What the heck is an MSP?
This is a question that has been asked by many people in the business world. Managed Service Providers are all over the place. Different sizes of MSP’s for different levels of IT needs. To define a managed service provider in a single sentence: Hiring an entire company to manage your technology for about the same cost as an employee.
You’re probably wondering right off the bat how much does this cost in Niagara or Canada under the current economy?
A good rule of thumb starting point is about $150 per employee. If you do that quick math and you have 20 employees, then you’re probably about $3,000 per month for a managed service agreement. These aren’t based of Skycomp’s specific prices – this is just an estimate.
$3,000 Bucks Yikes!
Some of you might see that number and immediately click away. Managed Services are not for everyone or every company. Usually, it starts to make sense when you have ten or more employees. That might be the point where your computers servers, and technical issues are becoming a larger cost. This is where an MSP can swoop in, optimize your network, get your employees the correct technology and devices for the work they do, and all you have to do is submit tickets when you have a problem. Saving you money in the long run.
If they are a good MSP, they will do the following and go above and beyond when they do:
- Unlimited 24/7 Technical Support.
- 24/7 Workstation Monitoring.
- Network Monitoring.
- Anti-Virus on all workstations in agreement Phishing Protection and content filtering software.
- 24/7 Server Monitoring Backup Appliance, including backup software Daily Off-Site Backup.
- Phishing Campaigns to help train employees.
- Daily Dark Web Scans for Passwords.
- Disaster Recovery Planning.
What do we mean when we say, “Above and Beyond?”
Skycomp has a certain way of doing things – we call this ‘The Skycomp Way’ clever right? We like to think so. We like to bring a different angle to your IT needs. We cover all the technical help listed above. But we are always looking for ways to improve the way you work. Optimize your office from a technical standpoint, not only that but also a working relationship standpoint. We want to give you any secrets that maybe other IT companies keep. Anything to help our clients succeed. That’s why we are giving up these numbers and details up front. Because if you don’t know the costs, what services you’ll get out of the deal, then what’s the point right?
Are you the right fit for an MSP?
You might not be, and that’s all right. You have other options out there such as break-fix and maybe even going as far as hiring and IT specific employee? The main reason you wouldn’t be a fit is because you don’t have a big enough team and the cost for you would outweigh the savings. Wouldn’t make sense. Using Skycomp as an example: What an MSP is looking for in a company is a partner. We can’t speak for all MSP’s, but you can count on Skycomp to want to work WITH you. Yes, we have a monthly fee and hourly costs for external projects outside the managed service agreement. BUT a good MSP will want to help you with cost savings and getting the best possible outcome for your technical needs.
Do you want to work with your IT company to improve productivity, network speeds, and cyber security? Then an MSP is sounding right for you.
Feel free to reach out, ask questions, let us know what you think a good Managed Service Provider does day to day. Maybe you’ve worked with another MSP and they do things a bit differently. The Skycomp Team is committed to building strong relationships, understanding your technical needs, and helping your business flourish.
We hope that you found this helpful. Maybe pushed you to investigate if a managed service provider is right for you. All the best in your search.
– The Skycomp Team