With so many companies sourcing Managed Service Providers where should you begin?
Today?s post is by Mark Davis; Senior Vice President and COO at SafeSourcing.
Yesterday we touched on a report of MSPMentor?s Top 100 (actually it was the top 501) providers that was just released.? As part of this survey process MSPMentor also looked at some of the associated trends in this space among the suppliers and their customers.? This week we are focusing on the most commonly offered services and what they may mean to your company and its profitability.
Help Desk? (89%*) ? Almost 90% of the service providers are offering their customers some type of held desk offering to augment the other services they provide.? In a space where companies are employing MSPs to help fill in the gas of their own staff it is no wonder this offering is so common.? While most MSPs are offering help desk services not all are equal in experience and quality.? Make sure you know the background behind MSP help desks you are looking at and ask the appropriate questions surrounding how they plan on servicing your organization.
Patch Management (89%*) ? Patch Management is probably the most commonly offered MSP service that few people understand and at the same time it is constantly happening in their environments which is a good indication of how successful the process is.? The notices Microsoft provides, the badges alerts on your iPad and iPhone are all part of the automated Patch Process where someone or something else manages the process to keep your systems updated.? Companies such as SolarWinds have developed tools and companies help manage the many patches (OS, Virsu, Datawarehouse, etc.) the use in their businesses every day keeping them protected and current.
Managed Security Services (85%*) ? Companies such as IBM, Symantec, SecureWorks, Dell and Trustwave all offer Managed Security Services and are considered ?leaders? in the field according to a recent Forrester Research report.? The key to why these companies are so successful lies more in the way they partner with their customers on strategy than in the software and services they sell.? Cyber security in today?s world is so critical that many companies have chosen to partner with an MSP that has the expertise to recommend the best to protect them.? They also want a supplier who can look ahead and be proactive in their offering suite, allowing them to keep their focus on the core of what they do best.
To understand more about how we can help you find vendors to meet some of these needs, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.? Please come back throughout the week for the other top services we will cover in our Week of MSP Service Review.
We look forward to your comments.
