How To Choose A Managed Service Provider in Bristol

Bristol has an ever expanding range of technology companies from the Temple area right through to Clifton. A good majority of these companies are what is known as MSPs (managed service providers). In this blog, we look at what an MSP is, the role they play in supporting business technology and what good looks like when trying to choose your solution.

What is an MSP?

An MSP (Managed Service Provider) is a company which provides an outsourced service to other businesses. In this case, we are looking at IT support as a service. This would cover aspects such as cybersecurity, day to day user support and how a business can get the best out of their technology. With IT becoming more complex through new developments such as integrating AI into business systems and cyber attacks becoming more frequent and advanced, many businesses are starting to consider where an MSP may fit into their company.

How Does An MSP Work?

Traditionally, MSPs work on a helpdesk basis. This means that if you have a problem, you would ring up or create a ticket using a process set out by the managed service provider. Once an issue is raised, the MSP would then typically triage the importance of the query and depending on severity, assign it to a technician to be fixed.

It’s important to note that MSPs serve other purposes and this sometimes goes forgotten. Most good MSPs will also be able to advise you on where you can improve your technology and areas you could invest in rather than solely fix problems. At Three Cherries, we run four events a year focused on how your business can start integrating AI securely and with purpose. Check it out on our AI Events page.

What Should We Look for In An MSP?

There are a few key standout areas in our opinion any good MSP should be offering and be able to advise you on. These are the following.

Cybersecurity:

Any good MSP will be able to advise your business on cybersecurity. Confidently, they should be able to identify where weaknesses are, be able to advise and execute any tasks which need doing to strengthen your security and also understand any industry specific needs your business may have. An example of this could be data sensitivity regarding important IP for an engineering project.

If your managed service provider is showing weaknesses when talking about Cybersecurity, we suggest getting in touch with an alternative provider such as Three Cherries.

User Support: 

Another key area any good managed service provider will offer is support on a user basis. This is the bread and butter of IT support and should form the basis of IT for businesses in Bristol. This gives you access to a helpdesk of technicians which can solve pesky IT issues like that printer which won’t connect or spreadsheets in Excel disappearing into thin air.

It’s worth understanding what is included in your support agreement as some MSPs may not include areas and this then becomes chargeable work. if in doubt, its always worth clarifying what you’re agreeing to pay monthly and what service this will give you access to.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Perhaps the newest inclusion in many MSPs arsenals will be AI (Artificial Intelligence). Now that Microsoft have released their own tool in Microsoft Copilot, many would agree AI has gone mainstream and this has therefore created a pressure on businesses who perhaps aren’t yet ready to use such tools to pick them up and experiment. This however can come with many dangers and risks which need to be addressed. The most common one we have seen is incorrect permissions set up across an organisation. Unfortunately, Copilot will act as a snoopy colleague and surface any data the user has access to. This means you should complete a full audit of user permissions before adopting Copilot or any AI tools which integrate with your data on a user basis.

If you need any help with this, Three Cherries are more than happy to help advise next steps for your business, click here to get in touch with our team.

Three Cherries: A Bristol IT Support Provider Since 1999

At Three Cherries, we have been providing IT support to our clients since 1999. This means we have seen plenty of change but also plenty of different business issues which we have resolved. If your business has a pesky issue which you haven’t yet figured out or are considering investing into your business technology, get in touch with the team at Three Cherries. Our office is proudly based in the heart of Bristol and has been since 1999. At Three Cherries, we take the gamble out of business technology