For manufacturers that have made the decision to contract with an MSP for regular IT support, the harsh reality is that the decision-making doesn't stop. There are many packages and plans from various providers that these businesses will need to consider, all with their own names and rules.
At The Network Doctor, we offer a variety of services and plans for our partner businesses. For the purposes of this article, we'll break it down into three groups: Outsourced IT, where an MSP manages projects and solutions on a case-by-case basis, Co-Managed IT with MSP support working in tandem with existing internal IT, or fully managed IT that is 100% owned by the MSP.
Outsourced IT
For companies who haven't worked with managed service providers before, outsourced IT will look the most like what they think of when they thing of traditional, break-fix IT. Break-fix IT is just what it sounds like, reactive support that fixes a problem as soon as it's broken. There's no greater strategy, only analysis and solutions, and sometimes that's needed.
But, you're probably past the point of break-fix, which leads to outsourced IT. Maybe you have an IT team or are already contracting with an IT provider of some sort, but there are projects beyond their scope. Think cabling, network changes, or compliance concerns. Outsourced IT gives you thoughtful, future-minded IT support that not just solves these problems but gives you a playbook to know how to prevent these problems from causing damage in the future. Depending on the MSP, it can also have the most flexibility in terms of contracts.
Co-Managed IT Support
Co-Managed support is more regular IT services, invoiced and paid monthly and always available to support your team. For manufacturers in need of software management, complicated compliance strategies, or additional cybersecurity, co-managed is often the way to go.
Co-Managed support gives you the regular, dependable expenses you can budget around, beefing up your existing technology support without the time and financial burden of hiring and training new workers or completely transferring ownership of systems to an MSP. Many manufacturers use co-managed support specifically to handle high-level security concerns while their existing IT supports day-to-day operations on the ground floor.
Managed IT Support
Sometimes, you need complete support from dedicated professionals that manage your network, systems, processes, and security plans. Managed IT Support from The Network Doctor for manufacturing businesses includes vCSO (virtual Chief Security Officer) support, consulting, remote support, and help desk ticketing. These services can always be part of outsourced or co-managed plans, but only through a fully managed plan can manufacturers get everything an MSP provides for one regular payment that business owners can rely on.
This support helps manufacturers plan for the future while building a habit of security and compliance best practices that fortifies their company from the myriad of dangers facing small businesses.
If you still don't know what type of service plan is the right one to get your manufacturing business the support it needs, schedule a 15-minute discovery call with The Network Doctor and tell us what problems your business is facing. From there we can recommend what services best fit in line with your needs and budget to get you the control over your IT support that every business owner deserves.
