Carol: When most people think of IT support, they think of reactive services or help desk support. That’s who you call when something breaks or you need a password reset. For most companies, the help desk technicians are the face of managed services, but in reality, helpdesk is just a very small part of IT management.
Jim Egelston, who is our operations manager at MIS Solutions, is here to discuss the other four areas of IT management. Welcome, Jim.
Jim:
Hi, Carol.
Carol:
Hey. Do you mind just explaining what those other areas are and give us a brief overview of what those team do?
Jim:
So, yes, there are four service components that we, that, what we would call, the total MSP package. One is, of course, help desk. This is what most people think about when they think about managed service providers and the services that they provide. Another big one is proactive services.
We also have professional services, and a big one for us here at MIS that most people have, no idea about when they think about MSPs is technology alignment.
So, help desk is very reactive. If something breaks or if something is not working, we fix it. We react to it. And this is what most people think about when they think about managed service providers.
But, we also have, a dedicated proactive services team. This is not necessarily the opposite of reactive, but it works in tandem, because when the proactive team is doing their job, it makes the reactive side of things much easier.
And what that really means is every night, and every day, behind the scenes, we have a whole team of people who are working on network monitoring, system and server maintenance, security patching, data backups, all the way down to phone systems.
Carol: So proactive support really is a critical component of IT management. That’s what really keeps things humming and keeps systems up and running. Is it safe to say, Jim, that the better your proactive services are, the fewer problems you’re going to have down the road?
Jim: Absolutely. So beyond that, we also have professional services. I mentioned that a minute ago. What professional services really means is projects. So it could be an office move, could be a system migration, could be upgrades to existing technology or a brand new technology installation. Projects of these types usually require, more advanced, technology and skills.
And will also take a little more time. So these are things that are well beyond the typical support desk type of ticket or type of work.
And then t
Carol: When most people think of IT support, they think of reactive services or help desk support. That’s who you call when something breaks or you need a password reset. For most companies, the help desk technicians are the face of managed services, but in reality, helpdesk is just a very small part of IT management.
Jim Egelston, who is our operations manager at MIS Solutions, is here to discuss the other four areas of IT management. Welcome, Jim.
Jim:
Hi, Carol.
Carol:
Hey. Do you mind just explaining what those other areas are and give us a brief overview of what those team do?
Jim:
So, yes, there are four service components that we, that, what we would call, the total MSP package. One is, of course, help desk. This is what most people think about when they think about managed service providers and the services that they provide. Another big one is proactive services.
We also have professional services, and a big one for us here at MIS that most people have, no idea about when they think about MSPs is technology alignment.
So, help desk is very reactive. If something breaks or if something is not working, we fix it. We react to it. And this is what most people think about when they think about managed service providers.
But, we also have, a dedicated proactive services team. This is not necessarily the opposite of reactive, but it works in tandem, because when the proactive team is doing their job, it makes the reactive side of things much easier.
And what that really means is every night, and every day, behind the scenes, we have a whole team of people who are working on network monitoring, system and server maintenance, security patching, data backups, all the way down to phone systems.
Carol: So proactive support really is a critical component of IT management. That’s what really keeps things humming and keeps systems up and running. Is it safe to say, Jim, that the better your proactive services are, the fewer problems you’re going to have down the road?
Jim: Absolutely. So beyond that, we also have professional services. I mentioned that a minute ago. What professional services really means is projects. So it could be an office move, could be a system migration, could be upgrades to existing technology or a brand new technology installation. Projects of these types usually require, more advanced, technology and skills.
And will also take a little more time. So these are things that are well beyond the typical support desk type of ticket or type of work.
And then the last part, is technology alignment. This is something that most people definitely do not think about when they think about managed service providers.
Technology alignment here is driven by our client experience team and our principal consultants. Our principal consultants are much more than account managers. They actually consult with our clients, providing strategic guidance and working with clients on their overall business objectives and determining how, the IT solutions that we provide help our clients move forward and achieve their overall goals.
They also serve as liaisons and advocates between the clients and our other departments here at MIS.
Carol: Okay, so when a company is looking for a managed services provider, how important is it for them to look for an MSP that has dedicated teams, assigned to these four areas?
Jim: It’s extremely important because all four of these areas are very critical to our clients’ success.
And, any client who is looking for an IT provider should be asking these four questions or asking about these four areas. If you would certainly like any more information, please reach out to MIS. We’ll be more than happy to have that conversation with you.
Carol: Alright. Thank you so much, Jim. Thank you.
he last part, is technology alignment. This is something that most people definitely do not think about when they think about managed service providers.
Technology alignment here is driven by our client experience team and our principal consultants. Our principal consultants are much more than account managers. They actually consult with our clients, providing strategic guidance and working with clients on their overall business objectives and determining how, the IT solutions that we provide help our clients move forward and achieve their overall goals.
They also serve as liaisons and advocates between the clients and our other departments here at MIS.
Carol: Okay, so when a company is looking for a managed services provider, how important is it for them to look for an MSP that has dedicated teams, assigned to these four areas?
Jim: It’s extremely important because all four of these areas are very critical to our clients’ success.
And, any client who is looking for an IT provider should be asking these four questions or asking about these four areas. If you would certainly like any more information, please reach out to MIS. We’ll be more than happy to have that conversation with you.
Carol: Alright. Thank you so much, Jim. Thank you.
Share:
