This can include end-user systems, disaster recovery, backup, managed security, virtualisation, email as well as the provision of an IT helpdesk. The infrastructure is managed on a proactive basis and typically under a subscription model.
There are a number of benefits to outsourcing your IT requirements including access to trained, experienced staff, just one vendor to manage, peace of mind as well as easy reporting and the ever-important business continuity.
If you are a small or medium sized financial services company: You may have few (or no) in-house IT people. You might find that as your IT requirements grow in complexity and become more critical to your business, it is challenging and expensive to resource. A Managed Services Provider removes the need for you to employ a full IT team. So how do you decide if the time is right for you to bring in an MSP?
- Following a security breach such as ransomware, you need help recovering from it as you weren’t as prepared as you thought you were.
- Your business is growing, entering new markets, acquiring or merging with other companies. A Managed Services Provider can help consolidate your infrastructure and ensure business continuity across all new divisions.
- Your IT team has to manage a number of different hardware and software suppliers. This takes time. Employing a Managed Services Provider provides the IT team with just the one number to call. Your MSP takes care of the rest.
- Changing regulations or compliance requirements such as GDPR. An MSP will be fully up to date on what needs to be done – and the experience you don’t have, as they’ve done it before.
- If your business is developing new lean or self-service business models, you may wish to consider a Managed Services Provider. This is a good time to evaluate all aspects of your IT infrastructure in order to implement time saving measures and efficiencies.
- Is your company planning to upgrade your IT infrastructure? If so, then now is a good time to look at appointing a Managed Services Provider. An MSP will advise on the ideal infrastructure and manage the new platform, so that you don’t have to skill up.
Finally, a Managed Services Provider proactively manages your IT. Problems are resolved before you are even aware they may exist. Full visibility to what’s happening in your IT infrastructure is available via a portal.
By John Casey of Trilogy Technologies.
