MSPNetworks Blog

You’re likely aware that we have a Help Desk for our clients to leverage, but not all companies handle their support the same way. Here, we wanted to share a few reasons that we are confident that our approach to support is better for our clients.

This is, in part, thanks to the tools we use. While they are intended to make our jobs easier, the result is ultimately improved support for you. What follows are a few of the features that help us, help you.

Improved Organization

In most businesses, there is no shortage of requests received from their clientele. Rather than requiring an employee to record and organize all of the information that one of these requests contains, businesses today can leverage an automated process to create their tickets. As a result, these requests can be delivered to an appropriate resource faster, without the risk of being overlooked, lost in email, or incorrectly scheduled by a human being.

Furthermore, with help desk software assigning tickets to a particular resource, you are less likely to encounter instances of multiple resources attending to a given issue, which adds to the confusion and can slow down the process.

With our help desk, a ticket is generated for us once you submit your issue, and it is assigned to one resource for them to take point on it, bringing on other resources for assistance, but generally remaining your sole point of contact. As a result, all communications and updates can be found in one place, keeping us all on the same page.

Flexibility

There are a lot of ways that you can reach out to us - from our website, emailing us directly, or calling us. This not only makes it easier for us, as we can be sure that there is always some way that our clients can reach us, it also assists you.

Consider it - what if your VoIP system was on the fritz? Or your email wasn’t working? By ensuring that, again, our clients always have some way to reach us, we ensure that we can always be made aware of an issue - and that’s assuming that we didn’t spot it through our remote monitoring.

Accuracy

Let’s face it, even the kind of professionals that MSPNetworks hires can occasionally make mistakes - we’re only human, after all. However, by using the full capabilities of our technology solutions, we can make sure that - through automation and documentation - the possibility of human error is minimized. With fewer mistakes made, and the time-intensive tasks on our end minimized, your issue is resolved faster, allowing you to return to productivity.

Our team hopes that you have acquired some additional insights as to the value that a help desk can bring you. If you are interested in learning more about implementing one, give us a call at (516) 403-9001.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and with all the work done,
The office was closing for some holiday fun;
Their coats buttoned up, they had all saved their files,
Everyone’s face creased in a big, toothy smile.

Colleen from finance had handed out treats,
Fresh homemade cookies, hand-frosted and sweet,
So, with smiling mouths filled with sugary tastes,
All had made their way home, arriving with haste.

With Santa Claus starting his gift-giving flight,
The office was dark, with minimal light.
The monitors sleeping, the servers were quiet,
All was at peace, no cause for disquiet.

For the office was shielded by a steadfast guard,
A managed service provider, of highest regard -
And thank goodness it was, for early that day
An emergency threatened to cause a delay.

In early morning hours, December 24,
The servers were running their nightly backup chores.
The MSP realized the problem at hand,
Their disk space was filled up, an issue unplanned.

Luckily, the office had wisely signed on,
To have their IT watched over to avoid denouement,
Remote Monitoring and Maintenance protected their assets,
As the MSP caught and resolved any threats.

From malware and spyware, to issues of all kinds,
Attacks and vulnerabilities, and all of their signs,
The MSP acts, and the MSP delivers,
Acting as a business’ IT caregivers.

So, when the MSP realized the disk space-based issue,
A solution was deployed so the backup could continue,

By deleting some outdated backups to free up space,
The MSP reported the problem to the workplace.

But the MSP did more than just issue a report,
The professionals there explained why the backup fell short,
And recommending to the business more space to save data,
The MSP helped keep their storage pro rata.

How happy the business was to have this service -
To know that they had little reason to be nervous!
To trust that any problems of theirs would be addressed,
Without breaking the bank or leaving them stressed.

So, the staff of the business was free to relax,
Without worrying that problems would fall through the cracks.
So, without any remnants of their after-hours plight,
A Happy Christmas was had by all, and all had a good night.

Technology has fundamentally altered the capabilities of businesses. Cloud computing has provided access to enterprise-strength computing at small business costs, and now IT providers are more able to provide value than simple repair-and-replace services. The name of the game is value, which is why the value-driven IT services of tomorrow are here to stay.

How IT Has Changed
In the past, the IT service industry was pretty homogenous, with break/fix repair services provided as needed. However, software was developed that, by leveraging automation, could be used by a remote technician to identify and resolve technology issues proactively. As a result, businesses were able to avoid downtime and get more done with their technology.

Within the last 10 years, this approach to IT has experienced considerable growth. By the end of 2019, this market is expected to reach $200 billion, and is now seeing growth in North America, Europe, and Asia. Estimates by ChannelE2E put the number of active IT service providers at 20,000. This group of 20,000 work to maintain IT solutions for millions of businesses, and some of the largest companies have included managed services in their service offerings.

Growth Within the Industry
Managed IT providers have benefitted from the (in many cases, justifiable) presumption that the hiring of an internal resource is an expensive endeavor, with that price only increasing with the resource’s credentials and ability. If a business adopts an outsourced service provider, that business can anticipate the same attention directed toward their IT solutions, with the comprehensive access that a managed service provider has to more up-to-date technology which adds additional value.

This is particularly beneficial for the companies that enlist the assistance of an IT service provider, and more companies than ever are using technology in their day-to-day operations. North American and European companies are anticipated to increase their IT expenses throughout this year, budgets increasing by up to 30 percent in some sectors. Small and mid-sized businesses have been able to use the new upfront capital that their upgraded IT has provided them to upgrade them even further, and large organizations have minimized their risk with security updates and upgrades.

Updates and upgrades have long driven IT growth and have caused managed-service-based IT providers to branch out in what they offer. Cloud computing is now all the rage for a business’ communications and collaboration needs, their hardware and software deployment, as well as many other purposes. When it boils down to it, if you can do it with a server, it can be done with a cloud-hosted virtual server - a shift that has granted today’s businesses with a huge amount of flexibility.

Developing Technologies
IT companies have long been trying to assemble innovations into a service offering that catches the eye of an organization of any size, and they show no signs of stopping. Since data is seen more as a valuable commodity than it ever has been, methods of its collection, processing, and analysis have become a key offering for IT companies to include. This is precisely why IT support companies have started to offer services like data warehousing and business intelligence, something that wasn’t practiced much not all that long ago.

Managed IT service providers have also aggressively begun to include managed security services in their offerings, providing many solutions that help protect the businesses that they serve from threats. From user training and solutions monitoring to SIEM (security information and event management) services, data forensics, and threat mitigation that leverages machine learning, the IT company of today can protect your company, and its organizational data, with extreme efficacy.

On top of all this, some IT providers, like MSPNetworks, also help businesses with VoIP and telephony, conferencing solutions, software and line-of-business applications, database management, email, and a whole lot more. Essentially, any technology solution a business might need stand up against competitors.

The End Result
As new technologies emerge, the tasks of the IT company may shift, but their purpose foundationally remains the same: deliver the solutions and support that a business needs to remain productive. Implementing what was just discussed above and much more, the managed IT service provider will prove to be just as (if not more) valuable of a resource to have in your business’ corner in the coming year.

We’d be happy to support you in this capacity ourselves. Reach out to MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001 to discuss your business and its potential today.