Technology problems happen. There are two approaches you can take to deal with them:

• bring someone in to fix problems as they happen
• bring someone in on an ongoing basis to provide support that reduces the odds of problems happening and provides a quick resolution when they inevitably do

Managed Services Are The Better Choice

Managed services offer the second approach, and they’re a better choice for several reasons.

1. Develop a real working relationship with the managed services provider.

Because the managed services provider supports your systems on a daily basis, they become experts in your systems. They see how you use your systems and understand what’s critical and where problems are developing. They’ll work with you to develop priorities and make sure all the important tasks are handled.

2. Keep technology costs under control.

Paying to solve problems in a crisis can be expensive. With managed services, you pay a set fee to receive comprehensive technology services from the managed services provider. Your costs are stable even when your support needs vary.

3. Reduce risks.

Working with a managed services provider reduces several kinds of risk. First, because you receive continuous support from a team of experts, the risk of outages due to system problems is reduced. The team’s broad exposure to industry and technology means the risk of data breaches and compliance issues is also reduced.

4. Bring new technology into your data center.

Your internal team has deep business knowledge, but they are unlikely to have as deep technical knowledge as a managed services provider. The managed services team works with a range of clients and vendors and sees how technology really works in practice. They’re able to use this knowledge to bring new technology into your data center more easily than you could on your own.

5. Focus on business, not technology.

By allowing the managed services provider to focus on your technology issues, your team is able to focus on business issues—where their insight and expertise add value.

Types of Managed Services

You can customize your agreement with the managed services provider so you receive the specific services that are most important to you or have been the most challenging for your own team to support. Typical services included in a managed services arrangement include:

• Network management and administration. Network design, management, security, monitoring, and support services ensure your network has the necessary bandwidth and connectivity for your business needs.
• Cloud services. The cloud is still unfamiliar to most in-house technology teams. Managed services providers with expertise in cloud ensure your cloud environment is sized and configured properly to provide capacity and security.
• Backup and recovery. Data backups and disaster recovery offer critical business protection but businesses often lack time to thoroughly design and test these procedures. Managed services providers can implement and monitor a robust backup process, as well as execute recovery procedures in case of an outage.

Prescient Solutions offers managed technology services in Chicago and Schaumburg. Download our Guide to Managed Services or contact us to learn more about how managed services can help you solve your information technology problems.