Co-Managed IT Services – Augment Your In-house IT Team

April 7, 2021Homefield IT

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Having an in-house team to handle your tech is, for a lot of companies, ideal. But what happens when your tech team is busy? They’re focused on big picture tasks – they don’t have time to run a help desk, monitor your network for security threats, or manage projects like moving to a new office or hardware and software provisioning.

You need someone to do these things, but the question is… who, and how do you find them? A lot of companies tend to think the only real option is to keep piling on the work and shifting internal IT teams’ priorities, and hope things eventually get done. . However, if you’re on a deadline  – which is often the case – waiting isn’t really an option.

Co-managed services through a managed services provider (MSP) like us, Manhattan Tech Support (MTS), can be just the thing your business needs to push forward the projects that your internal teams just don’t have time for.

How co-managed services help your in-house team?

A co-managed IT solution is where your in-house tech team is backed up by an external team provided by an MSP.  The MSP takes care of all the smaller, day-to-day tasks that often fall by the wayside when you’re busy, while your in-house team takes care of big-picture, high-value projects or vice versa.

Co-managed IT services work because they remove a lot of the burden from your in-house team by taking care of the things they don’t have time for, but that you still need to be done. Your in-house team is focused on tasks that help grow your business. Co-managed IT services let them keep their focus on the big picture, while we focus on daily, routine tasks. Or vice versa. The entire arrangement can be extremely flexible and accommodate a wide range of use cases.

What your co-managed partnership looks like depends on your business. But here are a few ways an MSP can help your business.

Passing off low-level tasks

Just because a task isn’t directly customer-facing or tied to building your business, doesn’t mean it can be ignored. You still need someone to take care of these little jobs because one way or another, they impact your business. These can be jobs like:

• Managing your helpdesk. MSPs are great at keeping your technology running smoothly. You get a helpdesk team available to you 24/7. We offer various levels of helpdesk service, depending on your needs. You have the option of getting level 1, 2, or 3 helpdesk service, depending on your needs. The main benefit here is that you’re not putting pressure on your in-house team to take care of printer errors or networking issues.
• Installation of new equipment. You don’t have to hold off on getting and setting up the new equipment your team needs because things are busy. MSPs can come in and take care of installing and setting up your new tech.

Better monitoring and coverage

Unlike your in-house team, who work more or less normal business hours, MSPs are always watching. You can get full network monitoring and coverage, as well as security monitoring 24/7. That means if something happens overnight or on the weekend, you don’t have to wait to find out about it. It gets taken care of as soon as it’s detected.

Increased knowledge in-house

What’s better than one highly trained and knowledgeable tech team? Two, of course. With co-managed services, you add the brainpower of an MSP like MTS to your business. Because an MSP’s customer base is typically quite diverse, as is the technology they use, we often have an understanding of tech that is both current and ancient. A good MSP will understand the technology you’re currently using, and will also advise you on any existing or upcoming solutions that may help your business grow and, in turn, help you better serve your customers.

Along with the added knowledge we bring, MSPs like MTS often have an extensive network of technology partners you can tap into. The breadth and depth of knowledge, resources and expertise an MSP bring to the table are simply unmatched.

Support for strategic projects

Here’s where co-managed solutions really stand out. MSPs like us put you in a good position to take on projects you might not otherwise have time to do with your in-house team. These are projects that are going to happen regardless of internal availability or that should happen to give you an edge over your competition. But, not having the support to get them done can mean things get left by the wayside or get done in a rush. Neither serves your business well.

These strategic projects can be one-offs or ongoing initiatives. For example:

• Office moves – When your business grows, sometimes the physical space you work in needs to grow too. We can help by getting your new space set up, including wiring the office for your networking needs, getting server space set up and ready to go, ensure that workspaces have everything employees need to be productive, getting phone systems in place, and more. The more prepared your office space is before you move in, the less downtime before you’re back to work.
• Cabling and wiring – Sometimes, you need to add more capacity to your existing office. We can take care care of your cabling and wiring needs, whether it’s adding new phone lines or building out your internal network. Our experts make sure everything is running and ready to go when you are.
• Hardware procurement, installation, configuration, and post-deployment testing – Let our experts handle the heavy lifting when it comes to bringing new hardware into your business. Our technical experts work closely with you to figure out tech solutions specific to your business and help you find the exact equipment to meet those needs. Once we help you decide what hardware you need, we take care of everything else. We make sure it’s properly installed and working correctly. We configure everything to work with your system. And we run post-deployment testing to ensure everything is tickety-boo.
• Digital transformation – Get ahead of the competition with digital transformation solutions that help you run a more successful business. We can get the exact tools your business needs with custom software development. If you need to step up your online presence, we can build dynamic, mobile-friendly websites that get noticed by search engines and drive sales. And, you can make smarter, data-driven decisions with business intelligence services. We can also create automated workflows that remove low-value tasks from your employees’ lives. Automations eliminate repetitive, manual tasks that get in the way of jobs that better serve your customers.
• Cloud migration – Our cloud experts can move your business to the cloud to help you adopt a new or fresher more flexible way of doing business. Cloud solutions let you save money over traditional server space, give you the agility to work from anywhere (even from home), and make it possible to suddenly shift the way you operate, should the need arise.
• Data migration – Moving your data from one place to place to another can be a long, resource-intensive process. We can free up some of your resources by moving your data seamlessly and securely with no downtime.
• Troubleshooting – Something not working the way it should? We can dedicate our teams to figuring out the problem so that your in-house team doesn’t have to drop everything to wander through the often frustrating diagnostic phase that happens when something goes wrong.
• Network and server buildout or upgrade – We help you get servers that are designed with your business needs in mind. We guide you through the entire process, too; from finding the ideal tech to prepping your server room. We can also upgrade your existing tech stack to meet the current needs of your business.

Why you should consider a co-managed IT partnership

MSPs don’t just take the burden away from your in-house team, they also help you create a more efficient business while saving money.

• Faster collaborations that save time. Co-managed solutions mean you no longer have to wait for something to get done. Because you’re not waiting for potential bottlenecks to clear up with the in-house team, you’re able to get issues resolved faster. And, even better, you’re not waiting for your internal team to have availability to get started on strategic projects.
• Save money. Instead of spending money on more full-time, or even part-time staff, we give you access to an entire team of tech experts for a much lower cost. When you consider that the average, true cost of an IT employee is around $100,000, getting an entire team for less than that makes a lot of sense. Not only that, but because you’ve got us around to take care of problems when your in-house team is busy, you experience less downtime, potentially saving tens of thousands of dollars per problem.
• Flexible, custom service levels depending on your needs. We make it possible for you to get the exact level of service that you need. Instead of having to choose from rigid plans where you end up with services that you don’t want or need, you can pick and choose what you want. If you need level 2 help desk support, you can get it. If you need help with strategic projects, no problem. If you’re embarking on a digital transformation journey, we can be your guide. It all depends on what you want from your co-managed service partner.

Want better support for your in-house team?

If your in-house team is feeling pushed to the limit and doesn’t have time for much beyond their big picture tasks, a co-managed services partnership could be just the thing your business needs

At Manhattan Tech Support (MTS), we provide you with the support you need. Our tech experts are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help your business grow strong.

Want to learn more about how co-managed solutions can help your business? Contact us today.

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