MSPs have been gaining popularity in recent years because of the value they provide to organizations of all sizes. Learn more about remote IT management services and how to find the right solution for your business.
Keep Up With Your Evolving Business
Like every business in different industries, you rely on technology for operations efficiency, data management, and growth. This leaves you with the need to maintain IT services in various ways. Remote managed service providers (MSPs) can help with this daunting task.
Rapidly advancing technologies can also make maintaining a functioning, secure infrastructure cost-prohibitive. Outsourcing parts or your entire IT department lets your business remain agile and prepared to respond to changing markets.
Typically, you choose which services will most benefit your overall goals. MSPs provide IT services based on the agreement made with your business.
What Are Remote Managed IT Services?
Businesses may want to either fully or partially outsource various aspects of their IT support staff. Common services may cover:
- Monitoring
- Migration
- Implementation
- Maintenance
- Upgrades
- Integrations
Typically, a service provider operates remotely to render managed solutions that fit your business needs. Remote management covers apps, servers, desktops, and mobile devices connected to your network.
IT Management Services Areas
Having a reliable IT environment is crucial to competing in today’s business landscape. While you may already have an in-house IT team, remote support from managed IT services is a savvy way to stay competitive.
Here’s a list of some common types of management services. Consider the ways these services can help you with the day-to-day aspects of smoothly running a business.
Operating Systems and Data Security
Privacy risks and cybersecurity are understandably constant business concerns as you decide whether to outsource data security services. Managed IT professionals can help in protecting business-critical data and systems from misuse and unauthorized access.
Strategies should assist with automating and standardizing security practices within current policies and practices. A thorough assessment provides insight into optimizing your protection through:
- Password management
- Encryption methods
- Data authorization
- Training programs
- Automation
IT Infrastructure Monitoring
Remote monitoring of your IT infrastructure is a common service. Providers can offer real-time management and administration of your entire technology environment, including workstations, mobile devices, apps, databases, and servers.
The advantage of this type of service means a centralized management process for your IT environment. Doing so helps to ensure greater coordination of services, easier maintenance, and support as needed.
End-User Connectivity
Centralized monitoring also assists with managing end-user services that cover established processes and channels used by customers and employees. At the fundamental level, an MSP offers help desk services and solutions for resolving technical difficulties as quickly as possible.
The end-user experience is important to maintaining job satisfaction and productive work culture. Therefore, you want a team of skilled professionals who understand success means having secure and well-maintained devices. An uninterrupted workflow also gives you peace of mind.
Business Communications
Open communication takes on a new meaning when you include multimedia and telephone systems within the data communication network. You may decide to outsource business communication systems to the managed provider that you choose.
If so, this can help employees with accessing communications systems through a single network connection. This can eliminate the need for multiple login credentials for each communication channel.
Data Analytics
Like other decision-making areas, you need data metrics to assist with understanding how different managed services can benefit your business. Data analytics services gather, assess and offer solutions to protect sensitive data.
You need a managed service provider that transforms raw data into easy-to-understand information. Whether the analytics cover people, financial performance, markets, or all of the above, you can plan for current and future actions.
Data Backup
Having a backup and recovery process is an essential part of protecting your IT systems. The first step is to identify backup requirements before recommending how often and to what extent you may need data backup services.
Some providers offer bundled packages for cybersecurity, network, and cloud services. Others may provide a comprehensive solution tailored to your business needs.
For example, your business might rely heavily on the cloud and need regular backup. This really helps when they include a disaster recovery blueprint for data losses after a catastrophic weather event.
Benefits of Managed IT Services
Choosing not to handle all IT system processes in-house and instead outsource to a remote IT management services company comes with many benefits.
1. Access Industry Expertise without Expensive Recruitment Costs
Managed remote IT services can fill in the skills your current in-house IT department lacks. Managed services are a less expensive way to ensure specific business processes are handled properly. Your HR department is not tasked with recruiting and hiring the right IT support.
Instead, the provider brings in a team that already has the training, certifications, qualifications, and industry experience you need. Additionally, you have access to the latest technologies for fast and smooth implementation.
2. Keep Internal IT Productive with Other Initiatives
Another benefit to remotely managed IT solutions is improving the productivity of your internal team. With an outsourced managed services company, your in-house IT staff can focus on other revenue-generating initiatives.
3. Ensures Data Compliance
Since 2002, all publicly traded companies must follow SOX compliance for accurate financial data and reports. This means ensuring the correct data security controls are in place to protect against inaccurate reporting or data loss.
The right managed service provider delivers an efficient and transparent process to help you reduce the risk of non-compliance. This includes working closely with you to ensure cybersecurity protection from hackers.
Also, they can help ensure you are prepared if an audit occurs.
4. IT Infrastructure Remains Available 24/7
A managed IT service provider offers remote monitoring technologies to ensure your networks, services, and devices are available around the clock. You should expect to receive real-time notifications of issues that need resolving before they have a major impact.
In the absence of regular monitoring, a network problem after hours can disrupt business operations. If a system failure occurs and no one detects the issue until you open, business is delayed. Furthermore, severe damage may have already happened that extends downtime.
With remote 24/7 monitoring, the service provider can take immediate action after receiving the alert.
Cost Structure Consideration
The pricing structure for remote monitoring and other managed services is set in different ways. Typically based on your service level agreement, charges can be per-user, per-device, or all-inclusive pricing.
For instance, the provider might charge a flat fee for each device under a management service agreement for remote monitoring. Pricing can be adjusted to the per-user model if your employees access network services via desktops and multiple mobile devices.
Under an all-inclusive pricing agreement, you pay one flat fee that covers all IT management services that the provider delivers.
The frequency of billing happens on a regularly scheduled basis. A consistently scheduled bill offers predictable pricing and makes it easier to manage budget costs for your business’s IT needs.
What to Look for When Choosing the Right Solution for Your Business
The following factors are helpful guides in finding the best MSP you can trust with remote access to your IT systems:
• Industry-specific experience. Reputable managed service providers bring experience from working for other large and small businesses in your field. This type of MSP can manage programs and applications specific to your business.
• 24/7 reliable support. System breakdowns after hours or during the middle of a major presentation require an immediate response. Make sure the service provider you are considering is ready to assist you promptly with help desk support during these crucial moments.
• Adaptable and flexible services. With a constantly evolving business environment, your business must be prepared to act. Likewise, you need remote technology services that are equally adaptable to meet your business requirements.
• Valued partnership. You need confidence that the MSP you choose can assist with current and future needs. When your business is ready to scale up, you do not want to be behind on cybersecurity threats or technology trends. A long-term commitment strengthens your posture and ensures you have a provider that can support your growth.
• Proactive remote monitoring and support. Solving problems is an important aspect of competent remote access services. However, proactive maintenance and monitoring help to expose potential vulnerabilities. Your managed service provider should offer on-site and help desk solutions to prevent minor issues before major problems interrupt your productive workforce.
Get Assistance with Maintaining a Healthy IT Environment
Ultimately, the purpose of the right remote managed IT service provider is to assist your business with maintaining a functioning technology environment. Proactive monitoring services will recognize network or hardware issues. Meriplex takes necessary steps to address and resolve issues before they become larger problems.
Through your partnership with Meriplex, you get more than an addition to the IT department. Instead, you have a team of IT professionals with diverse skill sets, certifications, and knowledge of existing and emerging business technologies.
As a well-established remote managed IT services provider, we assist you in developing customized IT solutions. Our goal is to enhance the efficiency of how your IT infrastructure can contribute to your business’ success.
Our proactive support and services ensure downtime does not disrupt a productive work environment. Whether your business is small, medium, or large, Meriplex can deliver services that match your requirements.
Other services worth mentioning include our extensive cloud-based services, patch management, nextgen antivirus protection, troubleshooting, network security, remote desktop and technical support, endpoint detection and response, and more.
Contact us today to learn more about our remote IT management services.
