What does a Managed Service Provider do?
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) offer IT infrastructure support to organizations that may not have the capacity or desire to run their own computer networks. MSPs offer their clients disaster recovery and business continuity tactics that might otherwise be out of reach.
According to Frost & Sullivan, 57% of businesses state that ensuring appropriate backup and recovery across the IT environment is a challenge. It takes time to do the initial planning, requires resources to collaborate across the organization, and requires a lot of research into IT solutions.
Outsourcing IT management to an MSP could be a solution to that challenge. 68% of businesses stated working with a MSP for cloud solutions and data backup improved business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities. That being said, only a small portion of the businesses rely on MSPs to support their IT infrastructure. 6% of businesses used an MSP in 2015. This grew to 13% of businesses by 2018.
Managed Service Providers: Cloud Computing Support
Most businesses are generating data across many data sources. From website backups to email systems to databases, there’s often too much data to transfer to a single tape backup on a regular basis. The effort of shifting tapes to new locations, mounting the data to new servers or mapping new data paths can take days or weeks. This downtime leaves businesses in a state of suspense when they really need to get back to business.
Businesses who don’t have the capacity or the time to build their IT infrastructure should consider working with an MSP. The burden of business continuity and disaster recovery may seem overwhelming. However, it’s far less daunting than the prospect of losing access to corporate data in the case of disaster.
A qualified MSP can ensure that data is backed up adequately to ensure a business can return to normal operations in the case of disaster. An MSP offering cloud-based DRaaS can ensure that data is available in multiple locations in the cloud, and can take total responsibility for backup and recovery of data. Other benefits of working with an MSP include:
- Flexible service parameters based on business outcomes like performance or uptime
- Customized recommendations for additional IT infrastructure and IT updates
- SLAs for app performance, infrastructure availability and data security
- Professionally managed data migration from a current environment to the cloud
- Use of automated migration tools
- Access to easy-to-use management and reporting tools
MSP Case Example: BridgeTech Systems
BridgeTech Systems, an Ottawa-based MSP, has been providing the corporate and government sectors with IT infrastructure services for over 20 years. BridgeTech cemented its lead in the IT market by anticipating customer needs and responding to the growing demand for cloud services.
BridgeTech focuses on providing clients with peace of mind. By focusing on answering client questions about their infrastructure, this MSP ensures each client understand the steps taken to ensure their data is never at risk of loss. Clients also save thousands of dollars in hardware purchases by offsetting IT management to BridgeTech. By shifting large capital expenses from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud, businesses incur monthly recurring operational expenditures that don’t compromise their business operations – but ensure data security.
BridgeTech offers a full range of cloud services that answer client needs for critical data support at a cost-effective price. The cloud solutions are designed and packaged to meet client demand and future data growth. Clients can focus on the success and growth of their business, without worrying about their IT infrastructure security.
Computer Networking in the Cloud
Managed Service Providers offset the significant burden imposed by growing data demands in modern business. With a proven experience in disaster recovery and business continuity planning, MSPs offer a depth of knowledge on IT infrastructure planning and maintenance that can unburden any business. Leaving those business to focus on their operations.
Are you looking for support in migrating to the cloud? Get in touch! We can help find a local MSP that will support your IT infrastructure needs.