The Top 8 Signs That Your Business is Ready for a Managed Service Provider

Not every business needs the type of IT support that only a managed service provider, or MSP, can provide. However, as you continue to focus on growth, address certain pain points, and ensure your business is scaling at just the right pace, partnering with an MSP makes perfect sense. When this happens, an MSP can help propel your organisation to the next level. Recognising the signs that your business is ready for a managed service provider is of paramount importance.

Here are 8 signs you need to watch out for.

1. Your Infrastructure is Behind the Times

Many people don't realise until it's far too late that technology itself is just an asset. Whether or not you're able to guarantee better business outcomes ultimately comes down to how effectively you're able to make use of that asset. It is relatively hard to achieve this when your infrastructure can't keep up with the latest that IT has to offer.

If you find yourself not being able to keep up with evolving technology, or if you're held back by high upgrade costs, the time is absolutely right to switch to a managed service provider. An MSP can make sure you have everything you need in exchange for a low, predictable monthly fee. Everything from implementation to maintenance, to upgrades are covered.

2. Scalability Has Become One of Your Pain Points

Another major sign that you're ready for an MSP is difficulty scaling your business the way you need. If you find it difficult (or impossible) to add new services and resources as needed due to either costs or a lack of expertise, an MSP is absolutely right for you. Again, in exchange for a single monthly fee you get access to absolutely everything you need, as you need it, no exceptions or questions asked.

3. Your Support Model is Struggling

Another clear sign that you need an MSP has less to do with when things are going right and has more to do with what happens when things go wrong. If you're constantly grappling with lengthy and expensive upgrade processes, ineffective maintenance, and constantly faced with productivity-killing downtime, a managed services provider is what you need.

You get access to a team of people who are not only dedicated to making sure that assets work well and that they are constantly available, but who also handle all problems on your behalf as quickly as possible. They deliver results that are difficult to replicate on your own.

4. It's Too Expensive to Maintain Legacy Systems

Even though staying up-to-date with your technology is important, there are likely certain resources that you need to hang onto indefinitely. The problem comes when these resources reach its end-of-life and support contracts become prohibitively expensive to maintain. When that day comes, partnering with an MSP makes perfect sense because you'll be able to ensure critical equipments continue to function for a fraction of the cost.

5. You're Being Held Back but You Don't Know Why

Another critical sign that you need an MSP is when your business continues to struggle with pain points that remain unclear. Working with a managed service provider is a great way to leverage their expertise to your advantage, reveal bottlenecks and obstacles that you likely didn't even realise existed in the first place. If you want to get a crystal clear image of your technological foundation and identify areas for genuine improvement, working with an MSP is absolutely the way to go.

6. You Need Better Visibility on Your Infrastructure

In a lot of ways, your IT infrastructure lives and breathes as one. Individual assets come together to form something much more powerful than any one element could be on its own. Without actual visibility into your IT infrastructure, however, you'll never be able to unlock or make use of this insight. MSPs can help you get a much better understanding of how your technology is tied to your critical business functions, providing you with the visibility you've never been able to work with before.

7. You Need to Free Up Time and Save Money in One Fell Swoop

If you find that you and your IT support staff are regularly devoting long hours to maintaining the status quo, so to speak, you're looking at yet another clear sign that you're ready for an MSP. Not only does an MSP help you save money right away by eliminating the capital investment required to create the right IT infrastructure, but it frees up highly skilled resources that your IT talent represents so they can focus their attention on accomplishing other important business goals. Instead of focusing so much effort on spinning your wheels, your staff is now free to actually do the most important thing of all — drive your business forward.

8. You Don't Have the Information You Need at Your Fingertips

Finally, and most importantly, a clear sign that your business is ready for a managed service provider is not having access to real-time information when you need it the most. An MSP can help you create custom dashboards to give you insight into your company's performance in real-time. This in turn not only allows you to adjust your corporate strategy as quickly as possible, but it also lets you continuously identify and promote areas for improvement that can drive better results moving forward. This is simply not the type of insight that you would be able to generate on your own.

The Powernet Approach

As stated, being able to recognise when the time is right to make the jump into the arms of a managed service provider is hugely important, particularly when it comes to making sure that your technological assets are properly aligned with your long-term goals. When that day comes, Powernet is truly honoured for the opportunity to become the partner you need when you need it the most.

If you'd like to find out more information about how you can check if your business is ready for a managed services provider, or if you'd like to sit down and discuss your own situation with someone in a little more detail, please don't delay — contact Powernet today.