While providers underline very real threats to cybersecurity and the looming specter of obsolescence, it can be difficult to sort the valuable partners from the fast talkers.
At Logically, we believe that, as specialists, we have the power to put our money where our mouth is. We provide tailored solutions to your IT needs to keep the lights on and business running smoothly — especially for vital services provided by health care organizations and financiers.
What Are MSPs?
IT consultants often go by the term “MSP,” which is an anagram for “managed service provider.” These third parties supplement, replace, or take on the role of an in-house IT team with a wide variety of remote services.
Modern technology, especially in the era of work-from-home and hybrid positions, allows providers to take advantage of remote monitoring. If your office or intranet has an online connection, an MSP can track potential problems and fix them fast.
Most great monitoring services operate 24/7/365 and combine computers’ speed and power with human ingenuity.
But MSP services are about more than just monitoring. They involve applied expertise from a third party with specialized experience. MSPs bring knowledge from a variety of industries and applications.
Why Should I Use IT Consulting Services?
Every IT crisis might be new to your team, while a solid MSP has seen that same problem many times before. More importantly, its experts know just how to fix the issue and do so quickly.
An MSP also addresses the basic busywork that’s beneath your IT team — the menial day-to-day of software cycle management and user tickets. Freed from the basics, your internal team is empowered to focus on higher-level R&D better suited to its member’s talents.
Augmentation or Complete Outsourcing
Picture a small healthcare practice. While it’s expanding, it lacks the funding and internal infrastructure necessary to handle the security needs of its growing supply of protected health information (PHI).
This weakness makes it vulnerable to cyberattacks. An MSP can take on the role of an internal IT team for a fraction of the cost. By freeing time and space that would otherwise be spent on IT hardening, the practice can shift back to its most important focus: its patients.
What Can an MSP Do?
An MSP can take on every service an IT team provides.
Proactive and Prepared
Active monitoring at all times detects problems as they happen — and before they impact business users.
Expert monitoring software scans with constant vigilance to keep systems running smoothly and safely. Finding problems in everything from firewalls to workstations and addressing them before they cause downtime is key. Monitoring uses a proactive approach, rather than a proactive one.
With all of the extra duties assigned to in-office IT staff, constant monitoring is difficult, if not impossible. MSP providers bring proprietary software to the table that lets them scan holistically for problems.
Beat Down the Basics
Your in-house IT staff has better things to do than basic maintenance. An MSP can lighten the load of tedious busywork.
Remote patch management helps you keep pace with the accelerating software release cycle. A small team doesn’t have the time to confirm successful patching for every application on every workstation with every release, but an MSP does. This approach fixes the problem before it ever interrupts a productive workday.
In the same vein, an MSP takes all of the busy work out of software and hardware lifecycle management. It takes time to navigate the complex world of providers and vendors. More time than most IT teams have to spare, so upgrades stall.
MSPs work with vendors far more often. They help you define the specifications that you need, then help handle every other part of the process, including:
- Vendor choices
- Purchases
- License management
- Renewals
- Warranties
- End of life management
Like patch management, any technology-reliant business needs this cycle to remain up-to-date and competitive, but as important as it is, this kind of negotiation and communication falls below the pay grade of regular IT.
Secure, Contain, and Protect
Data storage and security take priority, especially when handling private health or financial information. Cyberattacks are a constant and growing threat. An MSP helps establish and maintain cutting-edge protections that evolve with cyber threats, so you don’t have to. These protections include:
- Antivirus
- DNS filtering
- Threat scanning
By providing these services combined with assisted secure data backups to safely store all vital information, MSPs help prevent disasters and keep things moving when the worst does happen.
Let Us Handle It
Logically takes care of your IT so that you can take care of business. We work hard so that you can work better. Whether you are seeking to augment an existing IT team or outsource IT completely, Logically can help.
Contact us by calling 866-946-9638 to speak to an expert today.
