Whitepaper / by GDR Group
A managed service provider (also known as an MSP) takes care of an organization’s IT functions — moving away from an in-house model.
In fact, a report by Market Research Future predicts the market for MSPs will reach $245 billion by the end of 2022. North America accounts for the biggest market share. The trend shows that more and more organizations are starting to shift towards an MSP model of IT support.
The truth is — even if you feel comfortable with your in-house IT solutions — there are many reasons to switch to an MSP today.
Here are 10 of the most compelling.
1. complex infrastructure setups
As business needs evolve, so does the infrastructure required to support any changes.
The problem is, many organizations fail to manage these changes effectively. This results in complex infrastructure setups — with multiple servers, storage, and interfaces.
This more complex the infrastructure, the more difficult it is to make changes. This results in a long time to market and slows business growth.
MSPs can help you simplify your infrastructure. This will make your business more agile and flexible when it comes to adapting to your evolving needs.
2. security
There’s no doubt about it — security is fast becoming the biggest concern for the modern business.
According to Juniper Research, cybercriminals will breach 146 billion records over the next 5 years.
With small businesses targeted regularly — and North America receiving 87% of the cost — nobody is safe.
MSPs can help you with this. Look for someone who can develop threat intelligence for your organization and put plans in place to mitigate the risks.
3. Comply with
Data protection is big business — and the laws are changing all the time. Last year, for example, the EU introduced the new GDPR initiative.
Many American businesses bypassed the changes — assuming it didn’t apply to them. However, if you conduct business with anyone in Europe, it does. But there’s no need to look across the pond for regulations to adhere to.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides California residents with similar privacy laws as GDPR, which must be strictly followed. They provide residents with the right to:
- Know what personal data is being collected about them.
- Know whether their personal data is sold or disclosed and to whom.
- Say no to the sale of personal data.
- Access their personal data.
- Request a business delete any personal information about a consumer collected from that consumer.
- Not be discriminated against for exercising their privacy rights.
Even local to California, MSPs keep ahead of legislation changes, helping you apply them to your business wherever relevant. Not only can this save you time when it comes to dissecting legal changes — but it can save you money too.
Fines for data security breaches are costly — and an easily avoidable expense when you have the right team behind you.
4. and improve cash flow
Working with an MSP is a sound investment for your business. Although it may involve some upfront costs, they can save you money in the long run.
They reduce your IT staffing costs as well as the associated training. And their ability to help you strategize and scope out the best solutions makes the savings stretch even further.
Not only that, but an MSP helps you transform your IT costs into one predictable monthly expense.
5. Migrate your business to
“90% of business owners are running, or have plans to run, VMs in the cloud”
Cloud migration is big news — but it isn’t without its own challenges. In fact, results from the same survey suggest 53% of those migrating to the cloud have yet to make cost savings and — perhaps more worryingly:
“55% do not have a plan to centralize the protection of their data across multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environments, resulting in data silos”
MSPs can help with your migration to the cloud. This change should only ever enhance your business. There are solutions out there for everyone — no matter the business size or budget.
The challenge is finding the right solution — and that’s where MSPs come in.
6. efficiency
How efficient are your IT solutions? Are you using your staff to the best of their abilities?
MSPs can help you increase efficiency across your IT function. They can take away tasks your staff isn’t trained to perform — freeing them up to work on areas more suited to their abilities.
This increases productivity and ensures tasks are performed according to the latest knowledge and insights from within the industry.
7. downtime
How much does downtime cost your business? Amazon famously lost up to $100 million in revenue when their website went down for an hour on Prime Day in 2018.
Downtime can be disastrous for any business — especially if you don’t have the resources Amazon has to cope with the downtime.
Working with an MSP can maximize uptime in your business — ensuring you never lose out due to technology blunders.
8. to IT problems
This is where MSPs really come into their own:
“The operative distinction that sets apart a managed service program is the proactive delivery of their service, as compared to reactive IT services, which have been around for decades.”
Is your business proactive when it comes to IT problems — or reactive? If you’re reactive, you’re not alone.
But this approach can be costly.
If you really want to minimize downtime in your business, you need a proactive approach to network monitoring. This is essential for the current times. As we rely on technology more than ever, there are more things that can go wrong. Identifying these threats proactively can keep disruption down — keeping you ahead of your competitors.
9. Train
As technology evolves, so does the need to train your staff — especially when you run your IT services in-house.
Working with a managed services provider reduces this burden.
One of the biggest areas organizations are failing in is security training. But data shows users pose the biggest security risk within a business.
Make regular security awareness training a priority in your business. This is key to any successful security policy — and research shows it’s one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of attacks on your business.
10. of industry trends
Finally, working with an MSP can help you stay ahead of industry trends.
When you depend on in-house staff, it’s easy for them to get lost in the day-to-day running of the business. But an MSP makes time to find out what’s new and — more importantly — which trends can benefit their clients.
For example, automation is one of the biggest trends today. This can help your business become more efficient — and increase accuracy. AI and machine learning mean technology is becoming smarter, and capable of performing complex tasks within your business.
An MSP can help you introduce new solutions — such as automation — increasing the efficiency and profitability of your business.
About
GDR Group is comprised of passionate professionals that know both IT and business. Through varied services like tech support, security solutions, backup & recovery, staffing and more, we help guide businesses through success. Call 844-GDR-GROUP or contact us directly to see how we can help you.
