Managed IT services, or often just called “managed services,” is a term that IT companies use when referring to their ongoing, comprehensive IT service offering for businesses. It includes proactive protection and support for the majority of the IT elements that businesses use to get work done, including the company’s servers, workstations and network. Managed services typically include four main components: Monitoring, Security, Backups, and Support/Help Desk.
Remote Monitoring & Maintenance
Managed IT services works by continuously monitoring your IT system remotely looking for problems and inefficiences. We look for problems like failed hard drives, as well as monitor for usage and network speed. Through ongoing, remote monitoring, we can implement ongoing updates and tweaks to reduce redundancies and optimize performance.
Cyber Security
Managed IT services also takes the guesswork out of IT security. Packages come with anti-virus software on all workstation and servers, as well as an enterprise-grade firewall to help keep threats out of your network. We can even offer tips and training for employees on topics such as recognizing email phishing attempts.
Backups
Backups are about more than just recovering that word document you accidentally deleted. A loss of company data such as financial records, client databases, and customer orders can be catastrophic to a business. Managed services packages should always include regularly-scheduled backups of valuable company data.
Support/Help Desk
The final element of a managed services package is IT support through the help desk.. IT issues can pop up at any time, day or night. A managed services package includes 24/7 help desk support through phone and email, so you’re never left in the dark.
What does Managed IT Services Cost?
Managed services are typically billed as a flat-rate monthly fee. Costs can vary rather significantly, depending on the size and needs of the business. Number of workstations and server load are two important factors when determining costs for managed services. Therefore, to get started, most businesses will undergo a network audit, which allows a managed services provider such as Keytel to assess what the business has now and what they need for optimized performance. After the audit, a business will receive a custom quote for ongoing managed services. Since it’s billed monthly at a flat-rate, the costs can be anticipated and easily budgeted for.