4 Reasons Why You Need an Managed Service Provider (MSP)
Should you Have an MSP or Hire In House?
Does this question sound familiar to you: “Should I employ an I.T. guy, or hire an I.T. company?”
If it does, you are probably weighing the pros and cons in terms of the cost of hiring in-house vs. getting an external MSP. Below are 4 reasons an MSP (or Managed Service Provider) is the better choice:
#1 Hiring In House is Expensive
A survey from Deloitte’s 2016-2017 Global CIO survey states that on average, businesses spend about 3.28% of their revenue per year on I.T. expenses with banks being the highest, at 7.16% and construction being the lowest, at 1.51% and 57% of high performing companies (companies that consistently outperformed the S&P) increased their I.T. budgets from 2016-2017.
For a small business, this amount may not be enough to hire a salaried, in-house I.T. professional. This tends to be one of the biggest driving factors for getting an MSP vs hiring an in-house I.T. manager. However, there are a few more reasons an MSP is so enticing:
#2) MSP’s Have More Real Life Exposure
MSP’s have a client base that runs into a variety of I.T. challenges. The techs supporting these clients will learn how to overcome them and how to prevent them in the future. Techs do not like fixing the same issue over and over again, so they will apply what they have learned to all of their clients.
An in-house I.T. professional doesn’t have the exposure the MSP has, so when they do run into an issue, the fix might take longer as they learn to work through the problem.
#3) MSP’s Try To Stay On Top Of Technology
The goal of an MSP is to provide a service that is hands-off for the client with minimal intervention from the techs – and newer, better systems make this happen. Because of their exposure to different environments and I.T. challenges, an MSP will try to stay ahead of the curve in terms of virus protection, backups & new technology to keep downtime at a minimum.
Although an in-house I.T. professional knows your system very well, they may not have the foresight to make upgrades to protect against new security vulnerabilities or know when the system needs to be replaced with newer technology to keep your data safe.
#4) A Team Approach
In I.T., the phrase “two heads are better than one” certainly applies. If your company runs into a complex I.T. issue, your MSP will likely have multiple techs on staff to bounce ideas off of each other to get the job done which results in a sound resolution and a quick turnaround.
With an in-house technician, they might not have someone to help them through complex issues, get stuck, and ultimately cause more downtime for your business. They might also call an I.T. company for consulting which can become costly.
In Summary:
- MSP’s are less expensive than an in-house I.T.
- If you run into an issue, it’s typically not the first time an MSP tech has seen this problem – they will be able to fix this quicker than an in-house I.T. professional can.
- Because of their exposure to a variety of environments, MSP’s know when to upgrade systems and are exposed to new technology to make systems run better – an in-house I.T. might not have that foresight due to their limited exposure.
- MSP’s have teams of techs that can help resolve an issue quickly – an in-house I.T. might not have the resources to do so which can result in more downtime for your business.
