Outsourcing IT is becoming a more popular option than ever to help businesses that need affordable and effective IT solutions. But many businesses find that their outsourced IT does not give them the results they want. This leaves them wondering why they are paying for IT services at all.
Too often businesses wait for their IT company to call them. This is because they think that’s how the relationship should work. The IT people see a problem, notify you of the issues, and then tell you that they will have it fixed.
This is a BAD IT RELATIONSHIP.
Your IT company is there to do more than just alert you to problems in your system. There are software programs that can do the same thing. An effective MSP offers more than just an occasional call, so here are 5 essential services you should be getting from your MSP.
1. Help save money!
The reason most small businesses work with MSPs for hire outsourced IT is because it’s the cheaper option. There is less overhead and you pay for services, not the person providing those services. However, what they are really there for is to help keep your system protected from harmful, and expensive, data breaches that can lead to data loss and costly downtime.
You hire your MSP to help find areas that may be costly later. Make sure you’re saving on the cost of the provider, but also making sure that the provider is securing places that could cost you later.
2. Keep my data secure!
The first thing any good outsourced IT should do is to thoroughly check your entire security system. This means going through to make sure that you are using the correct software, that everything is configured correctly, and that all of your systems are up-to-date. Making sure all of this is in line will help keep attackers at bay.
Good IT should also be backing up your data and making sure you are able to restore important files if you are attacked. Finally, they need to make sure that your clients information is treated with equal importance. A simple breach does not just affect you; it affects everyone who had data in your system.
3. Keep my system up to date!
Checking a networks security should be a common occurrence. Making sure that the software is correct once does not take into account the changing nature of technology. Demand that your MSP is keeping up with trends and making appropriate changes to your IT security network.
Attackers constantly change their tactics. Phishing attempts have advanced, malware is stronger than ever, and there is no end in sight to cyber crime. Attackers are always looking for weaknesses that they can exploit. This is why it’s so important to keep your system up to date. Staying current makes it that much harder to find a weakness in your system and keeps you safer.
4. Help me stay ahead of attacks
Having good IT is much more about being proactive than reactive. This is why waiting for a call to let you know that something bad has happened is a bad response. You don’t want to only be receiving calls when there is an attack actually happening.
The best outsourced IT should have systems in place to alert you to attacks before it’s too late. This means having barriers for password entry, 2FA logins, and alerts for suspicious activity. It’s a sports cliché but we have all heard the phrase “the best offense is a good defense,” and that’s very true with IT security. If you wait until there is an infection in your system to find a solution then you are already too late.
5. Communicate!
You need to have open lines of communication between your business and your outsourced IT. The phone needs to work both ways. The MSP must be contacting you to keep you updated on everything we mentioned above: helping you stay alert to changes, and keeping you safe beyond what you currently know about.
The alternative is that your business needs to be communicating with you IT team. Everyone needs to feel comfortable to call IT when they think there is a security breach or potential problem. You also need to make sure that you have an IT team that speaks in a way that everyone understands. Having a team of IT specialists that can’t communicate complicated information to non-IT people does you know good.
Having open, honest, and frequent conversations with your managed IT company is essential to keep everyone in the loop, and keep your business safe.
If you are not getting all this from your outsourced IT or MSP then you need to RECONSIDER your choices.
These are essential services that good MSPs should be delivering. If you are not getting the coverage that you need, then give us a CALL and learn how Synchronet can give you a better managed IT solution.
