Yoga is a system of exercises designed to improve well-being through increased strength and flexibility. That is also a pretty good definition of what your managed services provider (MSP) ought to be doing for your business.
MSPs help keep your IT investments in good health so you can focus on your business. It’s an arrangement that has worked well for years, although flexibility hasn’t always been part of it.
Until recently, most organizations really only needed a fairly standardized menu of solutions. Small to midsized businesses (SMBs) in particular typically had a traditional IT infrastructure and mostly needed help monitoring and maintaining servers, desktops and network gear.
This is changing quickly. Companies of all sizes are embracing cloud services, mobile platforms, data analytics and more with an eye toward increasing competitiveness, efficiency and productivity. Increased complexity and shifting requirements mean that organizations of all sizes need support that can fluidly adjust to their business needs.
As always, uptime remains a central focus of any managed services engagement. Various studies have shown that downtime costs small businesses about $8,000 per hour. For midsize businesses, the costs range from $74,000 to more than $215,000 per hour.
However, it isn’t just about keeping the lights on. Beyond basic IT functions such as maintenance, updates and security patching, leading MSPs pay attention to management and strategic initiatives.
Flexibility has become a priority. Leadings MSPs are increasingly able to deliver a broad range of IT services that can be ramped up or scaled down as needed to meet changing business requirements. Often, service levels can be adjusted up and down to match the priority of distinct systems or applications.
Just as IT infrastructure and corporate networks have become more complex, the process of choosing the right MSP isn’t as simple as checking off a list of services and finding the lowest prices. It’s about forming a strategic partnership that can truly elevate the organization in the eyes of customers, employees and other key stakeholders.
A good MSP will start by asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of listening. Beyond technology, the MSP needs to understand how the organization operates and its short- and long-term goals. A good partner won’t just recommend equipment and services but will be able to describe what each component will allow the organization to accomplish, how it will be accomplished, how long it will take and how much it will cost.
Verteks has been recognized by CRN magazine for excellence in managed services. CRN named Verteks to its 2018 MSP 500 list in the Pioneer 250 category, comprising IT solution providers that specialize in managed services and focus primarily on the SMB market. Verteks provides a comprehensive suite of services that help SMBs throughout the state of Florida maximize the value of their technology investments and leverage the latest IT solutions to meet their business objectives.
Yoga classes typically feature an interplay of exercises designed to create both strength and flexibility. At Verteks, we’ve designed our managed services to deliver the same results for your business by helping to ensure the availability, efficiency and security of your IT environment.
