Many businesses are now opting to outsource their IT support. This is a growing trend. It is becoming a popular choice for companies to outsource their IT support. They can have a variety of IT professionals at their disposal, as opposed to having to hire a small number of IT staff internally, which often comes at a higher cost.
It is not an easy decision to choose a Managed Services Provider (MSP), to manage your IT systems. You are responsible for your company's up-time. It is important to ensure you only work with reputable companies and get the best IT Support.
Different MSPs offer different services for their clients. Some MSPs offer block hours, which allow you to pre-purchase certain hours and then have the work deducted from your block. If you don't use your IT support very often, this can be a reasonable option. However, if you do, you should consider an MSP that offers an 'all you could eat' plan. These agreements are often called "Managed Service Agreements". Managed Service Agreements allow you unlimited support calls for an agreed monthly fee. This usually includes system maintenance and workstation monitoring. The cost of the managed service agreement is usually determined by how many people you have and the complexity of your IT systems. It makes budgeting easier as you don't have to pay a huge bill for support. When you call support, don't think about the bill. It should feel like an extension to your office that you can call whenever you need help with IT issues.
It doesn't always boil down to the bottom line when it comes to monthly bills. The best contract may not always be the cheapest. If you are looking to change your IT provider or to shift from internal IT to outsourcing IT, don’t look only at the monthly cost. This is where the old saying "you get what your pay for" comes into play. It is a good idea to compare what you will be paying for your IT bills and who you are going to get it from. Most IT service providers are certified in the software and hardware they support. Most, if not all, of their employees will have certifications from Cisco or Microsoft to demonstrate to clients that they are industry experts in the hardware and software they will be supporting. Your hardware and software You might reconsider accepting a lower rate for service from staff without these certifications.
Managed Service Providers may offer a variety of support packages to make your dollar go further. While you may be able to provide support for your staff every day, Project Management might also be included. If you need to implement a large project, such as an upgrade of all your systems due to aging, then you won't want to pay for a project manager.
This might be included in your monthly support fees if you are using the cloud for email (Office 365) Many Managed Service Providers are able to provide Office 365 licensing. If you're still in contract negotiations, you might be able to get the monthly fee per user added to your monthly IT budget. It would be logical to tie this in, assuming that your budget is based upon the number of users within your company. It might be cheaper to buy it all together, and you'll get support from the MSP. Microsoft releases updates monthly. This means you will need to update many servers and workstations. You might consider adding regular system maintenance to your monthly support fees. It's not worth paying additional for out-of-scope work by a Managed Services Provider.
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