A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that remotely manages a customer’s IT infrastructure, usually on the basis of a contract/subscription of varying duration. This model contrasts with ‘break/fix’, i.e. support that is provided ‘on call’, i.e. only in the event of faults or problems being reported, on the basis of a sliding scale of hours or by billing for the time spent on each occasion.
All the advantages of using a Managed Service Provider
The main feature and advantageof using a managed service provider is that several services (telephone and remote help desk, backup, security, monitoring, updates, etc.) are offered at a flat rate. In this way, the customer can know from the outset the budget to be allocated to the systems activity. In addition, working in outsourcing mode, an MSP, through constant monitoring and maintenance of the IT infrastructure in compliance with precise quality levels, minimises the downtime of the infrastructure itself; the client will thus have less unforeseen downtime, work better and make more profit. With this formula, the customer has the possibility to call his IT contact person whenever he wants without having to worry about increased costs. By dealing with the entire infrastructure, the MSP becomes the unique point of reference for all customer enquiries, saving the customer time and money (and stomach ache) in contacting various suppliers and experts to find out what the problem is.
A win-win solution for all
Managed services thus become a win-win solution: a costly commitment by the managed service provider itself to monitoring and maintenance will enable it to minimise the time it takes to resolve any issues.