Keeping your infrastructure running smoothly is complicated. It requires implementing the right technology, performing scheduled updates, renewing leases, monitoring, and more. Then there’s the strategy side which includes budgeting, planning for the future, and aligning your IT with your business goals.
Add troubleshooting technical issues to the mix and that’s a lot of work to be putting on one, two, or even a handful of employees. For a growing business, it’s only natural for your IT needs to grow as well. If you’re not careful, incoming IT projects could end up outpacing the bandwidth of your IT department. If your in-house IT staff needs help, support them with hybrid managed services.
What Are Hybrid Managed Services?
Also known as co-managed IT or staff augmentation, hybrid managed services is an outsourced solution offered by a managed services provider (MSP). Similar to managed IT support services, staff augmentation delivers IT assistance as needed. However, unlike managed IT, hybrid IT service management is not designed to take full control over the management of your infrastructure—it supplements your existing department instead.
How Does Hybrid Managed Services Work?
Hybrid managed services work by acting as an extension of your team. While your internal department focuses on the most important assignments, the hybrid team helps with tasks your in-house staff can’t do on their own or don’t have the time to complete. They work together with your internal IT services to make sure your IT employees are never overwhelmed.
When you use co-managed IT services, you have the opportunity to tell your MSP about the skills, experience, and number of technicians you need for your project. Your vendor can then match you with technicians that fit your qualifications. All you need to do is integrate the contracted IT specialists with your team so they can hit the ground running.
When Should Hybrid Managed Services Be Used?
Hybrid managed IT is a very popular business solution and for good reason. Its versatility allows you to use the service for a variety of purposes. Here are just a few situations where it can be applied:
- You need to hire new team members, but you’re unsatisfied with the local talent pool.
- Your existing IT department is overwhelmed and there’s no end in sight.
- You know you need more IT specialists, but you don’t have the budget for it.
- You have a short-term IT project, but you don’t want your staff wasting too much time on it.
- When you need an objective opinion on an IT project or the state of your infrastructure.
- You need a technician with a certain skill set, but no one on your internal team has that skill.
Benefits of Hybrid Managed Services
There are many benefits that can come from choosing the experts you want to work with, picking how many you want to join your team, and deciding for how long. These benefits include:
- No Legal Liability – Every employee you hire, you are legally liable for. That means you are responsible for their taxes, payroll, benefits, and more. When you use hybrid managed services, the MSP acts as the official employer of the contractors.
- Scalability – Staff augmentation allows you to adapt quickly when an IT project expands or is too big for the in-house team to handle.
- Variety of Expertise – An MSP can provide technicians with various skill sets to tackle problems your internal team may not be capable of handling.
Start Supporting Your IT Department
If you have an internal IT department, let BL King boost its capabilities with hybrid managed services. We’re a leading managed services provider that offers a range of solutions to help your business succeed. Our team is dedicated to providing a level of service you can’t find anywhere else.
Contact us today to learn more.
