5 reasons why you need to partner with a managed service provider

They can also monitor your application and DB availability. Without MSPs, internal resources are often overburdened and cannot focus on more creative tasks. A good MSP will be aware of industry trends and can help you decide on the best software investment.

Why should I partner with an MSP?

Businesses can rely on MSPs for various reasons:

1. Managed services deliver a great value

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need access to the latest technology, but they lack the budget to do so. Managed services help them play the same game as larger organizations while reducing IT costs. SMBs will be able to focus on the core business of their company, rather than worrying about their technology. The value of managed services can be seen in many ways.

They free employees to focus on their jobs and fill in the gaps so they can concentrate on the job at hand. Managed services from qualified partners offer a variety of service models, allowing the company to determine the exact level of service it needs.

2. Delivery consistency through experience-level agreements

Service-level agreements (SLAs) are the backbone of managed services. They set clear guidelines and ensure consistency across all services. Without one, service levels are likely to deteriorate and lead to increased expenses. At times, service-level agreements can lead to SLA dashboards looking like a watermelon: green on the outside but red on the inside.

For your company’s future success, experience-level agreements (XLAs) are the key that can help you experience a kiwi-like dashboard that is both green on the outside and inside. XLAs should go beyond the technical aspect to measure end-user satisfaction and identify problem areas. Experience management is a vital component of successful XLA implementation. Using an experience-level agreement that tracks and measures experience as a foundational component of the managed service offering will ensure that the end-user experience remains top-notch.

3. Lower your costs

MSPs charge a small fee to monitor the systems. When there is an issue to be corrected, there is an additional cost to get that rectified. However, this is much lower than the cost of hiring and paying salaries to in-house staff. MSPs are not resource centric, and there is no impact when a support resource goes on leave. Neither is there any fallout from attrition or experience issues that are internally self-managed by the MSP itself. 

There is also a cost advantage, as the MSP offers a fixed cost for a longer term when there are no changes to the agreed scope. MSPs can also scale up or down based on demand.

IT outages can be a disaster, affecting revenue and productivity. Employees are left scrambling to fix major issues, and business procedures are disrupted. By enlisting the help of a professional, you can reduce your costs and focus on other aspects of your business. In addition, managed service providers offer flexible billing models, which provide additional revenue opportunities.

While managed IT services can lower your costs, they also provide a high level of service. The managed service provider will work to give you more value for your money. They are much easier to implement, leaving you free to focus on other aspects of running your business.

4. Focus on strategic projects by freeing up IT staff

There are two kinds of projects: tactical and strategic. Tactical projects are mostly tactical in nature and often have only a tenuous link to a business’s strategy. They don’t need budget approval and are managed deep within the organization. For example, improving the capital equipment maintenance program can save time and money, but it would not be logically tied to a strategic plan. Strategic projects, on the other hand, require budget approval and are meant to have a higher impact.

5. Added value of partnering with an MSP

A managed service provider can help keep your business up to date with the latest technologies and applications while allowing you to focus on your core competencies. The benefits of working with an MSP extend beyond security. It can also help you manage complex problems, such as troubleshooting and support for upgrades, and ensure that your systems are running at peak performance.

When selecting an MSP partner, make sure to look for their expertise and reputation in the industry. MSPs often have formal partnerships with IT vendors, which allow them to lock in the lowest price across all vendors. These savings are passed on to their customers, who benefit from lower costs. Unlike large IT vendors, MSPs offer lower rates, which makes them an attractive option to consider for your company’s needs. You can learn about their capabilities by reviewing case studies and Net Promoter Scores.

A good MSP partner will provide a comprehensive roadmap for implementation. It should provide a measurable roadmap for the implementation phase of the project, so that you can determine whether your IT services are being implemented as expected.

Additionally, a good MSP partner will provide proactive monitoring, upgraded service release management, and reporting. The MSP partner should also provide ongoing support to ensure that your IT infrastructure meets business demands. It is imperative to ensure your IT department is capable of addressing the challenges your organization faces every day.

The value of partnering with an MSP is derived from how the MSP adds value to the customer’s business. This value is often subjective and multifaceted. To make it work, the MSP must approach every customer relationship as a partnership. To do this, it needs to be easy to communicate and attainable to the client. It also needs to include the right services, which are aimed at improving productivity.

What Relevantz Can Do for You

We help customers manage skill complexity, delivery risk, the regulatory landscape, cost efficiency, automation, and innovation through outsourcing maintenance of existing infrastructure, infra support, cloud, and agile managed services. We also support customers who need legacy application support and reduce the cost of modernization. Our fully managed service support model helps protect the domain knowledge of your existing workforce and helps to address the talent gap.

Success Story

Here is an example of how we managed services for a leading digital company.

Situation

The digital payment processing company was required to manage their proprietary application suite, which consisted of 20+ applications for 13 International clients.

Impact

It was difficult to manage, track, and monitor the application suite 24×7, as different experience and skill sets were required. The end customers were unhappy with the inconsistent service experience.

Resolution

Our Managed Services team provided them with end-to-end, 24×7 application support and 16×7 database & platform support.

• L1 troubleshooting based on SOP – First Call Resolution
• Application support comprising 160 story points per month along with bug fixes and minor enhancements 
• Managing security settings, SSL certificate renewals, Windows/DB hardening, and PCI compliance preparedness/maintenance
• Automation tools – Selenium, Azure VM, Windows Servers
• MTTA and MTTR were reduced to less than 15 minutes and 2 hours, respectively
• IT Support spending was reduced to $650K per year compared to $1.5M a year (~60% cost reduction with 24×7 coverage)