Today there’s a lot of buzz and confusion about what managed service providers do and how they can benefit your company. While everyone is talking, the day-to-day maintenance of computer networks and
systems grows more complex and unmanageable. In the new 24-hour economy, most companies resort to hiring more staff and buying more expensive software solutions to support their technology infrastructure. Information technology budgets sometimes
rise faster than sales do. The time and cost involved in keeping pace in this dynamic environment has many small to mid-size businesses feeling overwhelmed, and their profits squeezed. The 'Do It Yourself' Approach Take 24-hour network monitoring
and maintenance as an example. It’s an important function of your business with hidden costs that are often overlooked. To stay competitive, many companies need their systems up and running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support their employees,
supply chain, and most of all, their customers! The average company unknowingly loses thousands of dollars of sales and productivity in every hour of network downtime. To maximize your uptime and performance, you'll need the aid of some efficient
and expensive hardware and software. Then add at least one or two well-trained technical people to configure, manage, and monitor the systems. You'll also need another person to be on call for the 'late shift.' Depending on the size of your
infrastructure, this could cost your company anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up an around-the-clock managed solution; and almost that much each year to maintain. A New Way of Thinking Instead of trying to
do everything themselves, many companies are turning to a new type of company called Management Service Providers or MSP's. Working with your existing staff, MSP's will troubleshoot your systems, handle routine and time-consuming tasks, and perform
service level management functions. This allows your staff to support and enhance your systems, devoting much less time and energy to 'fighting fires'. Secure, Affordable, Peace of Mind Managed Service Providers can set up a secure and comprehensive
managed solution for a small fraction of the cost of doing it yourself. You simply pay a monthly fee based on the number of devices you have. They are responsible for most of the on-going costs related to staff training, system hardware and software
upgrades for the solution they offer. You’ll need to make minimal changes to your existing systems and installation is quick and easy. Security is kept tight by using dedicated lines, virtual private networking connections (VPN's) and/or
authentication systems. I Want My MSP! In the end, using an MSP is like having a virtual extension of your own staff. The partnership with your MSP will minimize network downtime costs and allow your staff to spend time focused on the more important
issues relating to your core business and operations. Ultimately, this win-win scenario will make you more competitive by saving you time, headaches, and money.

[Keith Denk is a Network Engineer at Sciodata Corporation, a company that specializes in
managing networks for small to mid- sized businesses, you can reach him at mailto:kdenk@sciodata.com or at 1-877-UPTIME4U. If you'd like to know more about network MSP services, please visit http://www.sciodata.com ]