One Provider All Your IT Needs

When you have a managed IT service, you’ll be on the offense rather than on the defense. Your service provider will proactively update and patch your mission-critical IT systems on a regular basis. Keeping your systems up-to-date in this manner prevents many of the issues that lead to downtime and unexpected repairs. As opposed to those companies who only make money from your problems, the managed service provider stays in business by minimizing those issues and keeping your systems up and running properly.

A managed service provider like TPx is your ally in the fight against downtime. Because they’re proactively monitoring your systems and devices, they’ll immediately be alerted to any signs of trouble — in which case they’ll notify you and work to resolve the problem before it affects your business. When necessary, your managed service partner can escalate the issue to other vendors and track the process through to resolution. Running a business is stressful enough without having to worry about the health of your IT systems.

With managed IT services, one size does not fit all. It’s a fully scalable solution that bundles together all of the essential building blocks of IT system management the way you want them. You could outsource your entire IT function if you want; some companies use an MSP (managed service provider) as a “virtual CIO” that manages their entire technology platform. On the other end of the spectrum, you could choose to implement just one or two managed services to supplement your existing IT team’s capability. 

In short: with managed IT services, you never have to buy more than you really need or want.

Take the guesswork out of establishing your IT support budget. While some managed IT service providers offer their solutions as a subscription service, with one monthly charge covering a wide range of tasks, others offer their services with a “pay as you go” pricing model. Either way, there are no surprises that you have to work into your budget.

Many providers, like TPx, will start the project with an initial assessment to determine the general health and condition of your IT systems, including a detailed inventory of your existing hardware and software. This process may lead to initial recommendations for the MSP to take corrective action and get your systems up to par. These are all non-recurring expenses that you won’t have to worry about after your first month’s invoice. And of course, there are no surprises.

Many MSPs provide firewalls, unified threat management (UTM) and email security services to ensure that all paths into and out of your network are protected. As with other managed IT services, they’ll remotely monitor for threats and ensure that your configuration keeps up with known threats. If these services are hosted (in other words, not provided with on-site hardware), you’ll gain the added benefit of keeping that unwanted traffic as far away from your business as possible: any threats or attacks will be blocked before they ever reach your corporate network.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from working with an outsourced IT team. Small and mid-sized businesses with no in-house IT staff immediately gain a virtual IT team that’s ready to respond to any needs they may have. The business can also take advantage of economies of scale, gaining access to the same IT management tools and certified technicians that a larger organization would have.

Larger businesses will also benefit from managed IT services. Existing IT teams are often apprehensive about outsourced services, thinking that they’ll be putting their jobs at risk. However, managed IT services don’t have to replace IT teams — instead, they ease the pressure on these personnel by enabling them to outsource routine and/or time-consuming tasks such as patching and monitoring. Additionally, the MSP’s team of engineers will complement your IT team’s experience, particularly when it comes to emerging technologies (such as virtualization and cloud computing) that your in-house staff may not be as well-versed in.