So, you've got so used to that IT support guy who's been “stopping by” your workplace on a regular basis, for a few years now. Or with that tech support guy, from your IT services provider, who's been... supporting you and your team, on-site, for some time now. You've met his family, he hasn't missed any of the company's Xmas parties... So, why should you even consider switching to this new managed IT services support model?
How cutting down his visits could actually mean improved technical support services?
And you can't even say that you're grappling with the pros and cons, since you can't really put a finger on any “pros” for upgrading to this new type of technical support.
So, let's talk... benefits then! 5 of the strongest ones, actually:
Now and Then: The Managed IT Services Support Model vs The Legacy Model
Now let's have a look at the 2 most common situations where you'd leverage the “traditional” way of providing/getting IT support:
A. There's that technical consultant that pays his/her pre-scheduled visits to your workplace — who also comes when you call to report a sudden technical problem — and... “saves the day”.
B. There's an engineer from your IT services provider “glued” to his/her server, who provides your team with in-house technical support and preventive maintenance.
Now, let's have a look at our second scenario, where you will have already upgraded to the managed IT services model :
By leveraging a whole suite of remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools, your engineer provides you with technical support and maintenance right from his... service desk.
And, in many cases, it's him who'll alert you of emerging issues, before you even get to detect them yourself.
The 3 main benefits deriving from this new model?
- there's a fixed-price engagement (instead of the pay per hour-based partnership, where you get invoiced for every “additional” intervention or extra hours)
- remote monitoring and management tools guarantee you a more effective preventive and maintenance program
- reactive work is no longer done on-site, but in a more timely manner, right from your provider's central location
That being said, let's get straight to the 5 clincher arguments for moving to the managed IT services support model:
1. From “Need More RAM!” Discussions to a Digital Transformation Strategy
Or, to put it into a more down to earth language:
Your conversations with your service provider will no longer be centered exclusively on how to address this or that technical problem, but rather on the measures to implement for digitally transforming your business.
For standing out in an increasingly competitive landscape, keeping up with the neck-breaking speed of disruption in your industry (across all industries).
It will no longer come down to putting together that standard list of issues and technical hurdles to be shown to your designated engineer next time he visits you.
Instead, you'll get to engage in real conversations with a... strategic consultant this time.
And your conversations will no longer focus on repair and maintenance, but on the initiatives to take for digitally transforming your business (translating into more relevant products for your customers).
Not on whether you need more... RAM or not to boost your workstation's performance.
2. Managed IT Services Support = Custom Scripting & Proactive Repairing
Does this scenario here seem (too) familiar to you?
You, the user, detect a technical issue... you give the service desk a call right away... a call that will then result in a... ticket for resolution.
It's only afterward, after some time, that someone at your service provider's central place will take notice of this ticket (depending on their own schedule and staff availability). And eventually come to your “rescue”.
A discouragingly toilsome process, don't you think?
Now, here's how things would play out if you embraced the managed services support model:
Leveraging a proactive repair approach, your service provider — thanks to the used RMM tools — will automatically detect any suspicious issue. Then, it runs its custom script/procedures to get it fixed.
And all this without you, the user, even noticing that there had been a problem in the first place.
Custom procedures (custom script) can be deployed either proactively or reactively, keeping this unwanted event's impact on your day-to-day business operations to a minimum.
Now, how's that for a change?
Compared to the :
Issue tracking... alerting the service desk... having a ticket created for it and... waiting for this issue to be finally tackled
… kind of process?
3. Take the Worries of Managing Onsite IT Support Staff Off Your Back
That's right, moving to managed IT services support means that:
- there'll be no need for an in-house technical support team to be sent over by your provider
- you'll no longer need to assign staff management tasks to someone in your team (paid time off, benefits, salary etc), regarding these technicians sent over to your workplace
- also, you'll no longer need to manage their task list
“Outsourcing” is the best one-word definition for the managed IT services model!
Onsite support, along with all its inconveniences and staff management extra work, turns into off-site, “invisible” support.
Where issues get tackled from a distance before they even become… visible to you!
4. Simplify Your Auditing & Inventory Processes and Automate... Everything
Now you do agree that if:
- you don't aim for high efficiency for carrying out your business processes
- and you don't make “automate all the things” your ultimate goal
... you can't even be talking about digitally transforming your business.
About turning disruption in your industry from a challenge into a success story (your own).
Luckily, conveniently automated processes is what the managed IT services support model is based on.
Let me give you just a few examples of how the right RMM tools will help your service provider and benefit you, the client/user:
- patching operating systems and apps get automated
- managing the anti-malware gets automated
- monitoring (and altering) your system's health gets automated
- software deployments get automated
Hands-on support will be kept to a bare minimum since most of the operations can be handled right from your service provider's central place... automatically.
And there's more! Along with automation comes... simplification.
This means that by using a whole suite of digital tools, your service provider will be able to access any device in your workplace... digitally.
No need to have someone from their technical support staff come over for an inventory of issues and technical hurdles (and to eventually add/remove issues listed there).
This will simplify processes such as:
- asset allocation
- warranty renewals
- hardware lifecycle management
- software license tracking
- and implicitly: your regular auditing and budgeting processes
5. A Fixed Price Engagement Motivates Your Provider to Get Prevention-Focused
Let's see if this example of a “pay per hour-based” engagement, along with its limitations and inconveniences (for you) resonates with you:
A hardware failure has just struck or you're facing ransomware. What do you do? Well, you call the “emergency team”. Which do come, but... at a cost. One by the hour.
Now, as compared to this type of contract, the managed IT services support is based on a fixed budget. So, no matter what unexpected events might occur, your provider will address them, right away, at no additional cost.
Needless to add that it's precisely this fixed fee model that motivates them to prevent those issues to occur in the first place. So, they'll adopt a prevention-oriented approach.
Resulting in a win-win situation for both of you!
And this fixed-fee engagement, along with the prevention-focused mindset, will inevitably entail a whole new world of... benefits for you:
- you'll no longer need to limit yourself to the level of technical competency of that particular IT support guy sent to you on a prescheduled visit; instead, you'll get to tap into a wider range of expertise, right from your provider's own workplace
- you'll no longer have to wait for that prescheduled visit or to expect to get invoiced differently for any intervention that's “outside” the schedule
The END! What do you think now: is it worth it to move to this whole new way of providing/receiving IT support?
