There has been much written and debated on the value of hiring a Managed Service Provider (MSP) as compared to staffing a more traditional, in-house IT department. As time goes by and as the capabilities of modern technology continue to outrun our wildest imaginings, the argument in favor of MSPs is more relevant than ever. Let’s take a look at why.
The cost efficiency of hiring an MSP
The number one reason to hire an MSP is also the most tangible: it will save you money. Here are a few of the many ways that an MSP drives value:
- You pay for services, not people.
- You receive proactive rather than reactive support
- You have no operational overhead (payroll taxes, benefits, etc.).
- IT budgeting becomes predictible.
- Back-up resources are cross-trained on your environment.
- MSPs say in tune with the changing technology climate.
- MSPs save you 50% or more over in-house IT.
- Smaller businesses can receive enterprise-level IT support.
- You will experience less downtime.
- 24/7 monitoring reduces IT failures.
- You will have fewer service requests/support tickets.
- You will enjoy Increased productivity.
- Employees are happier with an MSP.
- You can lower the total cost of ownership (TCO)
Hiring an MSP gives you access to next-generation expertise
No matter how great your in-house IT team is, they are probably too busy dealing with your specific in-house issues to remain experts on the latest security, compliance, productivity, storage, or other technology trends. On the other hand, your MSP puts a wide range of expertise at your disposal, often for less than the cost of one dedicated IT employee.
Consider this: the average salary of a systems engineer in the United States is about $78K. Add benefits to that, plus payroll and fringes, and tack on another 25%. That brings the total to over $100K, and that’s just for one person – a person who can’t possibly work 24 hours a day, and who probably needs to take a few days off now and again; we’re talking sick-time and vacation time. Pretty soon, you’ll have to think about hiring a second IT resource, just to cover your bases, which doubles (at least) your spend.
All things considered, hiring an MSP is starting to look pretty good, right?
MSPs give you access to new technology while reducing the burden of cost
A Managed Service Provider generally includes access to the latest and greatest tools and methodologies in their fee. This means that you won’t have to purchase these items outright, reducing your expenditure on servers, security and anti-virus software, monitoring applications, Help Desk, ticket management, and more.
Within the context of what Interlaced offers, Jamf Pro is a perfect example. The cost of entry is significant and represents a barrier for many organizations. The amount of training that is required in order to derive maximum value from the platform may be daunting as well, and in the end, it may not provide you with the results you should expect. Since we include Jamf Pro in our managed services agreements, our customers are able to leverage its power and value to realize immediate and measurable benefits that will resonate throughout the organization.
You get what you pay for
For what amounts to a low monthly fee, you will be paying the MSP for the IT services you need and nothing more – as opposed to paying for a multitude of different platforms and the IT staff to keep everything running.
Each element has a cost associated with it, and some are quite exorbitant. You need to consider advanced training for your key personnel, plus continuing education and relevant certifications. Then there is all of your peripheral equipment and software, services, and help desk platforms – and these are all on top of an inordinately high and largely unnecessary payroll spend.
Reduce risk and ensure business continuity
Risk management in business is important from many standpoints, but as it pertains to your IT management, it is the one thing that can help you avoid a major disaster and recover quickly if the need arises.
To this end, your MSP assures that you have the advantage of round-the-clock monitoring. This means that your technology infrastructure will not fail, your data remains safe and secure, and that all of your business functions are optimized without you giving it a second thought.
Any interruption of business, even if it’s just a matter of seconds, can be costly. In that moment, data can be lost, as can sales and customers. If it happens too often, it may impact your business’ credibility, causing a domino effect with far-reaching implications.
Proactive maintenance on the part of a managed service provider reduces or eliminates the risk of downtime. This includes a proactive backup strategy and regular security updates, two areas that currently present the highest potential for IT disaster.
If you are an Apple-centric company and have been considering managed services, reach out today to {{cta(‘8d711634-ef9a-44d8-bebc-27da19ad525e’)}}. We are the only MSP solely dedicated to enabling the Apple-powered business, and we would love to chat with you about how we can help you get the most value out of your IT spend.
