Every business relies on its network to connect employees and customers. But the security of that network hinges on daily monitoring and ongoing maintenance.
Many MSPs bundle all of that into a single, affordable monthly service. It makes it easier for businesses to hire them despite their limited in-house expertise and staff.
Monitoring
Aside from ensuring that network infrastructure works correctly, monitoring helps address security issues. By identifying threats early on, businesses can prevent damage to their data and systems. For example, an MSP can help identify potential security incidents by analyzing network traffic and responding accordingly.
When choosing an MSP, it is vital to check the company’s track record and reviews. Look for one that has extensive experience and a dedication to customer success. Moreover, choose an MSP with a strong local presence and comprehensive support services. Lastly, check whether the top managed network service providers have partnerships with network carriers and hardware OEMs and hold relevant industry certifications.
Besides improving your network performance, managed service providers also provide IT expertise that may be outside your organization. It can lead to a more efficient and productive workplace. In addition, it ensures that your business is protected from cyberattacks and meets regulatory compliance requirements. Moreover, it frees your IT staff to focus on projects with more significant strategic impact. Hence, it is crucial to find an MSP with extensive IT knowledge.
Security
As the trusted IT partner, a managed network service provider will work with your business to ensure that issues are detected and resolved quickly. They can do this because they know your business needs and how they relate to your computer systems.
Moreover, most established managed network service providers have valuable partnerships with network carriers, hardware OEMs, and network software vendors, enabling them to handle large-scale network challenges. Many also have a local presence in various states and geographies, enabling them to offer extensive customer support.
Suppose you are a retail chain, restaurant brand, or financial services organization with hundreds of geographically dispersed locations. In that case, it is impractical for internal engineers to travel extensively to resolve network issues at branch offices. It often leads enterprises to outsource their network management to MSPs to focus on core business goals and reduce operational costs.
Backup
Data backup is one of the most critical aspects of a company’s disaster recovery plan and business continuity strategy. Backup allows organizations to protect their information against malware, malicious attacks, and even natural disasters.
Implementing a robust backup solution that regularly creates redundant copies of all data is the most effective way to ensure data protection and avoid business disruptions. Backup copies are stored in multiple locations to mitigate the impact of failures in hardware and software. Many IT professionals follow the 3-2-1 backup rule, which requires three copies of a dataset in two formats on at least two storage types.
Backup solutions can also be configured to encrypt sensitive files and provide different levels of access for end users. It is significant for businesses that deal with sensitive information subject to compliance standards such as HIPAA for healthcare and NIST 800-171 for government contractors handling controlled unclassified information (CUI). Taking extra steps to protect data privacy can help to avoid regulatory sanctions or fines.
Recovery
Businesses that fail to rely on a managed network services provider risk losing valuable data and experiencing costly downtime. The resulting productivity loss hurts employee morale and can impact sales. It’s also hard for internal IT teams to keep up with routine maintenance and upgrades when their time is consumed by dealing with IT emergencies.
MSPs provide a variety of managed network infrastructure management capabilities, including monitoring, maintenance and repair, installation, deployment, and integration of new technologies. They have significant leverage and buying power with equipment manufacturers and can deliver a more cost-effective solution than an enterprise can achieve.
MSPs also offer a scalable infrastructure that can be expanded as the business grows into new regions or markets. It can mitigate significant capital investment costs, vital for a business looking to remain competitive in today’s ever-changing technological landscape. The ability to leverage the expertise of an MSP also allows enterprises to prioritize other areas of their business where they are needed most. For example, focusing resources on marketing efforts to drive revenue growth is critical to a company’s success.
Optimization
Data breaches and misuses have devastating consequences, including loss of revenue, decreased productivity, fines, and severe damage to an organization’s brand. Network and data security teams must be motivated to take the necessary steps to prevent them.
MSPs have the resources and technical expertise to provide enterprises with a comprehensive solution to networking problems like integration, troubleshooting, and tech support. Small and medium-sized businesses rely on MSPs because they allow existing IT staff to focus on more business-related tasks, which improves operational efficiency. Larger companies hire MSPs because they can help them deploy new technologies without burdening IT budgets and in-house capabilities.
MSPs have been offering managed services for decades. As technology evolves, MSPs continually optimize their services to serve customers better.
