Why should you hire an MSP to manage your network infrastructure
Today’s businesses have grown so reliant on their networking infrastructure that even an hour of downtime can lead to serious losses in productivity and profit. It doesn’t help that enterprise technology is becoming increasingly complex.
With the supply of IT expertise still struggling to keep up with demand, and the enormous costs that come with it, few businesses can afford to maintain their own full-fledged IT departments. Even if they can, chances are it won’t be long before they end up being overburdened by the constantly growing demands of today’s market. If any of these problems sound familiar, then it’s probably time to consider outsourcing network management to a managed IT services provider (MSP).
Maximize service availability
Network availability has a direct and immediate impact on business performance. In the age of cloud computing, where many mission-critical business apps are hosted off-site, the performance, uptime, and reliability of your network are even more crucial than ever before. As business networks become increasingly complex, utilizing modern technologies like SD-WAN, there’s a greater need to implement a centralized management solution that proactively monitors issues that might affect performance and service reliability.
MSPs constantly monitor your network to ensure uptime, as defined in their service level agreements (SLAs). That way, your employees will be able to access the resources they need to do their jobs no matter where they are and which device they’re connecting from. With your entire networking infrastructure managed for you, you’ll also be able to reduce operational costs and boost productivity and morale.
Incorporate security into IT
The complex and multifaceted nature of today’s enterprise networking environment introduces many new risks into the equation. Although there’s no denying the value of cloud computing and mobile technologies in the modern business, they also give attackers more entry points to your critical business data. That’s why you need a way to monitor all incoming and outgoing traffic to and from your network 24/7/365.
It’s imperative that you keep your business communications secure by encrypting all data sent across the public internet and locking down your network from eavesdroppers and other attackers. An MSP should provide all the security and data management solutions you need to protect your business, such as virtual private networking (VPN), managed firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention (IDS/IPS), and unified messaging. In other words, your entire network infrastructure should be secure by design and compliant with all regulations facing your industry.
Augment in-house IT
If you already have an in-house IT department, you may think there’s no need to partner with an MSP, but is your existing IT department able to keep up with the workload? Are they scalable enough to adapt to your growing business demands? Are they active around the clock to proactively safeguard your network from the constant threat of cyberattacks? The answer is likely no, unless you’re running a very large business that can afford to take care of all its technology needs in-house.
Partnering with an MSP shouldn’t mean sacking all your existing IT staff and closing down your in-house data center, and you should be cautious of any vendor who might suggest such a thing. Rather, an MSP can augment your existing resources by providing services on demand. That way, you can tap into the expertise and computing power you need when you need it, while retaining a higher degree of control. No doubt your IT staff will be happy to have one less responsibility on their shoulders too.
NetWize provides a complete range of managed network services to businesses around Utah. Call us today to take your first step towards technological transformation.