The Complete Guide to Managed IT Services
WHAT IS AN MSP?
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a form of outsourced information technology (IT) management where the hiring organization keeps the MSP on contract/retainer to proactively manage everything from the daily needs of the business to the overall IT strategy. An MSP model differs from the on-demand model of outsourced IT management in that the MSP is seen to be an extension of the hiring company’s IT department or, in many cases, serves as the full IT department.
MANAGED IT SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE…
A strategic partner.
First and foremost, an MSP is an extension of your team — a strategic partner focused on the needs of the business and its overarching mission. They work with your people to find and implement the best IT solutions to meet or exceed your business goals.
A knowledgeable partner.
An MSP is a knowledgeable partner who stays up-to-date on all industry trends and technologies. They’ll be able to provide you with insight into network controls and security configurations you may not be aware of.
Certified.
MSPs are businesses with professional and industry-based credentials and certifications to open new doors for you. Such certifications and credentials don’t just look good, they’re important to the work, as 36.9% of IT professionals have said certification helped them perform complex tasks more confidently. MSPs that are certified demonstrate they’re deeply committed to the ongoing education and training of their own staff in order to ensure they deliver excellence to their clients.
A better way to manage risk.
MSPs can often provide greater security expertise and coverage than you can provide in-house. MSPs manage security risks by not only protecting their own network from intrusion attempts, but by also protecting client networks and data from being compromised by implementing 24/7 monitoring, threat intelligence development, and enterprise grade solutions.
An extra set of hands.
MSPs provide an extra set of hands and eyes to help with the daily needs of your business. That means when you or your IT team doesn’t have time to resolve an issue, they can submit a ticket to your MSP and know it will be handled in a timely, efficient, and professional manner.
Efficient.
An MSP is an efficient way to meet the compliance needs for that big proposal you’re developing. That’s because MSPs often have access to resources you may not, allowing them to act as a trusted advisor and help you more efficiently tackle all your big projects.
MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE NOT…
A one time break-it/fix-it solution.
MSPs should be viewed as partners, not one-off contractors that come in, fix your IT problem, and then be on their way. If you want to get the most out of your relationship with an MSP, it’s important to view them as a logistical partner that will act as a natural extension of your own team; a partner that’s there to help you work towards and achieve your business goals.
A hands-off provider.
In fact, MSPs are very much hands-on. They can provide the guidance and support your in-house IT team needs—or even be that IT team—to optimise its efforts and focus on higher-level tasks. For example, MSPs can handle standard infrastructure maintenance and updates so that your in-house IT team can focus on custom configurations or integrations, enabling your organization to focus strategically in support of revenue growth.
Time intensive.
As we mentioned in the last point, by taking infrastructure management and maintenance off your hands, MSPs can provide you with more time to focus on the more important aspects of your business, including revenue-generating opportunities and resource optimization. MSPs’ proactive approach can also help you avoid downtime, thereby improving your team’s availability and performance.
PART 1: WHAT DOES AN MSP DO?
An MSP acts as your strategic partner. Yes, an MSP can help with the burden of daily support tickets and employee support, but an MSP is much more than that. While all the perks listed below can apply to government contractors, small and/or big businesses, we thought we’d highlight the biggest perk(s) for each type of client.
MSP’S FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS
Government agencies are recognizing MSPs’ ability to:
- Increase operational efficiency,
- Reduce costs, and
- Minimize business risk
… among other things. This means MSPs are being contracted by both government agencies and government contractors more frequently. Let’s take a closer look.
Efficiency Gains
MSPs can handle an organization’s overall contingent workforce management, consolidate and streamline invoicing, improve availability of critical systems, and provide critical reporting information to empower and support key decision makers. This automates and streamlines processes, meaning both time and cost savings for you. An MSP partner can incorporate processes that make your organization’s day-to-day operations easier and more efficient, offering a complete solution to your workforce management needs.
Cost Reduction
MSPs help you simplify IT cost models and project costs based on your organization’s infrastructure and service level needs. Instead of having to figure out cost projections yourself based on things like hosting, managing systems in-house, and managing FTEs, an MSP can do it for you—while saving you money.
Risk Minimization
MSPs act as a neutral party while offering their clients transparent operations with detailed metrics. Usage of this quantitative data as part of industry standard risk management strategies allows for better-informed decisions and strong contingency planning that reduce the impacts of risks should they become issues. Their compliance with industry best practices and standards improves information security by maintaining secure data and information in support of compliance programs, such as risk-based security assessments (NIST 800-171, CMMC, etc.).
MSP’S FOR ENTERPRISES
In addition to all the perks mentioned above, MSPs can also allow big businesses to become more agile and grow with the market faster. Here’s how.
Faster Technology Adoption
Steep learning curves, time spent assessing available options, and sunk capital costs for expensive migration projects and on-premise infrastructure can all serve as barriers to adopting faster, more efficient tech solutions. Thankfully, MSPs can do the hard work for you. By researching and evaluating hardware solutions, software applications, and different providers, they’ll be able to find the most cost-effective solutions that offer added value to your organization.
An MSP can further reduce technology adoption barriers by:
- Training your employees
- Staffing experts for migrations
- Providing infrastructure as a service
- Managing your license agreements
- Providing business intelligence via reporting
- Helping you make informed choices on which solutions make sense for your business objectives
MSP’S FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Small businesses can also enjoy the perks MSPs provide.
In order to run a tech-savvy business, you’ll need to dedicate a sizable chunk of your budget to the latest software and hardware, as well as the personnel to manage and maintain them. To keep operations streamlined, many smaller organizations look for partners to outsource such work to; but without the deep pockets of a larger organization, acquiring additional manpower and technical resources can be tough.
Thankfully, instead of hiring their own in-house IT professionals, small businesses can partner with an MSP. Here’s
how they can help.
Boost Business Productivity
MSPs boost your SMBs business productivity by:
- Ensuring your IT solutions align with your business strategy
- Proactively monitoring your systems 24/7 to prevent downtime
- Providing various cloud-based business continuity and backup solutions
- Assisting you whenever you encounter a tech problem with a 24/7 help desk
Keep Costs Low
Small businesses can achieve all this while keeping costs low by making use of the shared model, using
cloud-based services—including monitoring systems, help desk systems, tools, and more—at a lower
operational cost.
…all while your downtime is reduced and your data is kept safe
THE MAIN FUNCTIONS OF AN MSP
Now that you have an idea of how MSPs help their clients, let’s take a look at the main service offerings they provide.
Security
Cybersecurity isn’t for the faint of heart. There is a constant barrage of attacks happening that you are likely unaware of, and they evolve quickly—as fast as countermeasures are developed and implemented. This makes the cybersecurity of your business a full-time job that is all-encompassing. Did you know there are recorded instances of a smart refrigerator being hacked into and used to enter a company’s network? It’s the role of an MSP to be aware of cybersecurity threats, manage risks, and implement best practices and tools to prevent or reduce impacts of such threats.
Email Services/Management
Whether you’re looking to migrate your email, contacts, calendars, and files from enterprise sources to the Office 365 environment or want a smooth transition to Google Apps Business (G-Suite) with continuous access to email, documents, calendars, and web conferencing facilities, MSPs have you covered. Not only can they migrate and manage your email, they also provide security and staff training campaigns against increasing email cybersecurity risks.
Cloud Services
Managed hosting is the first step for any company ready to make the shift to the cloud. Managed hosting is a logical decision for businesses in industries with stringent regulatory or security requirements, like healthcare or the public sector. An MSP that offers managed hosting services will need proper certifications and security clearances, which reduces the burden, cost, and risk placed on the client.
Network Management
Network management is the lifeblood of your IT infrastructure. You need a partner who takes time to understand your business from the overall strategy to the daily needs of its users. Any network is complex and management of it is a full-time job as you walk the fine line between air-tight security and business efficiency.
End User Support
An MSP is the front line of your end user community; when users have a problem or a request, the MSP is the first person they call. The default attribute when thinking of an MSP is its ability to support your IT team or your associates in a time of need. Staffed with a full team of IT professionals who are briefed on the needs of your business—as well as your associates, mission, and network—an MSP can assist as a strategic partner and as daily ticket support.
Deferred Risk
All businesses house sensitive data, including client data, employee information, client information, and more. By using an MSP, your business defers much of the risk that comes with storing that sensitive data if there is some sort of breach. The MSP will typically bear the brunt of responsibility for the security and safety of this information.
Hardware Monitoring
Carefully selecting and monitoring the hardware used to manage your business is critical. You’ll need to take into account the overall strategy and needs of the business before selecting the tools you use to implement that strategy. Furthermore, once you’ve selected hardware, you need to monitor it in the short-term for inefficiencies and in the long-term for both inefficiencies and opportunities to upgrade and/or shift to cloud-based services.
Quality Assurance
A feeling of being overwhelmed and inundated with work is a hallmark of an internal IT department. It’s not your teams’ fault; the needs of the job are immense and 100% quality assurance can be difficult to maintain. With an MSP, you’re not assigned just one professional to manage your IT needs; an MSP divides its caseload and client needs amongst its entire team of trained professionals who lean on one another to ensure that every need is handled with the highest level of quality.
Compliance
One of the most overlooked benefits of hiring an MSP is the credentials and certifications that they can provide. This perk can open many doorways if you’re serving clients in specific industries. For example, if you’re in healthcare, then you’ll need a HIPAA-compliant MSP. If you’re in the public sector, then it may behoove you to utilize an MSP that is ISO 27001 compliant (among others). Working with an MSP who has proper credentials and certifications saves you the potentially vast amount of time and money.
Going a Bit Deeper into Services
1. Managed IT Solutions
24×7 Support & Monitoring
Continuous help desk coverage and proactive monitoring keep systems running smoothly. MSPs resolve issues before they cause downtime, ensuring better productivity and less disruption for end users.
Managed Cloud (CloudOps)
CloudOps services oversee Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or hybrid environments to optimize cost, performance, and security. This prevents cloud sprawl, enforces governance, and helps organizations scale efficiently.
IT Asset Management (ITAM) & Endpoint Management
MSPs track and manage hardware, software, and endpoint devices throughout their lifecycle. This improves security, prevents shadow IT, and ensures licensing compliance.
Dedicated Services
Some MSPs provide embedded teams that act as an extension of your IT department. This model provides dedicated resources for daily operations and projects without the overhead of full-time hiring.
2. Managed Security Solutions (MSSP)
24×7 Security Operations Center (SOC)
A SOC provides round-the-clock monitoring for suspicious activity and potential breaches. This ensures that threats are identified and responded to in real time rather than after damage occurs.
Incident Response (CIRT)
Cyber Incident Response Teams handle containment, investigation, and recovery during security incidents. Having an MSP-led CIRT reduces downtime and limits the financial and reputational impact of attacks.
Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)
EDR tools identify unusual behaviors on devices, helping stop ransomware, malware, and insider threats. MSPs manage these solutions to reduce the time between detection and response.
Vulnerability Management
MSPs conduct continuous vulnerability scanning and apply necessary patches. This proactive approach prevents attackers from exploiting known security flaws.
Email Security
MSPs deploy advanced filtering, anti-phishing, and anti-malware solutions to protect inboxes. Since email remains the most common attack vector, this is a critical defense layer.
Dark Web & Closed‑Source Monitoring
MSPs monitor dark web forums and data dumps for signs of stolen credentials or leaked company information. Early detection allows organizations to respond before criminals exploit the data.
Managed Threat Hunting
Threat hunters proactively search for hidden or advanced threats that automated systems might miss. This helps uncover sophisticated attacks early, reducing risk.
Security Awareness Training
Training programs teach employees how to identify phishing and other social engineering attempts. A well-trained workforce drastically reduces the likelihood of successful cyberattacks.
3. Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
MSPs help organizations meet compliance requirements like ISO, NIST, FedRAMP, and GDPR. They conduct gap assessments, prepare for audits, and build necessary policies. This reduces regulatory risk and builds trust with customers and partners. Compliance services also ensure organizations avoid fines or penalties while improving overall security hygiene.
Compliance Gap Assessments & Remediation Support
MSPs conduct detailed reviews of an organization’s current IT and security practices to identify where they fall short of compliance requirements. After identifying the gaps, they develop and execute remediation plans to close them. This ensures businesses are both audit-ready and aligned with industry best practices. Gap assessments help organizations avoid costly surprises during regulatory inspections.
Internal and External Audit Preparation
Preparing for audits can be overwhelming, especially in highly regulated industries. MSPs help by assembling documentation, ensuring evidence of compliance controls, and guiding stakeholders through the audit process. Their expertise ensures that both internal and third-party auditors receive the right information in the right format. This greatly reduces the risk of failed audits or costly penalties.
Policy & Process Development
Well-documented policies and standardized processes are the backbone of compliance. MSPs assist organizations in creating and updating security policies, access control standards, disaster recovery plans, and other critical documents. They also help implement these policies in daily operations so compliance isn’t just “on paper.” This builds a culture of accountability and readiness across the organization.
Alignment with Regulations such as FedRAMP, ISO, GDPR, CCPA, FISMA, FTC, etc.
Different industries and sectors face unique compliance demands, from federal regulations like FISMA and FedRAMP to global standards like ISO 27001 and GDPR. MSPs guide organizations through these frameworks, ensuring that technology environments and business processes meet all relevant requirements. This alignment not only avoids fines and penalties but also builds trust with clients, partners, and regulators. In competitive markets, compliance is often a differentiator that can win or lose business.
4. IT Project Services
Cloud Migration & Optimization
MSPs move workloads to Azure, AWS, or hybrid clouds while minimizing disruption. Post-migration, they ensure costs and performance are optimized.
Cybersecurity Assessments & Implementation
Projects often include deploying Zero Trust, Microsoft Sentinel, or conditional access controls. MSPs provide the expertise to implement these advanced security frameworks effectively.
Network Infrastructure Upgrades & Wireless Deployments
From upgrading cabling to rolling out enterprise-grade wireless, MSPs modernize network backbones. This ensures faster, more secure, and more reliable connectivity.
Microsoft 365 Migrations & Optimization
MSPs help with tenant-to-tenant migrations, Teams Voice implementations, and Microsoft 365 security hardening. This ensures businesses fully leverage their Microsoft investments.
5. Strategic Technical Advisory Group (STAG)
STAG services provide CIO- and CISO-level guidance without the cost of full-time executives. MSP advisors align IT strategy with business goals, plan transformations, and evaluate vendor choices. This ensures organizations invest in the right technologies for growth. The result is a clear roadmap for both security and business efficiency.
IT Strategy Alignment with Business Goals
STAG services help organizations ensure their IT investments directly support business objectives. Instead of treating IT as a cost center, MSP advisors work with leadership teams to identify how technology can drive efficiency, growth, and competitive advantage. This alignment keeps IT budgets focused on measurable outcomes. Companies gain clearer ROI and avoid wasting resources on misaligned initiatives.
Cyber Risk Guidance and Security Roadmapping
Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, and many businesses struggle to keep pace. STAG advisors provide a forward-looking roadmap that prioritizes security initiatives based on the organization’s unique risk profile. This guidance helps executives understand where to allocate resources for maximum protection and compliance. A defined security roadmap ensures a proactive stance rather than reactive firefighting.
Transformation Planning and Vendor/Technology Evaluation
Major IT transformations—whether migrating to the cloud, adopting AI-driven tools, or restructuring infrastructure—require careful planning. MSP advisors guide businesses through technology selection, vendor comparisons, and change management strategies. They ensure transitions are cost-effective, secure, and minimally disruptive to operations. This reduces the risk of expensive missteps and maximizes the value of new technology investments.
6. Microsoft Solutions
Microsoft Cloud Adoption & Licensing Support
MSPs guide organizations through Azure and Microsoft 365 adoption while managing licensing complexities. This ensures cost-effective, secure deployments.
M365 Security, Compliance & Collaboration Optimization
From Teams and SharePoint to Intune and Defender, MSPs configure Microsoft tools to maximize collaboration while maintaining compliance. Properly managed, these tools enhance productivity without increasing risk.
Direct Microsoft CSP Licensing Access & Funding Assistance
Certified MSPs provide access to Microsoft’s Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. This often includes discounts and funding opportunities that organizations wouldn’t receive purchasing licenses directly.
PART 2: HOW DO MSPS WORK?
An MSP can fully integrate with your current team to support overflow requests, provide additional subject matter expertise where needed, and support the overall strategy of the business. It can also serve as your sole IT department and be the solution to all of your IT needs.
Let’s take a closer look at each.
MSP’S AS AN EXTENSION OF YOUR TEAM
An MSP consists of a team of certified and credentialed professionals that serve as your strategic partner and work through your daily support needs.
If you have an IT department right now, think of an MSP as an extension of and enhancement to your team. With the onboarding of an MSP partner, you’re adding new weapons in the form of experience, manpower, tools, and access to your entire company.
When an MSP is brought on to support an in-house IT team, we see the largest benefits in the following areas:
Turnover
You’ve experienced recent turnover or are experiencing high levels of turnover. An MSP can fill the gaps as you recruit, hire, onboard, train, and develop new talent. The one thing that never turns over is the consistent support provided by a quality MSP partner.
Training
MSPs are experts in the field. Let their experts train your people on best practices, the latest technologies, skills development, and more. An MSP’s wealth of industry knowledge means they’ll be able to customize training for your employees and their roles within the organization.
Experience
MSPs are focused on technology 24/7. That means they’re abreast of the newest tech developments, latest security threats, best industry practices, and more. Don’t waste your team’s time reinventing the wheel; hire a trusted, strategic partner who’s already in-the-know to help lead your organization’s IT initiatives.
Support
When you work with an MSP, you’ll never be left in the dark. 24/7 monitoring and support mean quick response times to your critical IT issues by experienced technicians—ensuring your business can operate efficiently and with maximum data security.
MSP’S AS YOUR IT DEPARTMENT
An MSP is an excellent alternative for building an internal IT department. By hiring an MSP that consists of reputable IT professionals consisting of a wide range of knowledge, skills, and expertise, you are ultimately saving yourself time and money. Fully outsourcing your IT needs to an MSP partner means you’ll be able to use that time saved to focus on other areas of your business that need your attention and expertise.
Additionally, by providing clients with transparent operations and detailed metrics and reports, MSPs ensure you
always know what’s going on with your organization’s IT developments.
PART 3: WHY USE AN MSP?
Let’s review one last time all the perks of working with an MSP.
Experience and Expertise
MSPs provide certified engineers with decades of practical IT experience. This means they have the knowledge and expertise to monitor, maintain, and fully support the entire spectrum of your organization’s technical environment.
Certifications
MSPs ensure their credibility with organization-level certifications. These provide insight into the MSP’s level of expertise and the quality of service you can expect. Certifications are usually audit-based or attestation-based. Since audit-based certifications require an independent audit firm to verify instead of being solely based on representations from the MSP itself (as is the case for attestation-based certifications), they are much more reliable.
Compliance
As government regulation has increased in all sectors, compliance has become a crucial aspect of modern business. That’s why MSPs have incorporated CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), NIST (National Institute Standards and Technology), GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) and IRM (Integrated Risk Management) programs to help automate standard processes for themselves and their clients and provide resolution against immediate and long-term risk exposure.
Industry-Specific Knowledge
Whether you’re in finance, healthcare, or Commercial Real Estate, an MSPs industry specific knowledge will ensure you’re protected and compliant. That’s because they ensure all clients adhere to the cybersecurity compliances mandated by authorities for their industry.
Time Savings
Partnering with an MSP means you’ll have access to support around the clock something you could otherwise only achieve with multiple, in-house hires who are always on-call or working shifts. Using an MSP means you always have experts on-demand, without paying for all of their time and benefits. You can use that time saved to focus on more pressing business needs.
Cost Savings
MSPs can save you the labor and training costs associated with hiring your own in-house IT department. They can further save you money by streamlining and automating processes, adding to overall organizational efficiency. MSPs also forecast future savings and spend so you’ll know exactly what to expect. All of this for a cost-efficient, retainer-based monthly fee.
Scalability
MSPs are able to scale the volume of services they provide, users they support and/or resources they consume depending on your organization’s needs. This means they can scale up and increase volume or scale down to consume fewer resources depending on your budget and business goals, ensuring cost effectiveness while providing your organization with the protection it needs. Both can be achieved by using tried-and-true scalability playbooks, automating processes, implementing necessary tools, moving to the cloud, and adopting modular architectures.
Access to Tools & Partnerships
MSPs have access to tools and partnerships that you likely don’t have the time or resources to acquire. Let an MSP do the heavy lifting for you. They already know about the latest developments in the IT world, have tried out numerous tools, and know what’s best for your business needs. They’ll also have partnerships and alliances that can be beneficial to your business systems and your bottom line.
Flexibility
An MSP can work with you, offering flexibility when it comes to your needs for usage of network, storage, or computing requirements. Additionally, they can address urgent or spur of the moment needs, jumping into action when needed. The right MSP for your organization should be flexible having the ability to take action at the drop of a dime not inflexible due to size, scope, location, staffing, and more.
