What does a Managed Service Provider (MSP) do?

Dial a Nerd moved to a Managed Service Provider (MSP) model in 2015. We did this to better serve our clients in a way that made sense for their businesses (and schools). Since the change, we often get asked what does an MSP do. In short, once a service level agreement (SLA) is in place, we make sure your IT and its systems run smoothly, stay secure and updated, and (if a UTR (Unlimited Remote and Telephonic Support) is in place) give day to day technical support. This is to alleviate the pressures of focusing on your IT so you can run your business and remain productive.

MSPs, depending on your agreement and what IT requirements you need to be looked after, assume responsibility for your business’s IT services. These services can be one or more of the following:

1. Helpdesk Support
2. Onsite support
3. Email
4. Cyber Security
5. Networking
6. Document Management
7. Document Storage
8. Anti-virus
9. Cloud Backup
10. And much much more.

The MSP requires to actively monitor and report on the IT services your business has with the MSP. They also need to ensure all devices and systems that they manage are updated regularly to avoid any potential downtime or threats. Most MSPs can help you purchase hardware and software as well as allocate licensing (think: Microsoft 365).

Some of the benefits of using an MSP to manage your IT include:

On-demand IT staff

Depending on the nature of your business, you might not need a full in-house IT department. Managed Service Providers give you access to experienced and professional IT staff that you would otherwise need to hire or pay an expensive call-out fee to solve a problem. Even if you do have an in-house IT department, MSPs have a variety of professionals that can assist your department with skills that they may not have the expertise in.

Dial a Nerd provided support hours based on your SLA which allows your business to benefit from having experts on-demand.

Adopt to new tech, faster

Adopting new technology in a business can be difficult and researching the benefits of said technology can take time. MSPs are always at the forefront of technology, it’s what they were born to do. Doing it yourself as a small business can be costly – from productivity time lost, money wasted on incorrect expenditure and migration projects.

Because MSPs are continuously improving their own and their client’s infrastructure, they know the latest technology and what works for your budget and your business goals. MSPs can reduce the barriers to adopting new technology by offering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Some of these services would include:

1. Licensing
2. Training
3. IT Project Planning and Migrations
4. Onsite support for bigger migrations
5. Reporting to help you make informed decisions

Outsource daily IT management

IT maintenance can hinder employees focus on strategic projects, potentially impacting the bottom line. Partnering with an MSP to manage the day-to-day IT of your businesses, enables your employees to focus on what matter most in your business. The business model of an MSP gives them buying power to provide a robust ticketing system, efficient responses and monitoring tools. This means that your business doesn’t need to invest thousands in IT management tools just to run your operations.

Dial a Nerd acts as an extension of your business by keeping your computers and infrastructure running with minimal downtime.

Improved cybersecurity

Larger organisations have to invest in expensive cybersecurity tools because of the risk it poses to their businesses. They, fortunately, have the money for it, small to medium businesses don’t. Corporates have teams dedicated to threat monitoring, prevention, detection and reporting. MSPs can provide this for smaller businesses at a fraction of the cost of a full in-house cybersecurity team. Because it is a service they offer, MSPs stay up to date on developing threats, patch releases, updates and more cybersecurity-related services. Fewer attacks mean less downtime and increasing trust from your customers.

Bespoke IT Solutions

Every business is different and has different priorities when it comes to IT. Your business might lose R100000 if the internet is down for a minute, where for another business (such as a law firm) that their confidential documents are stored securely. Dial a Nerd will sit with you and understand your business requirement and what matters most to you. From there, we will build an IT solution that meets your needs and helps your business grow.

We have a simple calculator you can use to give us a brief understanding of your requirements here.