The Complete Guide to Managed IT Solutions

Never before has it been so easy to optimize the IT portion of your business. This is the Information Age and there is a plethora of options available when it comes to outsourcing the management of this critical vertical.

A managed IT provider can help your business be more secure and efficient – but how do you find the best managed services provider (MSP) around? What do you need to know about finding great managed IT help, hiring and onboarding your new partner and working together to be as productive as possible?

We’ve put together a complete guide to managed IT solutions that will help you learn more about IT MSPs can help grow your business.

In this guide, we’re going to cover:

• What managed IT solutions are
• Why they are important for businesses
• Types of managed technology services
• How to find the best managed IT solutions provider
• What to expect during onboarding
• Why regular collaboration with your solutions provider is important

With so much to cover, we’re going to jump right in! Let’s first learn about what managed IT solutions are.

Defining Managed IT Solutions

What are managed IT solutions? To put it simply, managed IT solutions are IT tasks that are outsourced – at least in part – to an external IT solutions provider rather than being done solely by an in-house team.

A business can outsource a portion of its IT tasks and needs, or it can outsource all of it. These key IT tasks can include:

• Data backups
• Security
• Cloud services
• Help desk support
• Disaster recovery
• …and more

Let’s take data backups as an example. This task isn’t necessarily difficult; however, it can be tedious and take a significant amount of time. This is a type of task that must be done regularly. Therefore, this task is a great candidate for one type of managed IT services that can be outsourced.

Next, let’s examine why managed IT solutions are important for businesses.

The Importance of Managed IT Solutions

Earlier, we gave an example of how managed IT solutions can save time. Additionally, managed IT solutions can save money as well.

Instead of hiring in-house employees, it’s possible to outsource the same tasks for less total cost. When hiring employees, companies must pay a salary as well as benefits.

Over time, employees come and go, and they take their on-the-job knowledge with them. That means newly hired employees need to be trained to accomplish the tasks at the same level as the departing employee. With managed IT solutions, there’s no risk of an employee leaving, since this task is outsourced.

One major benefit of choosing a managed IT solutions provider like Red River is that managed providers are often available at all times of the day (and night). For example, the Red River help desk is available 24/7.

If your business experiences a type of IT issue after hours, round-the-clock managed IT providers will be able to assist. If you are leaving your IT to only in-house employees, they may only work during normal business hours. This further shows the benefits of hiring a managed IT solutions provider.

Let’s examine the types of managed IT solutions next.

Types of Managed IT Solutions

We touched on types of services earlier. Now, we’re going to explain each of them in more detail. Referring to the earlier list, we’ll combine data backups and security since they are often related. Then, we’ll move into cloud services before continuing on to the rest.

Managed IT Solutions: Data Backups and Security

According to Help Net Security, “Almost all IT and security leaders (96%) globally are concerned their organization will be unable to maintain business continuity following a cyberattack.” Are you part of this 96%?

Think about what would happen in the event of a cyberattack. This isn’t meant to scare anyone, per se. However, it’s meant as a wake-up call that everyone and every business should have a plan in place.

Some data is more important than other data. Think about financial records as well as information about customers and clients. There are malicious competitors out there who have stolen this type of information. We’re not saying you have those types of competitors, but in truth, you never know. That’s why it’s important to protect and back up your data.

A technology services company can both secure your data as well as back it up. Let’s say the culprit wasn’t a hacker, but instead, there was a critical server outage for some reason. Having your data backed up means you’ll be able to get it back up and running. Or, better said, the managed IT solutions company will be able to get it back up and running for you.

When it comes to cybersecurity, an expert managed cybersecurity provider can help with:

• Mobile security
• Dark web security
• Access policies
• Multi-factor authentication
• Single sign-on services
• …and more

Let’s examine cloud services next.

Managed IT Solutions: Cloud Services

What is the cloud? The cloud refers to the ability to deliver information located on a remote server via the Internet.

Put it this way, when you access a file that is saved on your computer, you are not using the cloud. On the other hand, if you are accessing this same file via Google Drive or Microsoft Azure, you are using the cloud.

When storing your files in the cloud, you don’t need to carry your laptop with you everywhere. This is especially true if you travel for business. That’s because you can access your files in the cloud. Or, even if you do bring your laptop, perhaps the number of files you need to access has a size limit that surpasses what your laptop can handle. In this event, pulling these files from the cloud will be beneficial for you instead.

IT solutions companies oftentimes offer cloud services. What does this mean? Cloud services can include:

• Maintenance
• Management
• Application development
• Migration
• …and more

Cloud service providers—as well as the managed providers that partner with them—have been experiencing significant growth. The cloud is becoming more popular as our world continues to connect via the Internet. According to ITWorld Canada, “95 per cent of MSPs in the survey clearly see a wide range of new opportunities in cloud-related services.” If 95% of IT providers are seeing this opportunity, are you seeing it as well?

Reputable managed cloud services providers work with key partners such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle.

Another great offering for top managed IT solutions providers is help desk support.

Managed IT Solutions: Help Desk Support

The help desk is an important part of any business. Case in point: When a user or employee has a company problem, someone from the help desk is the one who solves the problem.

The help desk will help a user with anything from password resets to technical issues.

Having 24/7 help desk support is important because you may experience an issue outside of normal business hours. When you have a technical problem, you’ll be able to get your problem fixed. This is true at 1 in the afternoon and it’s also true at 1 in the morning!

A help desk will put your mind at ease knowing someone is always available to help when you need it. That’s literally why it’s called a help desk.

Let’s next look at managed disaster recovery.

Managed IT Solutions: Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery, in the IT realm, refers to getting you back up and running after a “disaster” happens. Most of the time, that means something has been kicked offline or some important data has been lost. This could be for any number of reasons.

Data going missing is sometimes a result of a cyberattack. We covered cybersecurity above and how it’s important for any IT solutions provider to be well-versed in security services.

Disaster can also happen as a result of an actual natural disaster. How does this happen? Let’s say there’s a tornado that destroys computers or the servers where the information is located. Even worse, the tornado destroys part of the computer network as well. Disaster recovery means the same thing in this scenario. Namely, disaster recovery is the process by which the data and network access is recovered and restored.

Let’s take Microsoft Azure as an example. Like other major cloud providers, Microsoft Azure has disaster recovery capabilities available. It’s important that any managed IT solutions company you choose knows how to use this feature of Azure.

Whether you use Azure, Google Cloud, AWS or have your data on-prem, having a disaster recovery plan in place is a critical component of protecting your data, network and IT systems. The right managed IT solutions provider can help with this.

Let’s examine how to find the best managed IT solutions provider next.

How to Find the Best Managed IT Solutions Provider

There are many managed IT solutions providers out there. Many are average; some are worse. And some are great and can even be classified as the best. How can you tell which is which to know who to hire?

In this section, we’re going to give you the tools to be able to determine which technology providers are the best. That way, you’ll be able to make an informed decision as you decide who to partner with.

Finding the best IT solutions company is easy as long as you do your homework. Specifically, you’ll want to focus on:

• Reviews and referrals
• Years of experience
• Types of services
• Availability and customer service

Let’s examine reviews and referrals first.

Finding the Best Managed IT Solutions: Reviews and Referrals

Have you ever read what other people have to say about a business? Maybe you took a glance at an aggregate review score before choosing between two restaurants.

One restaurant has 300 reviews with an average score of 3.0. The other restaurant also has 300 reviews but has an average score of 4.5. You will probably choose the restaurant with a score of 4.5. The same way you vet which restaurant to eat at is similar to how you should vet which IT solutions provider to choose.

Given that we’re in the Information Age, you can find almost anything online. That means both good and bad. And, when it comes to reviews, you’re likely to find even some bad reviews even if most of them are good, or great.

So, to get started, you’ll first need to identify which managed IT company stands out to you. Perhaps your initial choices result from their business offering the exact types of services you need. Next, try to find reviews for them. The following are places you can find reviews:

• Google Reviews
• Yelp
• Better Business Bureau (BBB)

Google reviews are great because the review score is often found as soon as you search for a company. The more reviews, the better. That’s because only one good review or one not-so-good review may not capture the general performance of the service you’ll receive.

What about referrals? Think of a referral as a 5-star review. If you know someone in your industry who has used the same company you’re interested in, you can ask them about their experience. This is just as good as reading reviews online.

It’s also important for your MSP to be experienced.

Finding the Best Managed IT Solutions: Years of Experience

The newest employees have a lot to learn. And the same can be said of new IT solutions providers. Do you want to choose a new company, or do you want to choose a company that has been in business for many years, sometimes decades?

Just because a company is newly founded doesn’t mean they are inexperienced. For example, the owner may have decades of IT-related experience. Furthermore, the owner may hire seasoned IT professionals, which would alleviate fears of inexperience. They could put something on their website such as “all of our IT professionals are certified” in whatever tasks they are performing.

However, these questions can be challenging ones to answer, so you can always make it easier. By choosing an established company, you’re choosing one that has likely performed services for a company just like yours. They have experience and they know what to do and how to optimize what you need for the best results.

An IT services provider that has been in business for 25 years has been able to hone their experience when working with new clients. 25 years is a long time. Case in point: Most people were using Windows 95 back then and many people were using America Online to access the Internet. That should be a lot of data for you to find a trusted company with proven success.

Let’s examine the types of services next.

Finding the Best Managed IT Solutions: Types of Services

We listed some types of services earlier. There are some managed IT services providers that offer all of these services. On the other hand, there are some solution providers that specialize in a few services, yet don’t offer them all. Which should you choose?

Keep this in mind: Just because a company specializes in a service doesn’t mean they perform the best at it. For example, an IT solutions company that offers a full range of services can still offer better service.

Let’s say that you need the following services: cybersecurity, data backups, cloud services and data migration. You’ve found a company you really like; however, they don’t offer data migration. Don’t fret, because even if you like one company that doesn’t offer everything you need, there is another out there that does. You just need to find it.

Let’s examine availability and customer service next.

Finding the Best Managed IT Solutions: Availability and Customer Service

Earlier, we described why outsourcing is better than hiring an employee. Specifically, we looked at why employees are often only available during normal business hours. On the other hand, the best managed IT services company is available at all times of the day. That means your IT problems can be solved 24/7.

Availability is important, sometimes critical, when it comes to your needs. Here’s another thing to know: Even if a managed services company says they’re available 24/7, it’s important to know how fast you can get a hold of someone.

A quick Google search will tell you that airlines aren’t the best when it comes to getting a hold of someone. When you need help, you shouldn’t have to wait a day for a remote employee to come to the office and fix it. You shouldn’t even have to wait 15 minutes, especially if you’re paying for a service. A great managed IT help desk is always available for you in times of need.

Managed IT Solutions: What to Expect During Onboarding

The managed IT onboarding process should be as seamless as possible. There are three key steps to the onboarding process. These are:

• Planning
• Assessment
• Deployment

In the planning stage, goals and expectations are discussed. This is the stage when scope is discussed and determined. This stage is critical because it lays the roadmap to a successful partnership.

In the assessment stage, the MSP will analyze the current IT environment of the client. What should remain the same? What can be optimized or improved upon? These are the types of questions that are asked and answered during the assessment stage. Recommendations are a large part of this stage.

Finally, the deployment stage is the stage where recommendations and improvements are implemented. The deployment stage may happen all at once or it may be implemented incrementally. Furthermore, this stage is often continual, such as regular data backups, for example.

Managed IT Solutions and Continuous Collaboration

Businesses change over time. Your company will change too. And you’ll need your managed IT services company to know when your IT infrastructure or environment changes. That’s because they will change with you.

Regular communication and collaboration are important for a few reasons. One reason is because, over time, new IT technologies or improvements are released to the market. A cloud provider you’re using today may not be as good as a cloud provider 10 years from now.

As a managed IT solutions provider, it’s our job to stay ahead of trends in our industry. That way, we’re able to see what types of services and partners would be best for you, and for us. When we have regular communication, we discuss any alternative types of offerings that may either interest you or be in your best interest.

Having regular collaboration with your managed IT solutions company is also beneficial because it helps both of you achieve your goals. The more you communicate about your IT needs, the better the managed IT solutions company is able to perform their tasks according to what you want.

Choosing Red River: A Managed IT Solutions Company

Increased efficiency, time savings, cost savings and improved security are all benefits of working with a managed IT solutions company. And you’ll experience the same benefits by choosing Red River.

As mentioned earlier, we have been in business for 30 years. We have the experience and expertise to manage the IT tasks you would like to outsource. Additionally, we believe customer service is just as important as our performance on the job. Since we’ve been in business for 30 years, we have learned what our clients appreciate most about our service to them. And we provide this same level of service at all times.

You may be interested in managed cloud services, or you might need data backup or recovery services. No matter what you need, we’re a full-service provider from start to finish.

Recall the onboarding process. After our initial call, agreeing to work with each other and getting a contract signed, we’ll meet to discuss how services will be provided. During this onboarding conversation, achievable goals will be mapped out. Finally, we will begin working on the tasks in support of reaching our mutually agreed goals.

We offer a full range of services in a variety of major cities, from New York and Washington DC to Houston and Chicago.

Having local managed services is great. But we offer remote services as well, no matter where you are located. Visit our managed services page to learn more about the types of IT solutions services we offer.

Head over to our contact page to get in touch with us and to get started. We look forward to collaborating with you and managing your IT needs.