What Do Managed IT Service Providers Do?

An IT service provider (MSP) is a proactive company that anticipates customer needs and offers technology services. Learn more about what they do.

What Do Managed IT Service Providers Do?

An IT service provider (sometimes referred to as a managed service provider or MSP) is a proactive IT company that anticipates the needs of its customers and offers a wide range of technology services. Service providers are individuals or entities that offer services to an organization and other parties. They provide storage, processing, or network services, as well as real estate, communications, education, legal and consulting services. It is the job of an IT service provider to complete customers' requested tasks, provide solutions to network problems, and recommend options based on customers' needs.

They also suggest changes or opportunities needed within the organization. The relationship between enterprise IT and service providers can be difficult, as IT can become frustrated with achieving optimal service levels. When hiring service providers, IT shops are known to budget for initial application training, but not for ongoing instruction. This is a big mistake according to Sarah Lahav, CEO of SysAid Technologies, an IT service management and support service provider. The MSP remotely monitors, updates and manages the service while reporting on the quality, performance and availability of the service. MSPs can offer their own native services along with the services of other providers (for example, a security MSP who provides a system administrator over a third-party cloud IaaS).

They are also leading clinical experts and information system liaisons in the development of automated databases of clinical documentation, managed care and customer service. A service provider's delivery model generally differs from that of manufacturers or developers of conventional IT products. All business relationships involve certain expectations, but IT doesn't always make its expectations completely clear in contracts with service providers. MSPs can reduce barriers to technology adoption by providing infrastructure as a service (OpEx, not CapEx), managing their licensing agreements, staffing experts for migrations, training their employees, and providing business intelligence through reports to help make informed decisions about what solutions make sense for business objectives. While it's true that most service providers have a college degree, it's generally possible to become one with just a high school degree. Most managed service providers promote all-inclusive packages with unlimited IT resources while contracted, including day-to-day network management. When it comes to the differences in education between the two professions, volunteers tend to achieve lower levels of education than service providers.Nathan Ziege, director of application development for technical services and software development provider GlowTouch, says the customer must designate a technical liaison who can work with the entire enterprise IT team to collect specifications and resolve incidents. The best definition of what a managed IT service provider does is a company that is the proactive manager who maintains and oversees an organization's IT systems on a regular basis and at the same time has the experience necessary to do so.

Managed service providers remotely access networks and implement solutions for any IT problem outside the company.

Lynne Ellert
Lynne Ellert

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