What Is Managed IT Services?
Companies that excel at managing IT have a competitive edge. To maintain the advantage requires strategic planning, active maintenance, and a keen knowledge of cyber security. The scope of the task can tax even the most capable in-house team.
Managed IT Services allow companies to access expertise and service by contracting with an outside managed service provider (MSP). The outside team can do whatever needs to be done—from taking over routine maintenance tasks to designing global IT strategies.
Typically, MSPs focus on four key goals:
- Keep data secure
- Reduce downtime
- Plan and implement upgrades
- Contain costs
With Managed IT Services, you can serve your company and your customers more effectively. Conversely, improper IT management results in costly downtime, productivity loss and dangerous security exposures.
Common services offered by a managed IT service provider.
Service Desk.
The Service Desk provides responsive technical support to keep IT problems from slowing your business down. Done right, it provides proactive and preventative maintenance for optimal network stability. Service desk technicians monitor your system so they can detect problems early before they affect productivity. A managed service desk saves your company the cost of maintaining an internal team. You get high-level expertise when you need it.
Cyber Security.
- SOC/SIEM-as-a-Service Security Incident Event Management (SIEM) is a system that monitors an IT environment to identify and analyze security events. A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a team and technology that looks at the security events picked up by SIEM and determines threat level and response. An MSP handling SOC/SIEM ensures that the system is up to date and providing the most protection possible.
- Security Assessment A Security Assessment reviews your environment to identify risks to the confidentiality, integrity or availability of your critical business information. Your MSP conducts a review of key technology assets, current security strategy, controls, and IT infrastructure in order to identify vulnerabilities and then recommend security controls.
- Next Generation Endpoint Protection This advanced technology protects devices (endpoints) connected to your network by using predictive artificial intelligence to identify threats before they have a chance to attack. It blocks suspicious web applications, dangerous URLs and malicious code of all kinds.
- Security Awareness Training Only by educating your employees and implementing company-wide security processes can you know you’ve done everything possible to protect your data. Almost all ransomware incidents are triggered by well-meaning employees who did not know how to spot a malicious link. A good managed IT service must include a training program to address this vulnerability.
- Managed Firewall Firewalls are network security devices that monitor all incoming and outgoing traffic and will deny data packets access to your network, based on rules set by your company. Crucially, however, firewalls must be actively managed by experts—to adapt to evolving threats and (often) to meet compliance requirements. An MSP regularly checks firewall performance to ensure security.
- Security Governance It’s important for companies to prioritize security efforts to ensure they are aligned with business goals. An MSP will work with you to plan and implement a security strategy with your company’s unique business objectives in mind. It includes training, reporting and accountability.
- 24/7 Managed Detection and Response MDR is a threat-monitoring service providing the most advanced cybersecurity technologies that are usually beyond the scope of an in-house IT
team. The components can include real-time threat intelligence; user behavior analytics; monitored SIEM; and machine learning. - Regulatory Compliance Review An MSP can ensure your company is in compliance with the ever-expanding regulations covering digital privacy. The service keeps up with developments
in the regulatory environment, including (for example) HIPAA, PCI, CJIS, SOX and GDPR.
Fully Managed IT Services
Managed service providers can offer customers a range of support, depending on needs. Basic managed service plans start with a monitoring service that notifies customers of problems, which they then address. At the other end of the spectrum is fully managed services, in which the MSP takes responsibility for everything from alerts all the way through complete resolution.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
Just about every company has a data backup process in place. But merely having a backup is no protection from damaging—even fatal—interruptions of operations.
To ensure continuity requires a recovery plan aimed at maintaining productivity in the wake of data loss. A managed service provider will create such a plan.
Cloud Computing
With managed cloud services, your company gets data storage and software functionality—scalable up or down as your needs change. You’re protected from investing more than you need, and you’re assured of access to the most advanced software. It’s the most flexible and cost-effective method.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure allows you to use your preferred tools to build, deploy and manage applications on a global scale. This public cloud computing platform maximizes the benefits of cloud computing, offering exceptional flexibility, reliability, reduced cost and the utmost security. The benefits are available in four different types: infrastructure as a service (IaaS); platform as a service
(PaaS); software as a service (SaaS); and serverless.
Private Hosting Services
In a private hosting environment, all of a company’s data is secured and unavailable to the outside world.
Hybrid Cloud Models
A hybrid model takes advantage of the benefits of more than one hosting environment, with computing, storage and services distributed among onpremises infrastructure, private cloud services, and public cloud. The chief benefit of this mixed solution is maximum agility—offering the ability to adapt to changing needs and technologies rapidly.
Phone Systems
A managed phone system offers companies maximum flexibility to scale up or down, as well as access to as much functionality as needed—without the costs and headaches of owning the equipment. This advanced technology is also known as Managed Unified Communications or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Benefits of Working with a Managed Service Provider
Managed IT Services Reduce Costly Downtime
With a managed service provider proactively monitoring your IT environment, the risk of expensive interruptions is dramatically reduced. When a problem does arise, a good MSP provides rapid support that helps maintain your company’s productivity.
Helps Build a More Stable and Reliable Environment
IT stability is crucial to productivity. A good MSP designs a maintenance strategy unique to your company, aimed at reducing downtime through active detection, prevention and timely upgrades.
Work with Technology Advisers
An MSP offers as much assistance and expertise as your company needs— whether you have a full IT staff or none. Your advisers can help build a strategic plan that makes the most of your human and technical resources, and keeps your network running efficiently.
Accurate Budget Forecasting
Working with an MSP allows you to predict costs and avoid unexpected expenses. Your team of experts design a strategy and keep you informed of needs such as upgrades, so you can plan accordingly.
Compliance Oversight
MSPs stay on top of standards such as PCI compliance and can ensure your company is meeting the regulations it needs to adhere to.
High Certification Standards
MSPs usually work with a number of technology vendors, and must maintain a wide range of certifications in order to give the best guidance to customers.
Why Work with Dynamic Quest
Hundreds of companies rely on Dynamic Quest’s customized IT management.
Once they experience the advantages of access to our expertise and support, they stick with us as we help them maintain their competitive edge and adapt to changing technology.
Three levels of around-the-clock support.
Our Help Desk responds to calls 24/7, including emergency two-hour response times. Our customers know our team will answer the call and keep their company productive.
Hardened data center.
Many of our customers take advantage of our SOC 2-certified data center for maximum security and reliable, fast recovery.
Strategic planning focused on business goals.
Our team designs an IT strategy with your business objectives as the driving principle. Our recommendations are tailored to your needs and budget.
Preventative maintenance controls costs.
Our well-designed strategy places a premium on detection and resolution of problems to reduce downtime.
What is included in Dynamic Quest’s Managed Services?
Our customers have different needs, depending on the size of their internal team, the nature of their IT infrastructure, and other factors. We offer three levels of service, all of which can be customized.
1. Basic Managed IT Services
Our economical package offers monitoring of servers and workstations, applies antivirus protection, remotely applies patches and updates and flags issue that arise.
2. Managed IT Services
This package offers 24x7x365 proactive maintenance and Help Desk support. Your vCIO will provide ongoing analysis and work with you on a strategic technology plan.
3. Managed IT Services + Projects
Under this extensive plan, you will receive comprehensive IT support, 24x7x365 service desk support and IT project work required to keep your business running.
LEARN MORE about the advantages of Managed IT Services
More information can be found on our managed IT services webpage.
Or talk to one of our experts about your specific situation. 833-437-8378.
