Managed Services vs. SaaS: Why You Don’t Need to Choose
Managed services vs. SaaS: It doesn’t have to be a choice. Managed services can make SaaS deployments more effective – and many complex services require additional support. If you’re thinking about deploying SaaS solutions, consider the benefits of working with a managed service provider. Here are some ways that MSPs and SaaS work together.
SaaS Requires Expertise
Both during deployment and maintenance, MSPs are able to provide the expertise needed to get the most out of SaaS solutions. Consider a common, robust platform such as Salesforce. Not only may a company need to transition its existing data to Salesforce, but the company may also need support to use all the features within it. Without the right training and support, the company and its employees may not properly leverage the solution.
Some businesses may be inclined to have a SaaS expert inside their own company. But this can be prohibitively expensive; existing employees will need to be trained and re-trained, and support of the tool will rely solely upon them. This also becomes prohibitively more difficult as more solutions are introduced, and there may not be a way to have an expert in every essential solution.
MSPs Can Integrate SaaS Solutions
An organization may have any number of SaaS solutions. Those solutions have to be integrated and supported.
An MSP will be able to integrate these SaaS products together, ensuring that they work well together, in a way that SaaS providers may not be able to help with. The more efficiently these systems work together, the better they will serve the company and its productivity.
SaaS Has Variable Costs
SaaS solutions often have tiered costs which adapt to the organization’s use. Licensing can be complex, and an MSP can help an organization choose the licensing paths correct for them, thereby reducing their overall expenditures. Furthermore, SaaS solutions each have their own technical support. But rather than paying for technical support under every SaaS solution, a company will instead be able to pay a single MSP.
MSPs Can Provide Guidance
Not sure which SaaS solutions to purchase? Often, companies may need to investigate multiple SaaS solutions. Do you want to deploy Slack or MS Teams? Which would be best for your business? The best way to find out is to engage with an MSP. An MSP will explore your organization’s needs to determine which SaaS solutions are best suited for you.
While SaaS companies may be able to provide information and support about their products, they aren’t going to be able to find the products that are best for your business; they can only recommend their own solutions.
SaaS Solutions Need to be Monitored and Secured
When SaaS solutions falter, they can expose the company to security risks. MSPs will monitor all solutions at once, and will alert you if there are issues with any of the products.
Third-party solutions are, by far, one of the most significant security issues for companies – aside from a company’s own employees. A third-party solution can compromise the entire company network, and when that happens, the company may be responsible for thousands upon thousands of dollars in damage.
MSPs Provide Additional Services
MSPs, of course, don’t just provide services for supporting SaaS products. MSPs also save companies money in numerous ways, by outsourcing routine tasks such as backups and security, and by ensuring that the company is running the best hardware and technology for it. MSPs are able to provide these additional services as well as supporting software-as-a-service, thereby providing even greater levels of value.
A software-as-a-service tech department may be able to support the SaaS solution itself, but they aren’t going to be able to support the company with other tech issues. An MSP will.
SaaS May Come and Go
SaaS products may change, and companies may find that they need to adopt new technologies. MSPs will provide continuity of service regardless of what solutions the company is using. Companies will have continuous care through their MSP even as they adopt new SaaS solutions and explore new potential products. This also gives companies increased agility, because they are able to try new solutions without feeling trapped with their old ones.
Everything is moving to the cloud. Cloud managed IT services are the best way to work with SaaS products. Rather than hiring a full-time Salesforce expert, or another SaaS solution, companies can instead engage with an MSP. An MSP won’t just help with individual SaaS solutions, but also provide other diverse cloud managed IT services. For more information about managed services and SaaS solutions, contact the experts at Red River.
