The benefits of managed IT services in 2021

What are managed IT services?

A managed IT service is the practice of outsourcing the maintaining and upkeep of your IT equipment, cloud services, communication systems, and more. There are many benefits of managed IT services, it allows for increased reliability, reduces downtime, and saves your workforce heaps of time.

Although IT managed services and MSPs (managed service providers) are starting to get more of a name for themselves and expand, due to the increased popularity of remote working. Some people still aren’t aware of the clear benefits it can have to your business if they still use traditional, less effective methods for IT management.

Why should you switch to an MSP?


There are countless reasons to switch to an MSP, to name a few; Time and resource efficiency, cost control, IT Experts on demand trained in the services you use, Workforce effectiveness, and the list goes on.  With a lot of small and medium-sized businesses making a switch to the cloud due to it being cheaper and more efficient, also changing your IT management to an MSP will mean you save money on cloud training on top of the other financial benefits.

Making the switch to an MSP also helps smaller businesses compete with the reliability big organisations offer. They do this by reducing your downtime and making sure any customer's information stays safe to avoid a data leak crisis in the future that your current IT management system may not be able to cope with.

A deeper look into the benefits of managed IT


Cost-effective – For most businesses using MSP’s cost-effectiveness is one of the main factors, if not THE main factor. It also allows you to put your current IT team to better use so they can focus on more important in-house problems. IT teams have a real issue with getting sidetracked due to having to provide urgent support to other colleagues. IT departments see a great increase in productivity increase after switching to an MSP.

Motivated approach to IT – Not only do MSP’s provide a more experienced and specialised approach to IT they also have different motives compared to an in-house IT team. To your managed service provider, you are a high-ticket customer who they will make an active effort to satisfy and exceed expectations for. This ensures regular updates and maintenance to your communication, network, devices, and cloud systems.

Prevents Downtime and data breaches – It isn’t uncommon knowledge how expensive downtime and data breaches can be for a business. 60% of small businesses close within 6 months of being hacked, so having a reliable managed service provider to prevent this can be the difference for your business’s survival.

Increased employee productivity – By this point, it must be clear that an MSP can overall hugely increase the productivity of not just your IT team but your whole organisation. This is done by providing a secure network and dealing with things that could usually put your whole team on hold.

Expert industry knowledge – It is key for MSP providers to have a team in place that knows the systems that suit you best inside out. A huge amount of talent and industry knowledge comes with the professionals who work in managed IT and can often offer valuable advice they have picked up from working with a multitude of clients across different sectors.

How to choose the right Managed Service Provider

Choosing the correct Managed service provider is crucial to having it work as effectively as it should. You should have deep conversations with your provider about their services to make sure they can provide what you are looking for and to make sure that they don’t have limited resources that can’t support the level you are working at.

If you already use an MSP that was good for you at one point but you have either outgrown them or they have become complacent having you as a customer you should consider the option of changing your current provider. Say your objective is to migrate to the cloud and your current provider doesn’t have those capabilities browse other IT managing services to see if they can facilitate you.

Your MSP should be ready to adapt and grow with you so make sure to keep them clear on your business goals and give them time to prepare for big changes you are making. The right provider should have no problem adapting to your needs however if they lack the ability to change with your future strategy it is definitely ­­time to find a more competent managed service provider.

 I hope this short blog has made you more aware of the advantages of joining a managed service provider and made you consider using one to future proof your IT departme­nt and increase company productivity. If this has made you more interested in the world of MSP and what it can do for you, take some time to view Qual’s MSP services at –