With December upon us, businessess are continuing to plan for next year amid an unfamiliar reality that 2020 has brought on. in our prevous post we talked about the importance and financial benefit that managed services providers (MSP) can bring to organizations large and small. So if you're at the point where you've taken the leap and decided to partner with an MSP - where do you start? 

Strategically Allocating the Right Tasks

First off, congratulations choosing to partner with an MSP! You've made a strategic and financially beneficial decision for the long-term betterment of your organization. When thinking about how a newly-acquired Managed Services Provider (MSP) will weave into your current IT model, keep in mind that the MSP should be viewed as an extension of your team. They are not meant to overlap with what your current IT department (if you have one) is working on, but rather complement it.

What you ultimate delegate to the MSP should provide a degree of benefit to your internal team in the form of more time back to focus on other critical tasks. Furthermore, according to a 2018 study, closing certain skill gaps internally are a major concern for some C-Suite leaders and having that linear access to top talent via the MSP, provides a huge overall benefit to the client.

Generally speaking, the MSP would handle the 24/7 monitoring and management of your IT infrastructure freeing up your internal IT resources to work on higher priority projects. The MSP would actively monitor, identify and resolve any issues or disruptions that may arise, ensuring that everything remains smooth and efficient - giving your team that added peace of mind.

It should also be noted that in current times, should an MSP need to visit a client onsite, the proper protective protocals are absolutely in place to ensure the health and safety of everyone. 

A Clear and Defined Agreement - One Size Does NOT Fit All
With an MSP as part of your extended IT team, a clear service agreement would exist between your organization and the provider outlining clear SLAs to fulfill a business need aligned with a planned budget. 

Since pricing is fixed under the managed services model, the provider costs are driven by the client's needs and could be scaled up or down depending upon the terms agreed upon. This is another reason why adopting the MSP model is so attractive - rather than be pigeon-holed into a standardized contract - you only pay for what you need, for as long as you need it. This will also give an opportunity for the MSP to help the client resolve key issues that impact performance, such as unnecessary complexity/diversity and a lack of adherence to standards. Ultimately, the partnership will lead to a much more streamlined approach to managing a company's IT infrastructure.

Remember, working with an MSP is all about the relationship. Trust and loyalty is built from the ground up with constant and open communication between the MSP and the client. This will ultimately lead to the retention of an MSP and to a lasting, referenceable, partnership.

To talk in further detail, or learn more about Sentia's own expertise as a high-value MSP, we invite you to explore our managed services solutions centre and get in touch with us to set up a chat. 

We wish you and yours a safe and healthy holiday season ahead.