What Kind of Managed Service Provider Do You Need?

The term “managed service provider” is no longer just a catchphrase—it’s representative of a rapidly growing market sector that’s helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) realize better service, protect sensitive data, improve flexibility and scalability, and achieve higher levels of revenue.

In fact, this market has grown from a mere $24 billion in 2009 to $193 billion at the end of 2019—with predictions of an increase to over $320 billion in the next five years.

Primarily, businesses are using a managed service provider (MSP) to increase cybersecurity and harness the considerable power of cloud technology. But we’ve also seen increases in the use of managed services for other areas of business, such as:

• Process optimization through software-as-a-service
• Internet of Things and bring-your-own-device optimizations
• Managed marketing

Regardless of service type, there are increases in managed service utilization across all industries and sectors as managed services continue to assist businesses in reaching higher levels of profitability.

Top 5 Reasons to Use a Managed Service Provider

Profitability is not the only aim of managed services. There are a great many reasons to use a managed service provider to help your organization increase its competitive edge and safeguard crucial data.

Among the most prominent are the following five:

• The high initial cost of infrastructure plus the ongoing costs of keeping up to date with technology
• A trend toward increasingly specialized technologies that require on-staff IT teams for each specific function
• The increasing cost of hiring IT specialists as demand for their skill set grows
• A growing talent gap combined with fiscal pressure that makes hiring entire IT team infeasible
• An IT team that’s so distracted by constant maintenance that they can’t focus on business objectives

A competent managed service provider can not only solve each of these pain points but assist your organization in meeting and exceeding your business goals through increased efficiency, flexibility, and protection.

Not All SMBs Need the Same Managed Service Program

There is no one-size-fits-all managed services program that’s right for all businesses. Each organization will have specific needs and goals that can be realized through varying levels of service.

For example, smaller businesses may begin with a simple leased solution or choose a straightforward package to replace their current break/fix model.

Either way, managed services can assist SMBs in managing downtime and optimizing infrastructure while taking the pressure off in-house IT staff.

Larger or more complex entities, on the other hand, might opt for advanced services that monitor and identify potential issues before they become full scale problems.

At this level of service, robust reporting helps keep systems fine-tuned for optimal benefits.

And, depending on complexity and nature of their business, other companies may opt for customized solutions that offer in-depth consultancy and lifecycle management.

With all of these choices, understanding how much—or little—managed services help your organization needs is crucial to making the right decision about managed services.

How Can I Discover What Managed Service Solution Is Right for My Business?

With myriad options available, it can be difficult to know exactly what elements of a managed service program will best serve your organization.

That’s why it’s important to ask a managed service provider for an assessment that will pinpoint your company’s weak points and provide a specific set of managed service recommendations that will help strengthen them.

Importantly, many managed service providers offer scalable contracts that make it easy for you to add or subtract services as your company grows and changes.

Make sure your provider has the capability to scale up and down quickly in order to suit your ambitions as they change over time.

Our Custom Approach to Managed Services

At Impact, we provide bespoke managed services solutions to companies who want to gain a competitive edge in their industries.

As such, our services begin with you at the forefront. We’ll get a firm grasp of your organization’s existing infrastructure, strategies, and goals and conduct a thorough audit of systems, technologies, and finances.

We’ll even provide a competitive analysis of market trends to help you zero in on what’s critical to your success.

Then, we’ll provide customized solutions and technology across a variety of scenarios, including:

• Managed IT, cloud, and cybersecurity services
• Managed print
• Managed process optimization
• Managed marketing services

Depending on your goals, our solutions can assist you in automating processes; improving customer experience; streamlining your paper-based processes and devices; securing your network; and capturing, extracting, and analyzing data.

And, all of our solutions are backed by our premier advisory and support services that we’ll use to continually refine and adjust our programs to meet your needs—and position your organization for success.

Takeaways

• The market for managed services has grown from $24 billion in 2009 to $193 billion at the end of 2019—with predictions of an increase to over $320 billion in the next five years.
• Companies are using managed services in the areas of cybersecurity, cloud technology, process optimization, print optimization, and managed marketing.
• Using a managed service provider can help your organization increase its competitive edge, safeguard crucial data, drive profitability, and provide optimal scalability and flexibility.
• To determine which managed service program will best serve your organization, ask a managed service provider for an assessment and ensure that the provider you choose offers scalable options.
• At Impact, we provide bespoke managed services solutions to companies who are ready to gain a competitive edge in their industries, with solutions that target automating processes; improving customer experience; streamlining paper-based processes and devices; securing your network; and capturing, extracting, and analyzing data.

Impact is one of the leading independent managed service providers in the country. We’ve been in the business of helping SMBs realize their goals for 20 years, and we will continue to do so for many years.

The wealth of expertise we have at Impact is one of the many reasons our thought-leadership blog is recognized as one of the Top 25 Digital Transformation blogs by Feedspot.

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