Improving operations, reducing costs, and staying ahead of the competition remain top priorities for businesses today. At the same time, a company’s IT strategy and capabilities are increasingly critical to its overall success. Given this confluence, it’s no surprise that businesses are increasingly turning to IT managed services for support. By partnering with the right third-party provider to handle various IT functions, organizations can achieve a wide range of benefits that unlock the path to business growth.
Managing Business-Critical IT Functions
One of the top advantages of managed services is that it allows companies to focus on core operations. Rather than spending time and resources managing business-critical IT functions, such as network monitoring and maintenance, businesses can concentrate on their primary goals, such as generating revenue and improving service delivery. In-house IT teams become more strategic as they are freed up to accomplish higher level tasks.
Improving Operational Efficiency
Managed services can also be extremely valuable in improving operational efficiency. Managed IT solutions and services teams conduct proactive monitoring and maintenance techniques to ensure that customers’ IT systems are running smoothly. This helps to prevent issues before they occur, reducing downtime, and improving productivity. And if a problem does arise, the team is ready to swiftly resolve it, minimizing any disruption to business operations. And to make sure that customers are consistently following industry best practices and taking advantage of every aspect of their environment, most companies offer more sophisticated levels of management and support, beyond basic monitoring.
Enhancing Security and Compliance
Managed services also play an important role for businesses that need to enhance their security and compliance posture. The growing number of regulations and standards to comply with, such as HIPAA and PCI DSS, can be difficult and time consuming for an already stretched thin IT department. A provider with the right compliance and security experience can help ensure that regulations are met, and that IT systems are secure and resilient. To help organizations mitigate risk and avert compliance violations, providers take a proactive approach to cybersecurity and compliance, so that business continuity is maintained.
Providing Access to Expertise
Last, but not least, it’s important to recognize that working with managed services providers gives businesses access to a wealth of needed expertise and resources. Teams of highly skilled and experienced engineers are on hand to help customers implement and manage today’s advanced technologies, such as cloud computing, virtualization, and artificial intelligence.
Selecting & Implementing a Managed Services Partner
It is important to select the right managed services provider for your business, as doing so can be the difference between creating a strong, lasting, and fruitful partnership, and merely getting by. When seeking a partner, consider factors such as the firm’s experience and expertise, range of services, and scalability of solutions. Also, review service-level agreements (SLAs) and response times, to ensure that they meet the company’s needs..
Once the partner is selected, a managed services agreement will be established. This contract should clearly define the scope of services, response times, and other key terms, including the SLA, service fees and costs, and how the provider will communicate with the business. It’s also a good idea to include a clause for the data privacy and security to ensure that sensitive business data is protected and handled in a secure manner.
With the agreement in place, managed services partners like Red8 will begin by working with the customer to assess the current IT infrastructure and identify the challenges, needs, and goals. The initial analysis may include several areas such as network monitoring and maintenance, help desk support, and security and compliance, and more. Taking the time to understand all the nuances upfront is important for creating success in the long run.
Finally, it’s essential to monitor and report on the effectiveness of managed services. Providers should deliver reporting and analytics tools that can help businesses evaluate the performance of their IT systems and measure the value of the services.
The importance of selecting the right managed services provider and crafting an effective managed services agreement can not be overstated. Take the time to find the right provider, because done right, the benefits of implementing managed services can be incredibly valuable.
With Red8, organizations can expect a smooth and swift path to improved operational efficiency, enhanced security, and access to expertise that can instantly elevate results. Red8’s solutions, backed by vendor relationships and expertise, are not only the most current, but seamless, efficient, and productive. With Red8’s managed solutions and services, customers achieve the best of both worlds, the benefits of the latest technology and a partner that knows your specific environment and how to best leverage those solutions.
To learn more about how Red8’s managed solutions and services can unlock growth for your business contact us today.