IT support is an essential part of keeping a business running at its full potential. Typically there are two different options for IT support, Managed Service Providers and In-House IT support staff. Each have their own advantages and capabilities. Some small businesses even combine them to get the best of both. Here are some tips on how to get the best results from both your in-house staff and an MSP provider.
The first step is to understand what each type of support can provide for you. An in-house IT technician can usually provide onsite support for users and resolve small issues quickly. However, unless you have more than one technician on staff, they may get bogged down providing user support and might not have time to work on large projects and efficiently manage day-to-day tasks such as monitoring backups and deploying updates. This is where the MSP comes in. An MSP is able to work on long-term projects and keep the large-scale operations moving.
MSP’s are able to provide many different types of support from user management to specialized tasks. Since Managed IT services in San Diego have more resources available, they are able to provide technicians who specialize in certain areas. This means that you can use MSP’s to handle tasks that your in-house staff cannot.
One advantage of having both in-house IT staff and MSP’s is that they can work together to better understand a network. Since your in-house staff will be more familiar with the way your specific network works, they will be able to provide technical information to an MSP if they are having trouble understanding certain aspects of a network. Since an MSP and IT support staff are able to work together on complex issues, they will be able to resolve them twice as fast as if they were working on their own. This can help minimize downtime and keep your business functioning at top performance.
MSP’s can also provide services that would otherwise not be cost effective, such as offsite storage. Offsite storage is often used to keep backups safe from natural disaster and theft. Since offsite storage requires a second location in which to store information, it is not always cost effective for small businesses to manage this themselves. An MSP would be able to provide this service for a fee and your IT staff would be able to concentrate on other tasks.
Managed Service Providers and IT support staff have many unique capabilities and can also share much of the same knowledge when it comes to IT support. Utilizing both at the same time can get you the best of both worlds and lead to an overall more efficient and functional IT infrastructure. With their combined knowledge, there is little they cannot accomplish together.
Interested in using Managed IT services to supplement your in-house IT staff? Call (760) 650-3300 to schedule a complimentary consultation with an experienced IT consultation from Syndeo Communications. We provide onsite, over-the-phone, remote desktop, and 24-hour IT support in San Diego and can help you find the right managed services to boost your business.