WHAT IS A MANAGED SERVICES PROVIDER?
Managed IT Services, are services provided by managed service providers (MSP). These companies that act as an extension of your own IT department. In some cases, they manage all of the IT services to maintain company continuity and provide support for staff and clients. In other cases, the provider might offer a specific service.
Your MSP can perform many routine IT tasks on behalf of your organization. These tasks include some or all of the following:
- Networking and infrastructure support and implementations that can enhance connectivity for your entire organization.
- Cybersecurity monitoring and proactive protection for your patient data, applications and storage servers.
- Secure and encrypted transmission of electronic health records in accordance withHIPAA and HITECH Act requirements.
- Scheduled upgrades and installations for software used in your facilities.
- Always-available support and help-desk functions that can reduce the duration of downtime for your organization.
- Cloud management and infrastructure implementationsto allow secure access to applications and data from a variety of locations.
- Unified communications as a services (UCaaS) options that can enhance connectivity for all staff members.
- Intelligent wide-area-network (WAN) solutions that will link all your locations securely and reliably.
Finding the right MSP for your organization can be challenging. Knowing what to look for when selecting your IT services provider will allow you to manage all aspects of your IT requirements in a much more practical and streamlined way.
HOW TO CHOOSE A MANAGED SERVICES PROVIDER FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
Deciding on the right MSP will allow your company to enjoy greater confidence in your IT arrangements and can even free up funds for additional staffing in the core activities of your business. Forbes has identified four key characteristics of the best managed services providers and the IT solutions they offer for their clients:
- Cost-effective IT solutions: The right MSP can allow your current IT team to focus on activities that support patient care. By outsourcing cybersecurity and compliance concerns to a trusted IT services provider, you can free up time for your staff and can eliminate the need to hire additional staff for these important tasks.
- Partnerships with key players in the industry: Your managed services provider should have established relationships with leaders in the computing field. This will ensure that your organization stays on the cutting edge of technologies related to the protection of patient data in the medical field.
- Knowledge of compliance requirements: HIPAA and HITECH are among the best known regulations governing the storage, use and transmission of electronic health records and patient data. Your managed IT firm should have in-depth knowledge of all applicable regulations to ensure the best outcomes for your organization and your patients.
- Superior customer service: Your IT services provider should be available when you need assistance and should provide assessments of your online security and proactive support for all your managed IT and cybersecurity requirements.
Keeping these four characteristics in mind can help you choose the right MSP for your healthcare organization’s current and future IT needs.
BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH THE RIGHT MANAGED IT BUSINESS
Choosing a qualified and established provider for managed IT services can allow you to enjoy some important advantages when dealing with confidential and protected patient information and accessing necessary applications in the healthcare industry:
- The experts at your IT services provider can provide you with clear and accurate answers and the best guidance for new implementations and security requirements for your existing systems.
- Your MSP will also tailor a solution that is precisely right for your needs. This can allow greater scalability and improved cost controls for your IT requirements.
- If you opt for cloud management services, you can often take advantage of existing infrastructure put in place by your managed IT provider. This can save you money and time while allowing you access to the most advanced IT solutions for your institution.
- Your managed IT services are available 24 hours a day to monitor cybersecurity and to provide help-desk assistance for you and your team. Always-on support can help you respond more quickly to cyberthreats and can ensure the most proactive approach to new and developing threats in the online environment.
These are only a few of the many benefits your organization will enjoy by outsourcing your IT activities to a company that specializes in managed IT services. At Robinson Consulting, we offer IT solutions that are designed with your company’s needs in mind.
Here are some of the support you can expect from Robinson Consulting, as your MSP:
- Provide IT help desk or technical support
- Implement hardware, software, and data systems
- Control network security and computer systems
- Monitor compliance, safety, and other issues
- Managed IT costs and budget
- Determine what IT systems are required for your business