What Can a Managed IT Service Provider Do for Your Small Business?
If you run a small business that is not highly tech-focused, it's often not practical to keep an in-house IT team. However, you do still need all the technical support and services required by any modern business with a network, computers, and other tech. In this situation, the most cost-efficient and beneficial choice is often to contract with an outsourced IT team instead. You could sign up for a simple break-fix service where technicians only get involved after something breaks. However, the superior service for a small business is to work with an MPS team instead.
MPS stands for Managed Service Provider, and the M in that acronym is very important. MSP services go above and beyond simply fixing your computers when they break. An MSP is a lot like having an in-house team who are personally invested not only in keeping your system running, but keeping it running well. An MSP team is dedicated to protecting your business tech from hackers, helping you stay up-to-date on upgrades that are good for business, and they are also available to provide solutions when employees run into technical problems.
Let's take a deeper look into the many things a managed IT service provider, or MSP, can do for your small business.
1) Optimize and Secure Your Business Software Stack
Your business software stack is the combination of local and cloud services you use to make your business run smoothly. From inventory management to your CRM, your software stack needs to be integrated for data sharing and optimized to provide your business with the best possible benefits from software use.
An MSP team can help you properly configure, optimize, and secure your business software so that it works smoothly together and keeps hackers locked on the outside of all your essential data.
2) Keep Your Business Network and WiFi Safe from Hackers
Speaking of hackers, by far the most common type of hacker attack is aimed at your business network, often through employee phishing or WiFi targeting. An MSP specializes in fighting this type of digital pest and can help you to close all the security holes in your business network and WiFi to keep them out. Even if your business network is modest and the WiFi is for convenience only, an MSP can help ensure that hackers cannot intrude on company data or on customers enjoying the WiFi.
3) Provide Technical Support for Company Software and Workstations
When your team experiences technical problems, that is when you need a responsive IT services team most of all. Whether the internet is cutting in and out, there are signs of malware, or old systems are finally giving up the ghost, MSP services can help. MSPs go beyond break-fix because they care about keeping your company software and hardware in good condition beyond the extent of a single technical support call. You can count on an MSP to provide timely repairs and give you solid advice on how to avoid these experienced technical problems in the future.
4) Manage Backup Recovery Plans, So You Never Lose Important Data
Backup recovery plans are something that few small businesses think to include in their myriad technical concerns. A backup-recovery is when there are detailed data backups of your work systems that can be used to fully restore a computer that has been wiped to factory settings. It also can save and restore specific essential files that the company can't afford to lose.
A backup recovery could be used to recover a computer from a malware wipe and reinstall. Backups can be used to preserve and restore your most important files in case they are lost or corrupted. And backup recovery can sometimes be used to completely recreate your business tech infrastructure if a disaster wipes out every computer you previously owned. And an MSP can handle this whole process for you without you having to worry about how to take backups or when to perform a recovery procedure.
5) Consult on Software and Hardware Upgrades, Then Help You Make the Upgrade
Finally, an MSP has your back when it comes to upgrades. If you're ready to use the latest versions of your business stack or upgrade to a better stack of software or hardware as your business grows, an MSP can provide the expert advice you need to make the right decision. Your MSP team will work with you to determine what you need most from your business technology. We will make recommendations on the best choices, and then help you smoothly manage the upgrade without interruption to your daily business flow.
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What can an MSP do for your small business? Let us help you find out. Contact us today to learn more about MSP services and how your business can benefit from outsourcing an expert IT team dedicated to your business's technical needs.