The benefits of utilizing a managed service provider (MSP) to manage your IT infrastructure can be substantial. But that’s only half the story – your IT department still needs to devote time and resources to monitoring and maintaining the business-critical applications that run on this infrastructure.
Combining the management of your IT system and the enterprise software that runs on it with a single managed service provider can make your entire IT strategy more effective and efficient, reducing downtime while saving time and money.
In this blog, we look at why a multi-faceted MSP who can support both your applications and infrastructure can be so valuable.
What does a traditional MSP do?
Typically, MSPs do not monitor and service enterprise business applications, they just handle the network infrastructure the apps run on.
However, that’s similar to a railroad making sure the tracks are clear and the switches work while ignoring the passenger and freight trains that run on them. Mission-critical enterprise applications – like the IT infrastructure they run on – also require monitoring, tuning, and issue resolution.
What is a multifaceted MSP?
An MSP that supports both the hardware and software platforms is called a “multi-faceted MSP.”
What additional workflows can a multifaceted MSP support?
In addition to the infrastructure-only tasks a traditional MSP would manage, a multi-faceted MSP performs a broader range of tasks that can include:
- Performing triage over the entire hardware and software ecosystem to diagnose and fix problems when they occur.
- Managing application message queues to quickly identify and resolve issues.
- Managing network and application security.
- Monitoring enterprise apps and supporting installs, updates, and patches (PTFs).
- Coordinating new operating system release upgrades with application version upgrades.
- Working directly with software vendors to report issues, achieve resolutions and proactively plan for future upgrades.
What are the benefits of working with a multifaceted MSP?
Working with a multi-faceted MSP that manages your entire IT environment – hardware and software – offers a number of benefits:
- Frees up in-house IT employees to focus on more lucrative and/or vital IT activities while extending and augmenting their capabilities with as-needed external resources
- Helps you better manage overhead expenses by utilizing outsourced, highly-skilled platform specialists
- Reduce application issue resolution and downtime by employing outsourced, highly-skilled business application specialists
- Provides “one throat to choke, one back to pat” responsibility and accountability for your entire IT ecosystem, eliminating multiple, hardware vs. software vendor finger-pointing
Why can a multifaceted MSP function as a true strategic partner?
Perhaps the most important role a multi-faceted MSP can play is as a strategic IT partner for your organization. The right MSP can offer comprehensive industry insight, experience, and expertise to assist with setting and achieving both short-and long-term IT goals and initiatives.
Want to learn more about the benefits of working with a multi-faceted MSP? Download our white paper, How Managed Service Providers Can Help Your Business Be More Successful.
PSGi takes pride in supporting our clients with not only technical expertise but a ground-level understanding of the daily business problems they are trying to solve. We provide managed services solutions that are tailored to unique requirements, aligned with long-term strategic planning, and which ultimately allow our clients to get out of the technology management business. You can learn more about this approach to managed services on our MSP service page, here.
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