Managed Services can be considered one of the fastest growing sectors of the technology industry. Firms and professional service organizations and enterprises need more predictable, proactive IT services to deal with rampant security threats and evolving technology, as well as to level spending patterns. A Managed Services Provider (MSP) will protect your IT environment and stabilize your budget. But not all MSPs are created equal.
One technology that has shown continuous maturing is Voice over IP (VoIP). Large organizations and small businesses alike are moving away from the idea of having an in-house PBX (News - Alert) system and shifting toward unified communication (UC) solutions. It is with this in mind that companies are now looking to find a UC MSP.
In a recent Tone Software blog authored by Nick Davis, he states, “This trend causes server monitoring and availability to be de-emphasized. It is Service Monitoring and Service Availability that is now of the highest importance in a UC ecosystem.” Tone Software (News - Alert) is a high tech software development firm specializing in global business, telecommunications and IT infrastructure management solutions.
Existing PBX systems require that a technician comes to your place of business to physically make changes or add features to a company’s current phone system. Not only can this be a costly option, but it can also be time consuming as you’re reliant on when the technician can show up. VoIP has made it possible to have scalability and flexibility in one package.
While unified communications does make it easier for businesses to incorporate voice, video and collaboration into one package, it still needs to be managed. Choosing the right UC Managed Service Provider may not be as easy as you would expect. There are several things that should be considered when making a decision.
Davis mentioned service monitoring and service availability as key factors that have become important. One of the options includes a Unified Communications (News - Alert) as a Service (UCaaS) provider who can host the entire solution. Another option is an MSP that monitors your company’s on premise UC technologies through remote management services.
The second option requires that you know a little bit more about how they do business. It is important to know and have a good understanding of what their capability is for managing your services. Does the MSP have the right type of access to your infrastructure so that they have a clear picture of what transpires?
We are living in a very fast paced world these days, where relying on an MSP that is reactive could cost a deal to fall through or deliver a bad customer experience. To ensure your company’s UC Quality of Experience (QoE) and Quality of Service (QoS), you may need a proactive MSP that can keep on top of any situation and resolve it before it becomes an issue.
Whether you decide on a UCaaS provider or an MSP, you do not want to completely rely on them. That is why it would be quite helpful if you had access to a dashboard type function that could give you a view into how the service is working. Reports are also very useful, especially in the budget office. Finding a provider that keeps their clients informed and up-to-date is definitely something to look for.
Unified communications are maturing and evolving every day, as are the different ways that they can be incorporated into businesses. As this progression continues, MSPs also need to keep pace. It seems that when deciding on the direction to go, it is important to keep in mind how well they understand your needs and if they can provide information that is actually useful to your business.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson