How IT Support Services Ease Your Life [4 Methods]

In 2016 and the coming years, the companies will be focusing more on IT support as per the survey that was conducted in December last year. The businesses have now realised the importance of money and the ways it can be saved by upgrading the quality of the IT support in terms of resolving the issues and enhancing the response time. Below, we will discuss the attributes of IT support services and how it helps in making the life easier:

Improves Employee Productivity: To increase the productivity of the employees, you need to promote the IT support team. This usually brings faster response time, an improved infrastructure, experienced specialists and the techniques to handle the tickets. In other words, the employees can quickly come back to work since the network, and other IT related issues will be managed by the services provider.

Image Credit - B2C

Enhanced Client Experience: For any company, positive client experience matters the most. Every business invests a hefty amount so it can improve the customer experience rather than lose them. Enhanced IT support is the best way of improving the experience from the initial level. Remember that whenever issues are resolved in a faster way, it always indicates that the employees can deliver better services and response to the customers that reduces the hold time and increases the happy customers that will stick around for years. Old customers always worth more than the new ones because the new customers cost more while it’s easier to retain the existing ones.

Developed Company Culture: Hiring new people frequently seems costly to the companies while their turnover appears to be more expensive. The cost of continuous turnover of the employees is far more than improving and managing the IT support. Keep in mind that your company culture must be developed. Culture is not only limited to the office environment but the technology that is being provided to the employees at the work place.

Pre-Defined Metrics and Intelligence Related Issues: You must have pre-defined systems and standards in your company. Being a business owner, you need to understand how rapidly the staff’s request is being resolved, which technology is slowing down the employee’s productivity and what improvements can be made in the technology to lessen or eradicate the tickets of the help desk.

Appropriate IT support can help a great deal in running the organisational processes effectively. It’s quite obvious that if your employee will operate at 50% capacity, they will be unable to provide the services properly which in turn lose your clientele. Instead of losing customers, you can adopt a proactive approach to attain a better managed IT support in order to enhance the response and resolution time.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/4-ways-quality-support-makes-life-easier-01505583#RxEyyTJeisZGLLjX.97

Managed Services Will Be Transformed Via Machine Learning!

IT managed service providers are paying close attention to the big data analytics since it can encapsulate the huge amount of machine data that can diagnose various problems before their occurrence.

There is no doubt that in today’s time, the companies are having a wealth of IT innovations. Specifically, the two innovations have greatly captured the imagination of the managed service providers since they are looking for ways to initiate the higher levels of automation into the operations. Firstly, the increasing need for the big data analytics services can capture huge amounts of machine data which can be used to identify the possible problems before their occurrence. Secondly, due to technical advancement, the machine learning algorithms can assure to mechanise the IT operations at exceptional scale levels.

With the advancement in technologies, the top IT service providers in the UK are engaging themselves in a way that the services will be delivered round fixing the pricing models. This will allow the support providers to mechanise more and more processes so to retain profitability, as described by the senior vice president and head of the cloud infrastructure for Infosys, Samson David. Since today, the biggest problem of most MSPs is the financial resources and the cost of IT labour that they have to borne, the above advancements can assist in decreasing the number of IT professionals.

Infosys is making huge efforts to invest heavily in software so it can mechanise as many processes as possible in order to take thousands of professionals out of the process as stated by David.

The IT support services provider offering the amenities like cyber security are required to be pushed into the cloud. In the cloud, it will be easier for them to apply the big data analytics services in order to enhance the data-intensive processes, for instance, the security, as narrated by the President of Redhawk Network Security, an MSP based in Bend, Ore, Matthew Tirman. He told that the clients want to decrease the stress level and overhead of IT security for which they would have to find ways to be more cost effective.

Originally Posted by Michael Vizard

Source: http://www.channelinsider.com/managed-services/machine-learning-to-reshape-managed-services.html

Steel Orca Managed Services Provider Busted

Steel Orca Inc. is a Pennsylvania based managed services provider is planning to file for the bankruptcy since they have failed to transmute the defunct steel mill on the state border with the New Jersey into a new data centre as per the reports.

Steel Orca, which is providing a facility in the Princeton, New Jersey has willingly filed for the Chapter 7 bankruptcy at the start of the December. This information has been given as per the documents observed by the Data Centre Knowledge. Filing for the Chapter 7 bankruptcy means that the complete company’s assets will be transferred to a trustee before distributing them among the creditors.

In the Steel Orca’s case, New Jersey-based Atkinson & DeBartolo firm’s Bankruptcy Attorney Bunce Atkinson has been appointed as the trustee even though the officials had refused to talk about this.

Image Credit - Silicon Angle

In spite of the fact that the company was making several interesting moves in the last year, still the Steel Orca’s bankruptcy has been faced. Strategic partnership with Avaya Inc. has been proclaimed by the Steel Orca because they aimed to create the next generation software using the fabric based SDN architectures as defined by the data centre.

The company was also facing a high demand for the Linux and Oracle as a service solutions as explained by the Steel Orca’s CTO Larry Hess during the IBM Edge 2015.

Steel Orca had many big plans for its intended facility in the Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The old steel mill involved around 300, 000 square feet where the facility would have to be fueled by numerous local, renewable energy sources through which water from the Delaware River had been reserved for use in the cooling system.

Initially, the project was delayed prior to being cancelled completely for unexplained reasons. Keystone NAP LLC, another company, where Data Centre Knowledge has claimed that it had links with the Steel Orca’s President John Parker is currently creating its own data centre at the steel mill site.

Source: http://siliconangle.com/blog/2015/12/29/managed-services-provider-steel-orca-goes-bust/

How to Overwhelm the Top Security Apps with Managed Services

In what way does the organisation lower the security risks related to applications while still prioritising the productivity and the ways to manage the costs?

There are some applications that can easily access the most sensitive data and information while some have the ability to support the tactical business processes. Compared to network security, it has been observed that application security is receiving the less budget. This has made business leaders and security experts realised why hackers are attacking the applications. To reduce the risk of cyber attack that becomes successful in most of the cases, the majority of the security leaders are believing that the application security programmes should be enhanced.

According to the survey of 2014 by CompTIA, it has been analysed that the security problems are being mostly resolved with the help of managed services and around 47% of the companies are using them to report their cyber security needs. Here we will discuss the application security challenges that an organisation may face and how the managed services can overcome these risks:

Recruiting and Retaining the Security Experts is Challenging and Costly

As per the Cisco’s 2014 Annual Security Report, the internal security experts are searching for the new roles and are few in number while around 1 million IT security jobs are vacant all across the world. In the case if anybody is able to satisfy its role, the area of expertise that an employee may need can cover numerous domains as security software programmes develop, for instance, data protection, authentication, testing, encryption, bugs, design flaws, client side applications and many more. The companies are required to make investments in these domains in order to ensure that the new experts are up to date and performing to their full potential.

Image Credit - Infosecurity

Quick Responses to Change is a Necessity

Whether it’s a technology or business, everything needs development. In the case of technology, it is necessary for the business to analyse whether the security team is able to respond the new threats immediately that have been inspected and addressed. It is essential that the security groups can quickly respond to changes.

Only Tools Are Not Sufficient to Save You

For the applications that handle the crucial business functions or can access the sensitive data, operating a standard set of automated scans is not enough to guard these applications. Performing a manual testing and interpreting the results is also required.

There is a continuous change in the application security. The testing and prevention strategies should be kept up to date because new threats and attacks may arise at any time.

Why Managed Services?

In the case, if you are striving to overwhelm the obstacles that arise due to the limited skills and fixed capacity, you may find your team overburdened and reactive to the newest crisis. This is the time when you can make onward plans, complete other projects and invest in new skills. With the assistance of managed services, the provider can manage the application security testing while you will be able to emphasise on the other business key areas.

Sourced from Jim Ivers, Chief Marketing Officer, Cigital

Source: http://www.information-age.com/technology/security/123461048/how-use-managed-services-overcome-top-6-app-security-hurdles

Echo Managed Services Picked PR Agency One to Aid Business Growth!

Engaging more than 650 people and with a turnover of above £30m in the last year, Echo is consistently growing with full strength.

PR Agency One, a consumer and B2B PR consultancy has been chosen by the Echo Managed Services so it can strengthen its brand awareness while exploring and penetrating into new markets, thus improving the overall online visibility.

Echo is a renowned name in the UK that works with all kind of businesses whether related to regulated or non-regulated industries. It provides outsourced multi-channel contact centre services, revenue management solutions and an end to end debt recovery services. It also offers the UK’s leading water market billing and client information software.

Echo Managed Services has employed more than 650 people while it had a turnover of above £30m in the last year. This has shown how Echo is constantly growing with its full strength.

Managing Director of PR Agency One, James Crawford stated that there is no doubt that Echo Managed Services is in a period of growth. They are excited to work with the business like Echo as its booked agency by choice. James informed that for the next 12 months, their job is to improve the market share of the business (Echo) by building a trustworthy and reliable voice while aiding it in breaking into new sectors.

James further narrated that their dedicated and experienced team will work hard to create a good reputation of Echo, improve brand awareness and help the Echo in gaining the vital links for its website that will, in turn, aid in increasing its online visibility.

Source: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/media/pr-agency-one-appointed-echo-10858501

Can Mid-Market Businesses be benefitted from Bimodal IT Success via Managed Services?

IT experts are bustling about understanding the newly invented term by Gartner “bimodal IT”. It is a technique of delivering services in a way that allow the IT teams to rip their emphasis into two distinct, clear and logical models that are stability and agility. The second one involves day to day IT operations that are vital and meant for the security and reliability for an IT environment related to an organisation. The previous one is focused on innovation to let the IT teams to research and identify the new techniques of utilising the technology in order to meet the rapid changing demands of the business.

As per the information provided by the Gartner, around 45 percent of the CIOs use bimodal IT service management strategies and this percentage can increase to 75 percent by 2017 where the companies will execute the bimodal IT strategies.

Bimodal IT and Managed Services

It has been observed that some companies prefer to outsource essential IT functions like helpdesk so to let the IT group to play an all-inclusive role in the business. There is no doubt that the nature of IT sourcing has changed. Gartner is of the view that smaller IT suppliers will be capable enough to respond to the demands quickly and providing faster solutions by using the cloud capabilities.

Image Credit - IT-Regie

Outsourcing the IT functions to managed services provider enable the internal staff to invest time in IT innovation so to assist the business in remaining active and responsive in the competitive marketplace. In order to have a successful relationship with the IT managed service provider so that the business’s future progress does not detract, the companies should ask the following questions from the managed services provider:

Do MSPs Can Assist in Current and Future IT Needs?

Managed service providers must have experience of providing assistance in the particular functions that are going to be outsourced. For instance, if the services are being offered in the helpdesk, then IT support services provider should have engineers that are capable enough to repair equipment including new technologies.

To What Extent, the Support Can Be Offered?

We know that IT issues can disrupt the IT teams from new projects, so the companies should contract with the MSPs as to how much they will promise to resolve the IT issues. Usually, MSPs provide varying degrees of assistance, like 24/7, remote or on-site support. In the case, if a package in terms of budget and support coverage do not meet the needs of an organisation, the companies can ask for the customised solutions.

Source: http://www.itproportal.com/2016/02/02/can-managed-services-be-the-key-to-bimodal-it-success-for-mid-market-businesses/

How Managed Service Providers Can Streamline Operations

There is no doubt that in this technological era, the networks have become multifaceted, complex and sometimes inflexible. To deal with these issues, technologies like NFV, SDN and open source projects have helped a great deal in this respect.

Cisco senior manager, Wayne Cullen, who is a service provider architecture, stated that a single network is insufficient. Mutually, they have the potential to bring the automation and self-service, lower operational costs and simplified processes. This also enables the expert personnel to free them for innovations by relieving themselves from the important low-value tasks.

The question arises that how the simpler operations can transmute your today’s business? Cullen disclosed that there are three ideas that can be considered in the current scenario which are as follows:

Take Into Account the Technologies That Improve Dexterity: Planning and automation strategies are required that could integrate SDN, NFV and other various technologies into the current networks so it can allow you to reposition and gauge the elements of the software rather than the hardware.

With the above strategies, the adjustments can be made in hours or days instead of the weeks or months. This will assist in driving down the cost and getting you ready as what next could be done.

Image Credit - Trustwave

Use Openness to Hasten Innovation: To get the advantages of the open partnerships, services and collaborations, there is a need to progress to a more flexible infrastructure that has a lower cost. The software defined network has the capability to integrate new services around numerous vendor technologies, as described by Cullen. To maintain the services framework so they can be vibrant, lucrative and speedy, there is a need to retain the developmental model and APIs simpler and open.

Promote New Business Models: In the case, you have a fast and dexterous network, more competitive pricing options and modifications as per the changing market conditions can be offered. The new market segments that were not practicable due to the cost, size and location can, later on, enable us to reach there. According to Cullen, it is necessary to know the means by which the clients can be pleased and where exactly the value can be added.

To gain success means to understand the connectivity that is changing the behaviours at a faster rate than before. Furthermore, the ability to accustom new behaviours can play an important role in success.

Cullen finally concluded that if steps are taken to enhance dexterity along with working on the SDN or NFV strategies so there can be an open working with the partners, the organisation can gain a powerful position in terms of profit.

For more details on solutions for service providers, go to http://www.cisco.com/web/EMEAR/offers/sp04/simplifying-operations/index.html.

This article was published in partnership with NetPartnering.

Source: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/industrynews/153295-3-ways-service-providers-can-simplify-operations.html

Managed Service Providers – Getting a Boost from Security Products!

A continuing overall growth has been observed in the managed service companies particularly the ones that are providing the security services, as revealed by the IT management specialist Kaseya according to the new survey.

The data has been gathered from the Kaseya’s Global Pricing survey in which 400 managed service providers across 30 countries were scrutinised that offer the exceptional visibility in IT services to the customers. The result which has been concluded is that most of the MSPs have gone through more than 20 percent growth over the last three years.

As per the results, the high growth managed service solution providers offer more evolving services than the ones that are facing the lower growth counter parts. This may involve hosting services and cloud monitoring for the clients owning the equipment. One of the most important thing that has been observed is that the high growth MSPs offer an effective portfolio of services such as the desktop and server management, cloud, backup and recovery services.

Image Credit - Aditya Techno Solutions

Increased security risks will be the top demand of the customers in the year 2016. Security is always considered as the high rated services that usually gets the competitive advantage in all age times.

Kaseya’s SVP and GM of MSPs, Miguel Lopez narrated that Kaseya is in the privileged position because it is the vendor that delivers IT security, management and automation technology to MSPs and this is what separates it from the crowd of managed services provider. For every successful MSP, clients’ concern is their top priority, so they design bolder strategies for this purpose. Their client success model is based on the year over year growth instead of the business’s sales, and this is what successful MSPs always do for their clients.

Besides this, around 85 percent of the high growth MSPs deliver hosting services to the clients owning the equipment while around three quarters of the high growth MSPs deliver desktop security services.

Source: http://www.itproportal.com/2016/01/21/security-products-give-managed-service-providers-boost/

How to Know Your Business Is Not Cut Out For IT Managed Services

When we talk about companies, we should never forget that there are different flavours and kinds of businesses, for instance, there are entrepreneurial businesses, startups, small or medium sized and lifestyle businesses. Each business has different goals that are targeted to be achieved, so the business owners set distinct priorities depending upon the financial plans and the growth rate. Some companies have high technology involvement so they prioritise their routine operations according to the internet. If an internet connection, email server or phone line is down, their business has to face a shrieking pause. Specifically, when it comes to technological businesses, they require an IT managed services provider that could assist them in maintaining the security, designing and managing the strategies along with providing assistance to the employees. Still there are some small and medium-sized companies that need to focus on the devising of the strategies that involve an adoption of the managed services. A concise self-analysis can help you to understand which businesses are not cut out from the managed IT services.

Technology is Not Used to Enhance Client Experience: You need to analyse what kind of services you are delivering to the clients. You need to consider whether technology is involved in it? Whether some software interface, app or web portal is included in accessing the client records or booking their appointments? Are the client services delivered via the email or a phone? If the above elements do not have any involvement, then probably, there is no need to get the managed service solutions to get the client service experience.

Replacing of an Equipment is Waited Till the Last Possible Second: We should always remember that the workstations must be in warranty and at least, they should enable the companies in supporting the operating systems and the software updates that appear. Workstations always represent the employees’ efficiency and productivity. So it is necessary to refresh, repair or replace the equipment immediately in order to boost the staff members’ efficiency so it can match with the IT services.

You are Not Considering Technology as a Means to Appeal Customers: Efficient and talented employees always require technology that can be operated at a high speed. Slow connections, sluggish networks and obsolete technology usually frustrates the employees. Expert professionals always need technology that could help them in boosting their efficiency.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/5-signs-business-not-cut-managed-services-01430729#UpFwi8rvIzdrLSD6.97

Three Fantastic Predictions for 2016 Related to Managed Services

As we are in the start of the New Year, it’s the time when the companies are either waiting or focusing on the trends that have been emerging, the new and innovative technologies that are arriving on the scene and the business models that have been evolving from a considerable time. In this season, there are three areas that are showing a continuous positive impact on the IT channel that are as follows:

Sanguinity Enclosing the Future of the Managed Services and the IT Channel Will Remain High

According to the survey held in October 2015, it was found out that around 66 percent of the people were optimistic about the future of the IT channel. Strong demand of the clients regarding managed services, a strong and continuous desire for the IT channel, new opportunities in the cloud computing and wider use of the IT by all kinds of the customers have been observed.

In this year, it is believed that the IT channel will prolong or maintain it’s continuous increase regarding relevancy for the IT companies of all sizes. It is being expected that the IT service providers will improve their abilities so to help the companies in increasing their revenues. It will also help the organisations in maintaining their business by focusing on the technologies like computer security, cloud computing, and financial services to healthcare, public and private sectors.

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Sellers Alliance will continue

To gain a competitive edge in this highly crowded market place, vendors usually prefer to amalgamate with the companies and drive the activities all through the technology industry. Service providers always tend to evaluate the portfolio of the vendors so they can decide whether to enhance the vendors’ association or not. This assists in solving both the client’s organisational challenges and offering them the opportunities to influence the synergies involving the seller partners to expand their businesses.

Applications, Infrastructure and Data Protection, will be Given Much Emphasis Irrespective of the Location

Incalculable divisions of the high profile data are kept secure both for the clients and businesses alike. Since more and more companies are relying on the cloud to aid the routine business operations, strong emphasis is given on securing the critical data, infrastructure and the applications, irrespective of whether they are on the premise or the cloud.

Source: http://mspmentor.net/blog/trends-managed-services-three-predictions-2016

The UK Will Enjoy Microsoft’s First Laptop on Tuesday!

Image Credit - Microsoft

What a great offer Microsoft is providing in the shape of its first Surface Book laptop being offered in the UK, Germany, Australia, France and others on January 5, 2016, as per the company’s blog post.

Initially, these Microsoft’s first laptops were available in the US. A professional who was a liaison between the Microsoft and the developers informed that the books will be made available in March, but it seems that the Microsoft is working ahead of the schedule.

In the US, the Surface Book was launched on October 26. Contrary to the Surface Pro, the Surface book is primarily a laptop and then a tablet. Due to the lacking of the keyboard dock, its display can only last for three hours that makes it look more suitable to laptop style when in use.

Image Credit - Seven South

From the past few years, Microsoft is progressively increasing its hardware that it has started with the Surface Pro and now moving onto the Book and Band which is a fitness wearable. In 2016, the company will also create HoloLens, which is an augmented reality headset.

After opening two stores in the New York City and Sydney, Australia, the Microsoft is planning to open a store in the London.

Besides this, Microsoft has also invested around $1 billion in security to double its security executives. It has designed new managed services strategy so to launch a new managed security services group and cyber defense operations centre.

Reference: http://uk.businessinsider.com/microsoft-surface-book-is-coming-to-the-uk-on-january-5-2016-1

Why Microsoft Has invested in New Managed Service Strategy

Microsoft has integrated the security approach throughout its software and service while a new managed services group and cyber defense operation centre has been announced according to the briefings of the Executives.

Over the past year, Microsoft has invested around $1 billion in security so to double the number of security executives and make thorough research and development in security. Now, it has broadcasted the launching of a new cyber defense operations centre and the managed services security group in which the security is integrated with the products and services.

Microsoft executive Dark Reading explained how the new strategies related to the security had been established inside the internal network of the company and throughout the Office, Windows and cloud services offered to the clients.

Image Credit - Raymond Allen IT

The primary aim of the Microsoft is to secure, detect and respond to threats. The executives have pointed billions of services, endpoints and systems from where the Microsoft has drawn threat intelligence so to use the Intel for detection, fortification and respond to the security issues.

In addition, Microsoft has bought three security firms in the last year that involves cloud security firm Adallom, behavioural learning and Active Directory security firm Aorato and most recently, data and file protection firm Secure Islands.

One thing that should always be remembered is that Microsoft wouldn’t reveal how many security executives it has again hired for the managed services security in the last year. Microsoft Enterprise Cybersecurity Group (ECG), a new managed services arm, emphasises on sales and services particularly the cyber defense. This group is intended to work with the Microsoft’s security partners, Office 365 and the Azure teams.

Reference: http://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/microsoft-invests-$1-billion-in-holistic-security-strategy/d/d-id/1323170

How Managed Services Can Secure Your Business

To whatever business it is, everybody needs the best services so it can serve its clients in an appropriate way. The success of any company usually depends upon the services it offers to its clients. Getting the managed services mean that you can customise the services for your skills to reassure that they will help in achieving the organisational objectives. Make sure that the managed services company in London you are hiring must provide you appropriate services, not something like just help in plugging to the internet and then walk away without protecting from any potential threats.

Getting the assistance of managed services provider help a great deal to interact with the people. This makes the companies feel as if the service providers do care and work for the clients. Providers offering the managed service solutions care that the company’s important confidential info must be safe and secure and should in no way be in the hands of the hackers. There are numerous benefits that the businesses offering the managed services provide to its clients like:

Image Credit - Scudds Information Technologies

Consistency: Managed services provider in the UK offer services that are not only reliable and consistent but also quick. Service providers usually offer services in a way that improves and guarantee the uptime.

Assistance: Hiring the appropriate companies for the managed services mean that they will always be ready to provide assistance whenever you want. Whether you contact via emails, phone or live chat, you will always get help for managing the systems.

Backup Support and Services: Whatsoever is the nature of your business, every business needs a backup of its important data. Providers offering the managed services provide backup services, and disaster recovery plans to help the clients in the time of need.

Integrated Tools: According to the needs of the clients, the service companies’ offer integrated tools for use. Use of integrated tools helps the businesses to save a lot of their valuable time which can be spent at other work to enhance the productivity.