I may be aging myself here, but when you have been in the business sector for more than 20 years you know that the market goes in cycles. We are outsourcing everything! Wait, no, we are bringing everything in house! Wait a few more years and the cycle repeats. So when we get asked about Managed Services, we do pose quite a few questions to understand what a client is looking for. Is this a part of the cyclical nature of business, or is this move truly going to provide value to the overall business strategy.
If your organization consists of a full IT team, where individuals are able to pro actively manage the IT environment and also plan for the future, you do not need a Managed Services Provider (MSP). As you grow, hire more people onto your team. You are self sufficient and are able to support your internal clients fully.
However, there are many organizations out there who are not in a place where they can have a full IT team….yet. Meaning, they do not have any IT professionals and Mary from Accounting is overseeing the entire environment because she was “voluntold” to do so. Or you do have a few IT generalists who are great people, work very hard, but simply have too much work to handle by themselves. This is where Managed Services truly become a huge value add for an organization.
“Know what you’re good at, and, more importantly what you’re not – and surround yourself with people who fill the gap” ~ Kendra Scott
Managed Services can be everything or just bits and pieces which are a fit to your environment and fill the void you have been experiencing. If your team has expertise and the time to look after some segments of the environment but not all, that is where an MSP may be able round off the support. But if your team of one senior person simply wants to oversee the management of the environment but does not have time to get their hands dirty, white glove, full service MSP services may be the way to go.
Then do the math
We often hear the concept that MSP services are just way too expensive. So lets do some math! (nerd alert activated!). Hiring a dedicated Level 1 resource will cost you approximately $40,000 per year. Now, if you want someone with more experience and training, Level 2 resource, that will be approximately $46,000 per year. Plus their health benefits. And their vacation and personal days. And….
Now how does the MSP pricing compare?, If your goal is to add some expertise or to manage specific parts of your IT environment, a Flex MSP agreement for 20 hours a month will cost you as little as $29,000 a year. Or you can have a Platinum MSP agreement with guaranteed 15 minutes tech engagement, 24/7 for a larger organization which can cost the equivalent of a brand new vehicle monthly. The key to each of these options though is that you are not paying for a single human resource – you are paying for a team who will support you 24×7, 365 days a year. You will have access to tier 3 resources with expertise on up-to-date industry changes and technologies. That value goes far beyond the dollar.
An IT environment which doesn’t have enough resources to stay on top of all the moving pieces, means you’re at serious risk of business disruption, data loss and potentially huge costs. So if you feel this is the case within your environment, it may be a good idea to have a chat. Contact us and lets talk about what may be a good fit for your company’s IT environment today or in the future.
