Frequently Asked Questions: Managed IT Services
As businesses adapt to new technological advancements and an ever-evolving threat landscape, reliable and efficiently managed IT services are a top priority. By partnering with a managed service provider, businesses leverage the technical expertise of network engineers and IT specialists without incurring the costs of hiring and maintaining an internal team.
To find out if managed IT services would benefit your organization, let’s review the cornerstone questions regarding these services.
- What are managed IT services? And how can they help?
- What’s the difference between MSP and MSSP?
- What’s the difference between managed IT services and cloud services?
- What is business continuity and disaster recovery?
- Why is performance monitoring important?
1. WHAT ARE MANAGED IT SERVICES? AND HOW CAN THEY HELP?
Managed IT services are not limited to day-to-day network infrastructure tasks. They also offer proactive solutions to guard against cyber threats and manage critical storage infrastructure maintenance. Additionally, managed IT services enable business continuity by creating a technology service model designed to meet your specific business goals. These solutions also bring high-level technical expertise to any company, enabling faster response times to technological issues and unique solutions to prevent future IT problems. By offering constant network monitoring and management, managed IT services can help businesses operate with minimal downtime and maximum efficiency. Managed IT services can also provide standardized pricing, which can help control operational costs for businesses. Outsourcing IT solutions to a managed IT service provider, like Marcum Technology, can offer convenience, reduce stress, and provide the ability to focus on core business functions. At Marcum Technology, we offer multiple managed IT services that we can tailor to your business’s needs and goals:
- Systems Management
- Proactive Monitoring
- Remote Administration
- Remediation & Support
With Marcum Technology’s help, businesses can stay up-to-date with advanced technologies and industry best practices without investing in expensive in-house teams or training programs.
2. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MSP AND MSSP? WHAT SERVICES ARE MOST COMMONLY USED?
A managed service provider (MSP) and managed security service provider (MSSP) are similar but different services. An MSP is a third-party organization that manages a customer’s IT infrastructure, such as network and server administration, cloud services, and general IT support. In contrast, an MSSP is a specialized version of an MSP that provides a higher level of security services integrated with its managed services.
MSSPs specialize in cybersecurity by offering threat monitoring, risk management, vulnerability assessments, and incident response. While also offering services MSPs generally prioritize, including remote management of IT infrastructure, cloud services, data backup and recovery, network administration, and technical support.
At Marcum Technology, we offer comprehensive yet specialized cybersecurity and managed IT services to meet business needs of any size.
3. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANAGED IT SERVICES AND CLOUD SERVICES?
Managed IT services and cloud services are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Cloud services focus solely on remote access and storage of data and applications. These services allow users to access information or software from anywhere.
Managed IT services go beyond just cloud services by providing a range of IT solutions, including network monitoring, security, and maintenance. MSP/MSSPs work proactively to prevent issues and ensure the smooth and efficient operation of IT systems. MSP/MSSP services are designed to meet the unique needs of each business, allowing them to focus on their core bottom-line boosting tasks instead of worrying about IT support.
While some managed IT services may include cloud services, it’s important to note that these are not synonymous. Managed IT services provide a much more comprehensive range of IT solutions that go beyond the capabilities of cloud services.
4. WHAT IS BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY?
Business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) are critical components of managed IT services. Business continuity refers to the processes and procedures put in place to ensure that a business can continue to operate during and after an unexpected event. Disaster recovery involves the actions taken to minimize damage and data loss in the event of an incident. Combined, they offer a thorough approach to operational planning and incident management.
Marcum Technology plays a vital role in helping organizations plan and prepare for unexpected disasters. We assess potential risks, identify critical systems and data, and implement measures to ensure their availability in case of an issue. This may include regular backups and creation or review of disaster recovery plans that outline how to respond during an emergency. Should an unplanned event arise, Marcum Technology can help organizations quickly respond to minimize downtime and data loss. We work to restore systems and data while ensuring that business operations continue as smoothly as possible.
By working Marcum Technology to prepare for unexpected events, organizations can minimize the impact of these incidents and ensure that they can continue to operate in the face of adversity.
5. WHY IS PERFORMANCE MONITORING IMPORTANT?
Performance monitoring is an essential part of managed IT services. It involves closely monitoring the network’s infrastructure to ensure it operates smoothly. This kind of monitoring is critical because it helps identify potential issues before they become major problems.
Regular performance monitoring can include testing network speeds, analyzing traffic patterns, and looking for bottlenecks. Managed IT service providers use this data to identify potential trouble spots and take proactive measures to resolve them before they lead to significant downtime or data loss.
Moreover, the collected data from performance monitoring helps plan infrastructure expansion to meet a business’s goals. With a better understanding of network usage patterns and trends, managed IT service providers can make informed decisions about when and how to upgrade the network infrastructure. This helps companies avoid over-investing in technology that might not be necessary or under-investing in technology that could limit their growth potential.
By addressing possible issues and optimizing network performance, performance monitoring helps maintain operational cost control. A comprehensive and regular performance monitoring strategy is critical to ensuring optimum network infrastructure performance, which contributes to achieving business goals. Among other advisory and hands-on support, Marcum Technology is a trusted and highly referred managed IT service provider. And we can identify and resolve inefficiencies that could lead to unnecessary expenses and downtime.
Overall, managed IT services are the way of the future for businesses of all sizes. By outsourcing your IT needs, you can focus on what you do best and leave the technical operations and management to the experts. Whether you’re looking to save money, improve efficiency, or enhance security, Marcum Technology has you covered. Contact us today to see how we can optimize your IT operations.
