With most businesses now supporting more hybrid ways of working, demand for managed network services is growing and expected to grow further in the future.
Given this, I thought it would be great to share some insight into ‘The Day in the Life of a Managed Services Provider’ to provide some understanding about how we care for Managed Services clients on a daily basis.
Every business is unique, with different technology requirements. Given this no solution is the same, but our overall goal is to provide technical solutions in accordance with industry best practice and ensure client infrastructure is always performing at its best.
At the end of the day, it’s our job to keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes, so issues never escalate to the point where people cannot do their job.
1. Server monitoring
We (obviously) start our day with coffee, but our monitoring systems and network operations centre work 24x7 to keep an eye on system performance and alerts.
If there is any activity over the thresholds we set for acceptable performance, we are alerted via email and phone calls from our network operations centre.
System monitoring software reduces costs by eliminating the need for a physical system administrator and manual checks. Reports are also used to optimise system performance and availability, diagnose issues, track trends and benchmark performance.
2. Managed network
Modern networks are complex beasts, so there are many opportunities for things to go wrong. Networks are often the backbone of businesses and when they don’t perform optimally, your business may suffer.
To mitigate this, we provide network traffic and bandwidth usage monitoring alongside support for a wide range of networking products including LAN, Wireless, Firewall, Load Balancing, Content Filtering and WAN Optimisation platforms.
These services are an important component of our Managed Services agreements for the following reasons:
Prevent network outages before they occur
Reduce performance failure time
Generate network performance reports
Discover security threats
Maintain full network visibility
3. Cloud services
Cloud services provide users and organisations mobility and freedom to work on all devices. They make integration and device changes simple.
As a Managed Services provider we handle the licencing, monitoring, backups and configurations changes for various cloud systems including Microsoft 365, Azure, Google Apps and DropBox on any given day.
With fixed monthly pricing, cloud managed services are often more cost effective than hiring an in-house IT team.
4. IT Support and troubleshooting
Digit IT Managed Services clients enjoy 24x7 IT Support and Guaranteed Response Times, based on their service level agreement. For example, critical issues, like a server offline, will be responded to within 2 hours guaranteed, with a target response time of 15 minutes.
Modern networks are complex and multi-faceted and our team work individually or collectively (when required) to troubleshoot complex problems on a daily basis.
Daily ‘tickets’ completed for clients include requests to assist with mailbox management, accounts and application access.
Managed Services clients can choose onsite or remote support, with the majority of clients preferring a combination of both.
5. Mitigating risk / IT security
Preventing accidental and malicious threats is a huge part of what we do, along with keeping abreast of new attacks and emerging IT Security products and software.
Security audits and security monitoring help us identify risks before they become an issue, along with responding swiftly to incidents so they can be quickly contained.
User security accidents are sometimes harder to resolve, and, in those rare events, our days turn into nights as we work around the clock with our clients to contain security breaches through disaster recovery services.
6. Client and vendor management
I hate to say it, but we often spend a long time on the phone acting on your behalf with IT vendors including software and telco providers … oh joy!
Vendor-neutral, we offer independent advice and ask the right questions to ensure the products and services we recommend meet your current and future business needs.
At times, we also partner with third parties to deliver on a particular project. As a managed services partner, we assume the role of Project Manager and bring everyone together to remove complexity and ensure the process is as smooth and effective for our clients as possible.
7. Local and cloud backup
Data loss can be devastating for any business, and in the case of a security breach or natural disaster, you need to know your systems will be backed up and operational as quickly as possible.
All good Managed Services providers should spend a portion of their day checking data is safe and secure. We do.
8. Proactive IT planning
Digit IT Managed Services clients receive monthly IT system reports and quarterly face-to-face Technology Business Reviews aimed at helping clients maximise their IT investment.
During these meetings, we work with clients to discuss any feedback (good and bad) and ensure clients are investing in solutions that meet their current needs and future business goals.
We understand that businesses need to budget for IT upgrades and take a long-term approach when planning IT solutions.
Given this, we provide plenty of notice to ensure clients know when products are reaching the end of their life and when it is time to upgrade hardware and renew licencing subscriptions and domain registrations.
9. Training and upskilling
IT is always rapidly evolving.
Everyone in our business loves playing with technology. And we are always looking for new ways make your systems operate faster, more efficiently and more securely.
Who doesn’t like to read about new technologies, study for an exam or scroll a nerdy IT forum before they switch off the bedside light? Our team does!
Get a Quote
Digit IT has proven track record of supporting clients with 1-500+ users in a range of industries across Queensland and New South Wales, including the government, medical, finance, legal, education, construction and retail sectors.
Please contact Digit IT on 07 4637 9033 for a quote or head to our Managed Services webpage for more information.