Nowadays the terms “managed IT services” and “outsourcing” are used interchangeably, which can be done, but is a mistake most of the time. Some believe that the first term is just a fancy way of saying the latter, but it’s nothing like that.
Both hiring a MSP and outsourcing has its time and its place and will greatly depend on your in-house resources and your own situation. In this article we want to focus on the vast difference between Managed IT and IT outsourcing so you have a better understanding o0f both concepts and can make a funded decision.
What is IT outsourcing?
It is the delegation of existing or planned business activities to a third party, commonly an IT outsourcing company. The delegated work can be done in-house but it’s taken outside to lower personnel, equipment and management costs to benefit your own organization.
It sounds nice on paper, but the critical point here is that you will normally outsource the IT activities that have a very narrow scope and can be done by someone who doesn’t really understand your organization. It can be web maintenance, it can be your tier-1 helpdesk, pick your poison.
You will hire an expert company to do a set of tasks that you don’t want to deal with and they will do them, simple as that. The problem comes when you want to improve your IT environment. Outsourcing companies will not create an IT strategy and won’t look for improving the processes you already have in place. Instead, they will just limit their work to what you hired them to do.
What are Managed IT services?
Managed IT services are a different way of externalizing your IT. A managed IT service provider will take a broader and more holistic approach to your organization with the aim of providing an excellent service and improving your business’ processes and strategies. It will offer an extensive and coherent range of services thanks to a wide range of certified professionals so an organization can delegate all of IT to the partener and focus on scaling their business.
The crucial difference here when compared to outsourcing is that an MSP will think about your goals and needs to offer you a tailored solution to fit your situation. Ideally it will allow you to grow your business without worrying about IT support, corporate cybersecurity, data recovery, cloud services or any other IT items.
What services does a Managed IT partner offer?
This will largely depend on your chosen partner and your own specific IT needs. You can delegate a specific task or you can just delegate all of your IT needs to your partner and allow them to manage your It infrastructure and processes to make it much better that what it actually is. Some of the common Managed IT services you will find are:
IT Support
Keeping an IT department to make sure all your networks and systems run smoothly can be costly, resource and time intensive. That’s where an MSP comes handy. Your IT partner will keep everything up and running for a fixed price and will take care of everything in the event of a disaster. Your IT partner’s experts, certified engineers, customer support and everyone involved will provide you with all the technical support you need in case of an emergency.
You can allow them to provide support in a specific area of your business or get an all-inclusive IT support package to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
Cybersecurity
Network security is trending when talking about information technology. With information accessible easily through the internet, having confidence in information security services is vital. Cybersecurity services provided by a managed It service provider ensure exactly that, your information being safe and sound across the online realm.
Risk Management
Managing online threats and risks on the daily is what any managed IT company does. Hackers and cyber attacks need only a small crack through your cybersecurity systems to go rogue in your organization. Plus, hackers and other threats are becoming more clever every day, increasing your risk of suffering from a cyber attack.
More and more often, companies are giving risk management responsibilities to employees whose core competencies lie elsewhere outside of IT, which represents a huge security breach. If you want to be protected, the best choice is to hire a good managed IT service provider to take care of your cybersecurity with the best tools in the industry and even better team of experts in the field.
On-Site Support
Not everything is done online and sometimes you will need some physical, on-site technical assistance. This might be one of the mission critical services that every IT partner out there should offer as at times it is vital for the company’s success.
With reliable, on-site tech support, your business can get the computer repair, software improvements, and in-person technical expertise that you need for a better peace of mind.
Disaster Recovery & Data Recovery
Perfect for those times when the damage has been already done. A good Managed IT partner will always have a disaster recovery strategy that will include the protection and recovery of all your data in case of someone doing what they were not supposed to, a natural disaster or a cyberattack on your system and networks.
IT Infrastructure
It is the very foundation of your organization’s operations and technical elements, including your networks, devices, and software. Having a solid IT infrastructure requires a heavy investment in planning and finding the best technical and support specialists in the field for your organization.
An MSP will already have these people on board, which will decrease your project’s costs and speed up the implementation time if you decide to go this way. They will care about implementing all you need in your business, be it a big data handling structure, just an internal system or whichever environment your company requires. Plus, they will do it following the best implementation and cybersecurity practices to make sure your information is always protected.
Business Continuity Planning
Prepare for the unexpected. The online world is growing at astonishing speeds and so are the risks associated with it. One core service an MSP can offer you is business continuity planning. Not data protection, not cloud computing, not disaster recovery, although all of those are also extremely important.
Business continuity will allow you to plan ahead and have a strategic approach towards your IT needs. It will increase your business resilience and offer you the peace of mind you need to focus on being profitable and growing on the daily.
What is best, outsourcing IT or a Managed IT Service Provider?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It will highly depend on your needs and on your future plans. If you need to externalize a few simple and low-risk tasks such as a helpdesk solution or just device repair, it might be best to look for an IT outsourcing company.
If you are looking for a partner who cares about your IT infrastructure, systems, cybersecurity and your overall IT strategy and growth, then you should go for a Managed IT service provider without thinking twice.
At Crimson IT we offer all of those services and much more. With a growing team of IT experts and specialists, plus several years of experience working with big corporations and small and medium businesses. Let us know about your technical needs and we are sure we will be able to offer you a tailored solution that is perfect for your organization and affordably-priced available in the Los Angeles Area.
We know what it’s like to run a business, so let us help you with our expert-level care, price sensitivity, and high-range services that meet your needs.