4 key Managed Service Provider services to improve your business

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Managed Service Provider

Running a business is never easy, but you don’t have to do it all on your own. Outsourcing some aspects of your business can free up time, provide services you don’t have the technical know-how for, and leave you to focus on growing your business and bringing in income.

What is an MSP?

MSP stands for managed service provider, and companies can do everything from providing cyber security and Software as a Service (SaaS) to hardware outsourcing and business broadband. They can even manage your whole IT infrastructure for you.

These companies are specialists in what they do, so you don’t have to be.

MSPs can be your whole IT department or simply provide extra assistance when needed. They can provide cover 24/7, 365 days a year, which would cost far more if you employed IT professionals round the clock to do the same. They can provide specialists in just one aspect of IT or one piece of software so you can get someone in quickly, when needed, and have new systems set up without having to job search, interview, and train. They can be there should the worst happen and help with business recovery and systems restoration.

In short, they can make your life so much easier. 

How can leased lines improve a business?

More and more businesses need an excellent internet connection to do business, whether that’s connecting with customers, getting leads and selling products, or simply working with ease between departments and other branches.

While fibre business broadband is obviously a much faster connection than used to be available, larger businesses can start to find that even fast broadband isn’t enough for their needs.

That’s where leased lines can make all the difference.

A leased line is dedicated only to your business, with no contention ratio, so you aren’t competing with others at peak use times of day. With broadband, at peak times, your connection can slow, but this doesn’t happen with leased lines. Equally important is that with a dedicated line, security is much better and there’s a far smaller chance of your important business data being intercepted.

With a guaranteed line speed and a synchronous connection (upload and download speeds are the same), business can be smoother, easier and quicker.

How can VoIP improve a business?

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and instead of using a standard telephone system, you can make calls to anywhere in the world over the internet for a low cost. You pay either per connection or per user and this makes it much easier to budget. Not only that, but if you need to add new users, you just add them to your system and you’re done. You’re not limited to only so many channels per circuit, like you would be with many older phone systems, so it’s extremely easy to scale.

There are far more features with a VOIP phone system, including call diversion, email messaging, voice mail, and hold music. And with so many businesses turning to remote working, you can take your phone number with you, wherever you go.

With excellent sound quality and ease of use, VOIP is a great choice for most businesses.

How can Cyber Security improve a business?

Cyber security is vital to protect your business from cybercriminals, hackers and scammers determined to steal data, corrupt systems and make as much money as they can. In that sense, it’s not so much how it can improve your business, but that your business can’t live without it.

However, have excellent cyber security does come with some business benefits too:

  • Securing your business also protects your customers from any attacks that could otherwise come via your website, business email or systems.
  • Many businesses sell through their website and cyber protection is vital so that your website isn’t hacked or infected. Losing your website for hours or days while you repair it from an attack could cost thousands in lost sales.
  • Some computer viruses are known for slowing down networks and causing usability problems, sometimes even bringing systems to a complete stop. Having a robust cyber security system in place keeps productivity levels high.
  • A secure business with a good track record of protecting its customers’ data is a business that can be trusted. The right cyber protection can enhance your reputation and give your customers confidence.

How can Cloud Computing improve a business?

Cloud computing is specifically designed to be highly reliable and scalable to suit business growth. It can streamline your business tasks, help with productivity, and support your business to develop and grow.

One of cloud computing’s biggest benefits is flexibility, with almost unlimited storage and bandwidth, so you can move your use up to meet times of high demand.

Good backups are vital for any business and with cloud computing, you have excellent backup solutions and peace of mind knowing your business disaster recovery is in safe hands, should the worst happen.

Whether it’s Microsoft 365, Adobe Suite or high-end CAD applications that your business uses, with cloud computing, every user will be able to access what they need, secure in the knowledge that everything is automatically updated. And for your IT team, your software is already integrated and can be easily customised.

Cloud computing makes it easier to work and collaborate, with excellent security and regular backups so it’s easy to restore lost data.