How Your Managed Services Provider Can Help With Internal IT Projects

Before we get into how a managed services provider is a much stronger resource than you may perceive, let’s get a few assumptions out of the way.

Your Managed Services Provider Is an Important Resource

When you outsource any service, you want to get the most out of the relationship. A service provider’s goals—if they are smart—are to establish a relationship based on trust. This comes in handy when the time comes to renew a contract, but more importantly it can be leveraged to achieve strategic goals. Outsourced teams dedicate their full expertise and years of experience to your needs. While these needs are usually carefully assessed and met during the initial engagement, the relationship is meant to expand to help you meet new challenges and opportunities.

Your MSP Is a Partner, Not a Replacement

Small and medium businesses rely on outsourced services for more than technology. From commercial cleaning to roof inspections, small businesses turn to third parties to provide services that are too expensive or unrealistic to provide in-house. Technology is no different. Managed service providers complement existing IT staff, taking on the gritty jobs like cybersecurity, cloud use, or disaster recovery while the in-house staff handles more strategic functions. But sometimes, your in-house staff needs extra expertise or an outside opinion about the technology needed to help your business grow and expand.

Your Internal Project Is Critical to Your Future

As your business grows, it has to deal with unexpected challenges. Say your business merges with a competitor. While it is an exciting time for both entities because it creates new opportunities, it also poses the challenge of securely merging the technology of two separate entities together. Outsourced expertise makes this a smooth transition. As another example, say your industry expands cybersecurity requirements. How can you know for sure that your systems are compliant, and if not, what can be done to get there? 

It’s Not a Problem

IT professionals enjoy complex technology problems. The norm for outsourced IT is to handle the day-to-day help desk tickets and automated backups, so when a client wants to replace their entire CRM with something better or they plan to open a series of satellite offices in Virginia, they relish the chance to solve problems and use cool new technologies. MSPs can assist with these kinds of projects without stepping on the toes of your internal IT staff.

How Can We Help?

The key to successfully leveraging your outsourced IT provider to help with a large internal project is to have a clear approach.

We strategize, you execute – Most internal IT staff haven’t performed a migration or implemented an enterprise-wide application, but this doesn’t mean they are helpless. They just need direction. We provide the direction and your internal staff provides the muscle. This solution is a great approach if you plan to manage the solution internally.

You develop the plan; we give a helping hand – Some major projects won’t require an MSP, but they will benefit from the technical expertise needed to implement, configure, and maintain. 

We address the project from start to finish – The entire scope of the project may be too much for your internal team to handle, but we can train them to manage the new solution once it is completed.

Rely on Our Expertise

SBT Partners strives to be a complete technology resource for our clients, and one way we accomplish this is through fractional IT project work.

Tell us about your project, and we’ll handle the rest.