Ask the average small-business person what a managed services provider does, and you’re liable to elicit a shoulder shrug and the remark, “Uh, that would be someone who provides managed services, right?”
It wouldn’t be polite to delve further into that response by asking what the term managed services actually means, so you might respond thusly:
“Very good! You’re probably aware that according to Technopedia.com, a managed service provider ‘is a type of IT service company that provides server, network, and specialized applications to end users and organizations.’”
Then, since you were tactful, your conversation might continue along the lines where the small business owner might say, “Yeah, I knew that. Tell me more, please.”
Here’s the “more.” Managed service providers do great things on behalf of their clients:
- Supervise and protect the outsourced hardware and software services
- Maintain a sophisticated and specialized infrastructure
- Have the needed industry and human resources certifications
- Provide client system monitoring that is on the job 24/7
- Allow the needed scalability for the client to add or remove services that coincide with business cycles
Along with the above, the managed services provider acts as the client’s IT department. Taking advantage of the cloud — through a web browser accessible across multiple devices — the provider can be the source of network administration, business software architecture and integration and totally secure off-site data backup.
What managed services does best is simplifies the complex challenges of maintaining reliable and trouble-free IT support. That simplification is just what the small business owner needs to do in order to concentrate on being the dog who wags the tail, rather than being bitten by pesky fleas of IT problems.
OK, the foregoing canine metaphors are somewhat of a stretch, but they pretty much work here. In any case, if you’re experiencing the itch to grow and are looking to upgrade but simplify your IT support so you can concentrate on your core business, contact us. Our services and solutions are scalable, reliable and let you get back to the business of growth.