This growth is hardly surprising, given how managed service providers (MSPs) who deal with the complexities of advanced technology infrastructure, provide a welcome alternative for companies looking to outsource their IT operations. Frik van der Westhuizen, CEO of EQPlus explains
One of the most significant reasons why any organisation should consider working with a trusted and experienced MSP is that the business can focus more on meeting its core objectives. As the technology landscape increases in complexity, companies invariably spend more time managing their IT environment and less on identifying much-needed growth opportunities. Not only does an MSP take over the technology responsibilities, but it can also identify any gaps that currently exist within the organisational footprint.
Another challenge an MSP can address is the lack of internal skills. As businesses start using more sophisticated technologies, think machine learning, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence, employees might not have the knowledge or experience to effectively integrate these solutions. While reskilling and upskilling existing workers are good options, this training comes at an additional expense, while also taking time for people to gain confidence in these solutions. An MSP has the talent pool already in place to provide the necessary assistance.
Maintaining business continuity
Of course, an MSP is not just about helping manage new technology. It also provides much-needed assistance around all aspects of business continuity and disaster recovery. Being able to restore systems and data must be one of the priorities of any organisation regardless of size or industry sector.
A good MSP can create an efficient disaster recovery plan and deliver the solutions that empower the organisation to become fully redundant. Moreover, the MSP can deliver all the technologies required for the business to adopt a 3-2-1-1-0 approach. This sees at least three copies of data made, on two different media, with at least one copy stored at an offsite location. One copy is kept offline and air-gapped, and all back-ups are verified as containing zero errors. The MSP can also be in charge of continuous testing to maintain the integrity of the back-up data. In this way, a company can be up and running quickly in the event of a disaster.
Keeping costs low
There is also no getting around the cost savings to be gained when using an MSP. This translates not only into monetary savings but time and effort as well. All this enables the business to become more profitable while harnessing the potential of more innovative technologies.
Having a reliable MSP means the business does not have to hire new staff and can optimise its existing environment. From a skills perspective, talent is simply available on a scalable basis. The service level agreement can also be tailored to suit the specific business requirements without having any hidden costs, causing bill shock at the end of the month.
Ultimately, going the MSP route will enable a business to move from CAPEX to OPEX, while giving it the capacity to focus on strengthening its business model. Redundancy, scalability and adoption of more advanced technologies become the order of the day.
