Managed IT support is a model of service that enables businesses to outsource the management, maintenance and security of their technology infrastructure to an external service provider.

A professional company that looks after this type of service model is often a specialist in the field and known as a Managed Service Provider (MSP). The MSP’s prime role is to make sure your business’s IT systems are protected and maintained on a regular basis. 

In simple terms, managed IT support gives your business access to an IT team that continuously looks after your technology, rather than only being called when something goes wrong. This can help reduce downtime, improve security, give your employees faster access to support and make IT costs or future planning more predictable. 

Safeguarding systems is vital to the success of any business in today’s digital world. This is because cyber threats are evolving at an unprecedented rate and becoming more complex to resolve due to the fast pace of AI and technology advancements.

As a result, UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are adopting the use of managed IT services into their business models at an increasing rate of 20% each year. 

In this article, we explore the facts behind managed IT support, the specific levels of provision this model can offer and the key benefits that your organisation can achieve with this external support system. 

Contents

• What is managed IT support?
• What does managed IT support typically include?
• How much does managed IT support cost?
• Who benefits from managed IT support?

What is managed IT support?

A busy enterprise can sometimes need to look for external partners in order to maximise opportunities for growth and expand at a manageable pace. One important way to secure these outcomes is to find an IT support partner, such as a Managed IT support company. 

As a business grows, managing IT internally can become increasingly difficult. Managed IT support gives you access to an experienced IT team without needing to build a full internal department. 

Unlike break-fix IT support, where you call someone after something goes wrong, managed IT support is an ongoing service. 

With this type of collaboration, the support is a sustained process where a provider looks after your business’s systems and takes responsibility for managing your technological solutions. This becomes a continuing agreement, rather than irregular support when you need a one-off fix. 

So, instead of trying to resolve problems after they happen, your managed IT support provider proactively monitors systems, handles system security and applies updates to keep everything running smoothly and protected from cyber risk.

What does managed IT support typically include?

Every provider will have their own individual range of services and will likely create support packages based on their capacity and capabilities. 

Here are some examples of significant areas of support you could gain with this service model:

Helpdesk access

Typically, your IT support provider will have a number of ways you can contact the helpdesk should you need assistance, such as by email or phone call. For example, Integrity offers an unlimited helpdesk during business hours with both remote and on-site support as required.

Proactive monitoring (RMM)

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) occurs through a software platform that allows a managed IT support provider to track and maintain your business’s IT systems. This means that support is proactive rather than reactive, helping to ensure potential areas are identified before they become an issue. 

At Integrity, our monitoring tools continuously oversee supported devices and systems, automatically alerting our team to potential issues before they occur, allowing us to address them remotely without disruption, maximising your uptime and increasing productivity. 

Learn more in our article: Managed IT support vs break-fix: which one actually saves you money?

Patching and updates

Patching and enabling updates are key workflow areas for IT support. Software providers regularly release patches to fix security vulnerabilities, bugs and performance issues. 

A managed IT provider helps ensure supported devices and systems receive the appropriate updates, reducing security risk and keeping systems reliable . An update may include more than one patch (a code fix for a flaw or bug) and also integrate new, efficient features into your systems. 

Security

An experienced managed IT support provider will deliver continuous oversight when it comes to your digital defences.

This may include endpoint protection, email security, firewalls, monitoring, patch management and other measures designed to reduce the likelihood and impact of a cyber incident. Cybersecurity services should compliment any modern managed IT service.

Backups

Your IT support provider should be observing and testing your business data backups so that any errors or issues are flagged immediately and resolved before they become more serious. 

IT strategy

A productive partnership with a managed IT support provider could include long-term support and technology planning to help support the selection of growth opportunities and manage expansion. 

At Integrity, we are proven to work with clients to make sure their technology supports where the business is going, rather than simply maintaining what is already there. 

Explore more in our article: Outsourcing IT vs hiring in-house: how UK SMEs should decide

How much does managed IT support cost?

The cost of managed IT support varies depending on a variety of factors, such as the number of users and devices, the complexity of your infrastructure, the level of support required and the cybersecurity services included. 

Most managed services are charged as a predictable monthly fee, allowing businesses to budget for IT support more easily. At Integrity, we provide a tailored approach where we meet you and your site to ascertain your needs before building a bespoke proposal.

Who benefits from managed IT support?

It can be challenging for a business to oversee every aspect of their operations as they grow. Enterprises that are experiencing growth and have essentially outgrown their initial support kit will likely be searching for an alternative solution to better support their needs.

Your business may be growing but not ready for a full in-house IT department. This is potentially an ideal time to work with a managed IT support provider to ensure your systems are properly protected against cyber threats and maintained regularly. 

A proactive partner who continually reviews systems and finer details will be key to your business development. This is because it can be extremely difficult to grow your business if your systems are not running properly or if an attack takes place which could stop your business operations entirely for a period of time. 

At Integrity, we also support businesses with an existing IT person or IT team, providing additional expertise, monitoring, escalation support, project resource or specialist cybersecurity services

With a managed IT support provider, you don’t have to call in an unfamiliar firefighter when something unexpected happens. This can also be tricky as you’ll possibly have no idea how long it will take to fix the issue. A managed provider already understands your users, systems and infrastructure 

Managed IT support is particularly valuable if:

• employees are increasingly reliant on technology;
• IT issues are taking up management time;
• you don't have an internal IT department;
• you have an IT person but need additional expertise or capacity;
• downtime would significantly affect operations;
• cybersecurity requirements are increasing;
• your business is growing or opening additional locations;
• you want more predictable IT costs.

The biggest difference with managed IT support is that your provider becomes familiar with your organisation, your users and your technology. That means problems can often be resolved faster, risks can be identified earlier and future technology decisions can be planned rather than rushed.

Having a supportive relationship with your provider will help quickly resolve issues with easy access to support when you need it. That’s what you get with Integrity, your experienced and professional managed IT support provider. 

If you'd like to understand what managed IT support could look like for your organisation, speak to the Integrity team. We'll discuss your current setup, challenges and requirements and recommend an approach that fits your business.