The Surprising Advantages of the Modern-Day Managed Services Provider (MSP)

I have been in the IT industry longer than I want to remember. But I find that looking back at what’s changed gives me a new perspective on what benefits modern-day healthcare organizations should expect from their managed services provider (MSP).

For instance, every now and then I have a conversation with a veteran colleague about the days when all support was done physically at the user’s PC (we got in a lot of windshield time) or via very long phone conversations trying to get a user to provide the date and time of a file on the hard drive.

Me: “Type in C: and then enter. Then type in DIR and enter. Read to me what it says.”

Client: “Volume in drive C has no label, Directory of C:\ …..”

Me: (banging telephone to my head)

I miss those days … NOT.

MSP Benefit: Faster service, better results

Today, all IT support is done remotely, and I do mean all. What this means for our clients is that issues are resolved faster and they can get back to their work much more quickly. Techs have the ability to immediately diagnose issues—often without even doing a remote-control session and disrupting the user’s work.

Deploying new physical servers is a rare event as on-premise servers are being moved to the cloud at an amazing rate. We deploy hundreds of cloud servers each year for clients all over the country without sending anyone onsite. In the rare cases when we do need to send a tech onsite, a local resource is dispatched and serves as experienced hands for a senior engineer who is working the project or issue remotely. It’s a win for the client, who gains the expertise of a senior engineer without the delays and costs of putting that person on a plane.

Even new computer deployments no longer need a tech to be onsite. With tools such as Microsoft AutoPilot, we can drop-ship a brand-new PC from our distributor directly to the client. They open it up, turn it on, and it will automatically configure itself. Again, this saves the client time and money and a visit from a tech.

When you add it all up, this new approach clearly allows us deliver more with less.

When you add it all up, this new approach clearly allows delivery of more with less. More time working on client issues and less time on the road. Faster delivery of solutions and services and less time waiting for hardware or technicians to arrive. Ultimately, more time for your staff and providers to do the important work they do to help patients, without technology issues holding them back.

But all this remote, no-touch contact may still raise a flag in your mind. Can you really know and trust your managed services provider (MSP) if you never have personal contact with them? Is the tech who comes onsite to fix your issues looking out for your current and future IT needs?

MSP Benefit: Get a full team of experts on your side

This is where I see the tremendous advantages of the modern-day MSP. Why work with a single person who just happens to be nearby, and who may have limited experience and skill sets, when you can have a full remote team of experts at your beck and call?

Why work with a single person who just happens to be nearby, and who may have limited experience and skill sets, when you can have a full remote team of experts at your beck and call?

For example, at Med Tech Solutions (MTS), we assign an IT Care Team to every client. This team is responsible for responding to each client’s day-to-day IT needs as well as looking out for their future needs. Within that team, every client is assigned a Customer Success Manager who is responsible for making sure clients’ needs are fulfilled. Your Customer Success Manager serves as your advocate as well as the business contact with MTS. This is the person who is in regular contact with you and takes ownership of all of your issues, needs, and future plans. Our Customer Success Managers are incredibly caring people who are a perfect fit for the healthcare industry. They look out for their clients’ needs day in and day out, take a long view of what is best for them, and work hard to get it right time after time.

Another member of the team is our virtual Chief Information Officer or vCIO. The vCIO’s job is to bring strategy to your vision for your organization’s IT systems. Our vCIOs help with budgets, create projects for deployments into new facilities or new applications, and keep you aware of changes in the IT landscape such as security needs and new, more-efficient and lower-cost technologies. The vCIO brings vision and thought to their clients and is key to the digital transformation within the organizations they serve.

With all the changes and projects that are inherent with any company’s IT, clients ultimately need help with execution. For that we bring in our Project Managers. These people are well-versed in the technologies they deploy and are experts at getting a job done. They work with deployment teams (both internal and external), vendors, and your executives to communicate the project status, assign tasks, ensure accountability, and drive the project to successful completion. These people are amazing at herding cats, bringing order to chaos, and delivering projects to their clients.

All together, these professionals spend a great deal of time communicating with their clients. From weekly meetings to a regular stream of calls, emails, research, and reporting, they are constantly engaged with the clients they serve. That’s their job; not just to show up when there’s a problem.

Having witnessed first-hand the technology revolution begun by the PC in the early ‘80s, it is amazing to see where we have come. The days of server closets are coming to a close and everything can now be delivered and maintained in the cloud. This has profoundly changed the way services are delivered and the day of the tech at your desk, sitting in your chair, installing, or fixing your computer are ending.

And that’s a good thing.

Want to see what Med Tech Solutions IT Care Team can do for your organization? Give us a call or contact us. We’re pretty sure you’ll never look back.