What are Managed IT Services and Why are They Important?

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Managing an evolving infrastructure, technology needs, and day-to-day IT issues is a challenge. As companies expand, they often have little time to focus on managing their technology. In addition, their internal IT staff is focused on resolving business-critical issues, and cannot always handle the other aspects of IT management.

That’s why most organizations that are considering improvements to the remote monitoring and management of their information technologies often research what managed services are and why they’re important before deciding whether or not they’d be a good fit for their business.

To help provide clarity on this matter, this article covers:

  • What Managed Services Are, How They Work, and Their Benefits
  • What is an IT Managed Service Provider and What Do They Offer Businesses?
  • How to Ensure Ongoing Technology Alignment With Managed IT Services

What are Managed IT Services?

Managed IT services are IT-related tasks that are managed and delivered by a third party.

Typically bound by service level agreements, managed IT services can vary depending on the types of services and the managed service offering of an IT service provider.

The majority of managed services providers offer a wide range of services that include, but are not limited to:

  • Cloud services
  • Technical support
  • Managed security
  • Mobile device protection
  • Infrastructure management
  • Data backup and disaster recovery

DID YOU KNOW?

More businesses continue to turn to a managed service provider to fulfill their evolving IT needs. In fact, it’s projected that the managed service market will nearly double from $161.37 billion in 2021 to $311.32 billion in 2027.

How Managed Services Work and Their Benefits

Companies work with managed service providers when it’s more advantageous or more convenient to cover their organization’s IT needs.

In the case of small businesses, this often includes finding an MSP with scalable managed services and a pricing model that suits their budget, needs, and goals. In most instances, MSPs allow companies to bundle their support services into service packages for a fixed monthly fee.

Managed IT Services Definition: Information technology services that are provided, managed and delivered to a customer by a third party managed service provider.

For medium to large organizations, managed services provide a variety of services, such as cloud computing support, IT procurement, hardware and software management, helpdesk services, the ability to automate repetitive IT tasks, and more.

If your infrastructure has specific needs, it’s very likely that a managed services provider can cover them. According to Statista, these are the most common services offered by managed services providers:

  • Email security
  • Complete endpoint protection
  • Office 365 or G Suite solutions
  • Antimalware, virus, and spam solutions
  • Rapid server restorations and data backups
  • Operating system (OS) patching and updates
  • 24/7 network monitoring, maintenance, and management
  • And more

Additionally, unlike break-fix services, the proactive support provided by MSPs not only helps prepare organizations for worst-case scenarios, but eliminates many of the risks that are found when organizations allow their IT issues to go unchecked and unresolved.

If left unfulfilled, these IT issues can cause slowdowns, downtime, and interruptions that are as costly as they are impactful on your productivity and service delivManaged IT Services Benefits

Considerations for Managed Services Providers (MSPs)

Now that you understand the managed IT definition and how managed services can protect your uptime, data, employees, and infrastructure, let’s explore three major factors to consider when looking for an MSP that’s suitable for your needs.

  • High Average CSAT Ratings: Your MSP should have a verifiable track record of success along with a high customer satisfaction score (CSAT) that’s acceptable to your leadership. Additionally, your MSP should be transparent regarding the services they offer, the costs involved with them, what you can expect, and why they are your best choice.
  • Personalized IT Strategy Planning: From managing your infrastructure, streamlining technology procurement and deployments, to strengthening your data security, your managed service provider should be able to provide customized IT strategy consulting that allows you to make necessary changes and upgrades today for a better tomorrow.
  • SLA or SLO-Powered Service Guarantees: Maintaining accountability and avoiding vendor lock-ins is an increased concern to owners of fast-growing businesses. As an organization continues to grow and evolve, so also does its technology needs. One way MSPs get ahead of this is by encompassing the scope of their service in their Service Level Agreement or Objective.

Interested in learning more about managed IT services? Check out these pages:

Ensure Complete Tech Alignment With Our Managed IT Services

Understanding how managed services work and the benefits they offer ensures your organization gets aligned with an MSP who can fulfill and exceed your evolving IT needs.

Working with a managed service provider can help you fulfill your IT management needs while allowing your internal IT staff to focus on mission-critical items that drive success for your business.

By partnering with a leading MSP like KDIT, your company gets access to:

  • More than seven years of IT industry experience
  • A trusted provider that manages over 3,500 endpoints
  • IT issue response and resolution times of less than one hour

As your trusted technology partner, data protection, technical support, and delivering expert insight are among our top priorities. For more information on how we can address your IT management needs, contact us today