When you are researching Houston IT services for your business, you may find yourself wondering, what exactly are they?

In a nutshell, managed IT services are business information technology tasks handled by a third-party service called managed service providers (MSPs). For the cost of a predictable monthly service fee, managed IT services can reduce in-house overhead, improve uptime management, reduce downtime due to technical mishaps, and increase your overall IT efficiency. They also help your business to affordably scale and more easily compete with some of the industry giants in your field.

Many business owners of companies both large and small choose to outsource their IT services because it reduces costs and often fills a skills gap or reduces the workload of an in-house IT team without the need to hire another employee. Additionally, a managed IT service provider often has employees with especially knowledge or expertise that a business owner might not have access to with a small, in-house team.

While many MSPs used to operate under a break/fix model where a technician was hired to resolve an issue after it had already occurred, modern providers like your local Houston IT services company use a model that combines proactive and reactive services. Proactive services include patch management and predictive maintenance, such as ensuring all your company software is up-to-date. Reactive services happen when something breaks down with the goal of reducing downtime.

Most providers offer their services under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which provides provisions for downtime, technical support, help desk operations, and disaster recovery. Packages are usually tailored to the needs of an individual company and can range from general to specific. They may also be used to handle all of the IT operations of an organization, or as a supplement to an in-house team.

Some tasks that are typically covered include:

  • Monitoring and maintenance of hardware and infrastructure
  • IT systems management
  • Security services such as incident response and penetration testing
  • Monitoring and management of services
  • Network monitoring
  • Configuration, monitoring, and management of cloud services
  • 24/7/365 help desk support

If you feel like your company is faced with increased pressure to stay up-to-date with current technological innovations, or you are lacking the level of technical expertise from your in-house team that you need, then hiring a Houston IT Services Provider may be the right choice for your company.

Here at The 20 MSP, we offer expert IT services at a predictable flat-rate cost to help you grow your Houston-based business without worrying about daily IT headaches. Schedule a call today to learn more!