No matter how you approach your network and digital infrastructure, you’ve likely made the move to cloud-based services and applications. It’s nearly impossible to do business without the cloud these days. Yet with that shift comes an increased level of network complexity and vulnerability. There’s also the need to stay on top of the latest technologies, software updates, and security practices.
Managed Network Services that are provided by a Managed Services Provider (MSP) can solve these very real challenges, while optimizing network performance and positioning an enterprise for whatever the future brings. This can be especially critical for the unique needs of distributed enterprises, with sites spread across large areas and needing to deliver consistent customer services at each of them, in such sectors as retail, hospitality, retail petroleum, banking and finance, healthcare, and government.
But how do you know when the time is right to turn to an MSP? Here are five pivotal moments when it can make sense to seek support from an MSP to partner with your IT team.
1: You need a new IT skillset.
Maintaining comprehensive IT expertise, as technology expands and evolves rapidly, is an all but impossible task. Working with an MSP can enable you to efficiently grow your capabilities and ensure you have access to any needed capabilities in the future.
2: You face a technology rollout.
Transitioning to any new technology – be it networking, security, or cloud-services – requires tremendous planning and effort, with no time for on-the-job training. An MSP delivers expertise and needed resources across your deployment area, reducing risk and ensuring that your project is delivered on time and with minimal disruption for your business.
3: You want a more agile, lean enterprise.
Whether you want to delegate only select business processes or are looking for a partner to take on broad functional areas, an MSP can meet all your IT staffing needs, making it easier to be more agile and manage the enterprise. Given the accumulation of vendors, equipment, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) associated with the modern network, this model greatly reduces management complexity.
4: You want to rise above the day-to-day.
Your IT resources are finite. With an MSP, you can dedicate valuable in-house resources to mission-based tasks with the power to propel the business forward; and leave day-to-day network management to a partner that has invested in the personnel, tools and automation to deliver consistent results across your enterprise.
5: You need to secure an expanding “attack surface.”
Whether from a rising number of connected mobile devices, an increase in use of cloud services, or a higher number of remote workers, it has become far more challenging to secure the expanding attack surface. And this trend shows no signs of abating. An MSP can expertly orchestrate and deliver network security, especially more advanced approaches like Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), as well as keep up with (and combat) ever-changing attack vectors.
Turning to an experienced MSP like Hughes can reduce your risk, improve time to deployment, and simplify operations. Plus, a high performing MSP partner can build the network foundation necessary to deliver consistent and seamless application performance across your entire enterprise—and fulfill your brand promise to employees and customers.