How an MSP Can Give Your Existing IT Department the Backing It Needs

As the owner of a business that already has an in-house IT team, you may consider the role of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) in managing day-to-day affairs. One of the main concerns that come to mind is how an MSP and your IT staff can work together. You may also think that because an IT team is in already place, you don’t need an MSP. This, however, is far from the truth.

Because we are experienced providers of managed IT services in the San Francisco Bay Area, we know that an organization’s IT department and an MSP can co-exist peacefully in the same space. In fact, an MSP can work as an extension of the in-house IT team and support it in every possible way. Working with an MSP can help in-house IT teams better focus their time and resources, making them more effective and strategically-sound.

​MSPs offer different levels of services that solve all sorts of business problems. Let’s find out how a partnership between your IT department and an MSP can help your business thrive.

1. Divide and Fulfil All Responsibilities

If you’re a growing business, you’re probably thinking of expanding your teams, including the IT department, to shoulder the increasing workload and responsibilities. But do you really need to hire new IT staff to fulfil IT responsibilities?

Before making any hiring decisions, take a moment and review your IT needs. Start by breaking down routine maintenance tasks such as network monitoring, backing-up systems, updating software, and so on. At the same time, review strategic duties such as installing a new network or testing servers.

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Once you know your IT requirements, you will be able to determine which services should be managed by your in-house IT team and what should be outsourced (more in the upcoming point). This way you can optimally divide responsibilities and ensure all tasks receive adequate attention and are completed on time.

2. Outsource Repetitive Tasks

All businesses want the maximum ROI for every buck they spend. Considering the average cost of paying salaries to internal IT staff, you want to be able to justify your spending. After all, you can’t be paying high salaries to people to run system backups. This is where an MSP comes in. It is more cost-effective to have your MSP manage daily, repetitive tasks such as data back-up, software upgrade, and network monitoring.

As your business expands, your IT team will probably be on their toes all the time with their focus on strategic tasks. You don’t want to overwhelm them with time-consuming, maintenance-related repetitive tasks. This can be easily avoided with an IT Company in San Francisco Bay Area in your corner. While they perform all the daily tasks, your team can concentrate on productive tasks like system improvements and strategic planning.

3. Leverage Expertise

That being said, you should know that an MSP is capable of handling more than just repetitive, time-consuming tasks. In fact, they can prove to be valuable resources in strategic environments. That’s because they’re experts in the IT field who keep track of the latest technology. They also maintain healthy working relationships with technology vendors.

Involving your MSP in strategic planning can mean well-supported company growth. From brokering services to providing guidance for budgeting and time to deployment, collaborating with an MSP will help you gain a holistic view of your needs and options. A skilled MSP can be your strongest ally.

4. Prevent and Mitigate Disasters

This is where your MSP can shine and prove themselves to be the hero that saves the day. A managed IT service in San Francisco Bay Area can help your IT team formulate a disaster recovery plan that includes standard procedures for getting to the root of issues, securing the network, and restoring backed-up data to normalize operations as fast as possible.  

​You never know what will go wrong with your IT systems and when. So if and when disaster does strike, you can count on your MSP to lead from the front and skillfully navigate your business out of the mess. They will rectify the issues and get started on restoring back-ups immediately, minimizing the impact of the disaster.

5. Get State-of-the-Art Infrastructure

Hosting your own IT infrastructure can prove to be costly. With an MSP, however, this is one aspect that you need not worry about.

​Your MSP can host some or all of your systems. If you think that means giving up control of them, think again. Your in-house IT staff will be able to administer the systems, without the added duties of hosting and maintaining them. These responsibilities will be taken over by your MSP, which means your IT team can focus on other more important business issues.    

6. Avail Dependable Support Round the Clock

Emergencies can strike at any time. If something goes wrong with one of your systems in the middle of the night, your internal IT staff may not be able to get to the site to fix the issue. An MSP, on the other hand, offers round-the-clock support. This means the issue will be fixed without any hassle, regardless of the time and place.

Ask any IT company in San Francisco Bay Area and they will tell you that an MSP will equip you with an offsite team that can swoop in and attend to issues whenever your IT team is unable to. This can be especially helpful if you have a small team. You never have to worry about problems going undetected and/or unaddressed.  

7. Harness the Latest and the Safest Technology

While your internal IT team may also consist of experts, it is nearly impossible for them to be familiar with every aspect of current technology. Reliable MSPs dedicate skilled team members to every type of available technology, along with the necessary certifications.

​MSPs can also provide your business with access to the latest and legitimate IT tools and technology at no extra cost. This will ensure that your business operations run smoothly and staff becomes more productive.

Conclusion

All said and done, it is beneficial for businesses to consider their managed IT service provider as a strategic partner. An MSP fully understands the vast IT realm, so they know exactly how to fulfil your business needs. You get the infrastructure and the team that helps you reach your goals faster. The best part is that you can scale your IT capabilities as needed. In fact, it is a good idea to closely integrate your MSP into your business operations to make the most of this partnership. Let your MSP function as an enabler in your business, and you will see your investment will pay off most beneficially.