What is a managed service provider?

A managed service provider (MSP) supports your company’s IT needs including your network and infrastructure — usually for a flat monthly fee that’s all inclusive. Because of the payment model, MSPs are incentivized to keep your systems up and running. After all, they are paid the same whether they spend five hours proactively monitoring and pre-empting issues or 500 hours fixing tech fires and outages.

A managed service provider is more than a help desk (although their services include that). They don’t wait around until things break and then fix them. They are proactively improving your systems to make sure they run without interruption, improving productivity and security.

Their job is complex and involves monitoring and protecting all your endpoints (devices, computers), data and infrastructure (servers). They also proactively monitor and patch manage your network to prevent disruption. The best IT providers operate as a partner to your business, helping you stay ahead of the latest tech trends and plan for future needs. Learn more with our Choose IT Support Checklist.