manage tasks automatically. These platforms include:
- RMM Equipment: RMM systems are helpful for off-site technicians. It helps them maintain IT systems including networks, desktops, servers and mobile devices. With the help of these tools MSP can also apply patches and other system updates.
- Professional Service Automation (PSA) Applications: Through PSA tools, an MSP is allowed to manage the organization’s billing, projects, assets and inventory.
Types of MSPs for Your Cyber Security Needs
MSPs deal with the vast network and technical aspects within an organization. Therefore, there are different types of MSPs, each with unique expertise in a particular technical aspect.
managed service provider
Standard MSPs manage a business’s information technology (IT), which includes its people and infrastructure. It works around its own systems and network infrastructure. Also, protecting it from security concerns by providing ongoing monitoring, maintenance, administration and support.
Managed Security Service Provider
While MSPs focus on the entire network and IT infrastructure of the business, MSSPs focus more on its security needs. It provides outsourced cyber security to protect an organization from possible cyber attacks and data breaches. While MSPs can only provide basic security, MSSPs focus only on keeping the organization’s network safe and secure.
Co-managed IT Service Provider
This type of managed service provider uses a different system than other MSPs. This creates a dynamic between traditional MSPs derived from customer management and technical decisions. Instead of a traditional model, it combines customer management, MSP offerings, and an in-house IT department. With the in-house expertise of the in-house IT team and the experience of MSP, a business can get the best of both worlds.
Managed Inquiry and Feedback
Last but not the least, Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a type of MSP that provides services such as finding, identifying, and alerting any ongoing data breaches. It features 24/7 monitoring using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and prevent abnormal activity within an organization’s network.
Benefits of Hiring an MSP for Your Business
Whichever MSP you choose, there are some common benefits that you will get with each one. Let us know about some such amazing benefits.
effective cost
Hiring managed IT support will be a more cost-effective business decision for you. There is no anticipated cost involved, and it also reduces the hassle of setting up an entire in-house IT infrastructure, which would also require considerable investment. There will always be additional cost in implementing the latest technologies.
scalability
Scalable IT infrastructure is what your business needs, and MSP provides just that. It gives you a scalable IT infrastructure without the burden of unexpected costs.
competitive advantage
Outsourcing managed IT support is the need of every organization today. This is an essential step to stay ahead of the competition. An MSP helps distribute the workload effectively and enables you to find the most productive way to perform a task.
Drawbacks of Managed Service Providers (MSPs)
Despite having advanced technological advantages, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are not without some drawbacks. There are many challenges before him. Let us try to understand what they are through the following points:
- Not every MSP provides security measures. This is true. Cyber security is not the main focus in most of the MSPs.
- MSP relies on third party organizations. All organizations indirectly rely on these third-party companies if they are using MSPs service. The problem arises when the MSP does not adhere to the SLA. In such a situation, suddenly the server of the organization may appear to be down.
- Response time is too long. Generally, MSPs take a lot of time to respond to an issue and this leads to poor quality of MSPs. Many organizations have doubts whether the service of an MSP should be taken or not.
- MSP potentially upsells. An MSP may try to upsell an organization based on any technology or services they may never need.
- Information about the organization is not available. The MSP can use a proprietary tool with the help of which it can easily manage and monitor the infrastructure of the organization. If this is the case, the organization’s information may not be freely accessible.
final thoughts
When it comes to cyber security, every organization needs an MSP to keep their data safe from potential cyber attacks and streamline every business process. MSPs can do wonders for an organization by blocking vulnerabilities and protecting sensitive data from costly cyber attacks.