“Professional services” is an umbrella term for economic activities that are defined by the sharing and/or lending of knowledge, expertise, and skills, as opposed to the manufacturing and selling of goods. Examples of professional services firms include medical practices, architecture firms, and advertising agencies, among others.
Such firms focus on providing value in their niche markets. For example, a catering company in Charlotte specializes in designing, constructing, and executing a variety of catered events. If the truck the company uses to deliver chairs and tables breaks down, they’ll seek the services of another professional — namely a mechanic — to fix their truck for them. This is simply because repairing vehicles is not in the caterer’s wheelhouse.
In the same way, non-IT professional services firms must refrain from tackling IT tasks because doing so will distract them from doing what they set out to do in the first place. Unless a firm is an IT services provider themselves, they’re much better off partnering with a managed IT services provider or MSP.
non-IT professional services firms must refrain from tackling IT tasks because doing so will distract them from doing what they set out to do in the first place
Here are some of the ways your firm can benefit from forming such a partnership:
You get IT infrastructure that suits the current and future needs of your business
Even across firms in the same line of business, the needs of one firm may be different from that of another. For example, a fledgling marketing agency may have implemented a bring your own device policy to save on IT hardware costs, but need to invest in security systems to keep confidential client information secure. In contrast, an established marketing agency may have aging IT infrastructure and need ways to either extend the usefulness of their machines or upgrade to newer devices without breaking the bank.
MSPs have the expertise to pinpoint technical specifications based on many factors, such as your IT inventory, short- and long-term goals, and regulatory requirements. By having an MSP design your IT infrastructure, you get to avoid the pitfalls of DIY-ing IT, such as:
- Overpaying for your IT
- Using IT solutions that don’t work well together and/or have redundant features
- Investing in hardware and software that limits your ability to scale
- Implementing solutions that are unsecure
You get a broad array of services, plus their extensive knowledge from serving other clients
MSPs tend to offer a broad array of services ranging from cybersecurity to cloud migrations. This allows MSPs to execute a cohesive IT strategy and also serve as a one-stop shop for your IT needs. Having an MSP as your IT partner is more efficient than relying on a single IT person who has limited tech skills or multiple agencies that may be misaligned in terms of methodologies.
Furthermore, MSPs get to employ what they learn from serving other clients when they serve you. For instance, let’s say your firm decides to implement a hybrid work model. An MSP with experience helping others do the same is bound to have insights on how to best help you proceed with your own initiative.
You get affordable and reliable IT support
If IT is not your firm’s thing, it doesn’t make sense to hire your own IT person. Hiring, training, and keeping a competent IT professional is expensive — and you only have them during business hours. In contrast, MSPs commonly offer 24/7 IT support and have specialists covering many fields of IT. This means that you can get exactly the support you need as soon as you need it.
Your professional services firm gets to focus on doing what you do best
By partnering with an MSP, you get proactive support that nips potential issues before they become full-blown problems. To illustrate, MSPs offer 24/7 network monitoring to watch out for cyberthreats and install security patches as soon as these are available. The most efficient service providers will notify you of potentially serious incidents…that they’ve already resolved. This allows you to focus on providing your own customers with the best service, which you’re able to elevate, thanks to IT capabilities.
To learn more about how your firm can benefit from exceptional IT services, talk to our IT specialists at SpectrumWise.
