What is an MSP?
A Managed Services Provider (MSP) is an IT company that provides customizable, on-demand tech services to businesses. MSPs help businesses ensure cybersecurity, streamline their workflows, and obtain the infrastructure they require to operate — without the need to hire a full-time IT staff.
How an MSP Can Help Your Business Thrive
Managed IT takes a decentralized, strategic approach to your IT infrastructure. Rather than having a full in-house team, you can take advantage of on-demand services, including helpdesk support, cybersecurity measures, endpoint security, and much more.
Even with this wide variety of services, you pay one flat rate and receive expert support. Because all tasks are provided as-needed, each month’s mix of deliverables varies, but your business only pays for your monthly Managed IT subscription — making it simple to budget for your IT costs.
Firewalls and Virus Protection
Basic antivirus measures are rarely sufficient to ensure the security of your business’s vital information. Your MSP can configure firewalls that allows only essential traffic and blocks most malicious activity, as well as access to risky websites. Meanwhile, robust virus protection software quickly traps and neutralizes ransomware, Trojan horses, spyware, and more.
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Shared Drive Configuration
Make sure that all members of your team can quickly and securely access the data they need. Enterprise-level shared drives are much more reliable and customizable than out-of-the-box SaaS solutions such as Dropbox. Your MSP can help you set up custom user permissions, automated backups, VPN access, and much more for your shared drives.
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Backup and Recovery
If your data isn’t backed up, it isn’t fully safe. Regular backups hosted on an external, secure site are the best investment in your business’s digital infrastructure. Leaving this critical yet time-consuming task up to team members can lead to costly missteps. An MSP will configure a fully automated backup solution that maximizes your ability to restore your data and systems.
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Software Support
Even your most tech-savvy team members need software help sometimes. Keep your employees productive and avoid project delays and other headaches: your MSP can double as an on-demand support team to troubleshoot, train, and repair software issues.
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Remote Access and VPN Configuration
Work-from-home arrangements and virtual teams are the new normal. Even your in-house staff may need to remotely connect to your business’s network. A VPN ensures that only safe traffic is permitted on your company’s servers. Plus, you can allow your team members to access secure drives and data from anywhere — all with customizable user permissions.
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Server Maintenance and Monitoring
Continual server uptime and integrity is crucial to your business’s productivity — and therefore profits. This is especially true if you rely on immediate access to customer data or proprietary software, as is often the case for retail, tech services, legal and financial firms, and countless other industries. Your MSP can ensure your server’s optimal function and protect it from external threats and connectivity hiccups.
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Mobile Device Management and Endpoint Security
From remote team members to in-the-field work via smartphones and tablets, there are now many more devices in your IT infrastructure. Each one requires antivirus software, secure connection to your company servers, and, potentially, access or app restrictions. Ensure that all your business’s valuable hardware is protected and being used only for work purposes.
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Threat Detection
Email security comprises mail shields, spam filtering, and sender verification to ensure that only 100% legitimate and safe emails make it through to your team members. Any suspicious emails are immediately contained and held in a secure place for manual review.
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Automated Email Management
Cluttered inboxes lead to lower productivity and greater vulnerability to phishing attacks. Plus, there is always the slight chance of a device or server crashing, leading to data loss. By automating email backup, archiving, and migration, we can help your team get their email under control safely.
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Compliance Archiving
For some organizations, all emails serve as public record and must be safely stored for a minimum period of time. Professional email archiving creates a cloud-hosted, easily searched database of email content, including all legally required information.
Advanced Cyber Protections
MSPs coordinate a suite of cybersecurity defenses, including a 24/7 Security Operations Center for continual threat detection and immediate response, dark web monitoring, and endpoint security. They also provide guidance and training for remote device management, permissible apps, and incident response.
Continuity Planning
To ensure no gaps or downtime during data migration, transfers, or backups, MSPs can help your business configure all the drives and automations you need to maintain complete backups with seamless restorations.
End User Management
Any team member presents an opportunity for phishing attacks to succeed or for malware to interrupt your business’s systems. By configuring role-based access, app restrictions, data encryption, and extensive cybersecurity training, your MSP can prepare your team to uphold your security protocols and minimize risk to your business.
