Managed Service Providers (MSPs) offer expertise and knowledge to companies in every industry, taking over IT responsibilities and helping organizations to streamline their processes and budgets. Today’s businesses require the latest hardware technologies and software programs, but staying up to date can be impossible for small and medium-sized businesses. An MSP can provide the economies of scale every business needs – but offer particular benefits to those in the manufacturing industry.
The manufacturing sector operates with mission-critical systems, complicated processes, and a lot of human interaction with complex machinery. These intensive procedures often cause IT personnel to be more focused on day-to-day issues, with less time to consider strategic planning, cyber security, and upgrades to technology. This is where managed services come in.
Here are five areas where MSPs can benefit the manufacturing industry:
- Budgets and Expenditures: Like every area of the business, the IT department has limited resources, and the unpredictable costs of infrastructure management can cause shortages in labor, hardware capability, and cyber security efforts. MSPs can help manufacturing organizations predict costs and help plan for necessary expenditures. Overall, they can guide the company in strategic decision-making.
- Technology Procurement and Implementation: Every company requires forward-looking solutions to stay competitive, and technology is a vital part of those solutions. Understanding and procuring the right technology when needed is essential, but it can be difficult for in-house IT teams to keep up with the rapid evolution of technological advancements and upgrades. The IT experts employed at an MSP are educated in technology trends and understand what is the best course of action depending on the situation. They can recommend the appropriate technology implementation, as well as facilitate it through shared services and equipment that will meet business demands.
- Cybersecurity, Business Continuity, and Risk Management:
The digital marketplace, including IoT, the cloud, and smart solutions are necessary for maximum efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness. While these technologies represent a significant opportunity, they also open the door to significant risk. The potential for theft, data breaches, malware, and other cyber attacks increases with these technologies, and the manufacturing industry is not immune to these threats. Because of the high-value data they maintain, companies in this sector are attractive targets for cybercriminals. For MSPs, fighting cyber threats on behalf of their partners and clients is a primary function, not an afterthought. - Increased Productivity and Decreased Downtime: Downtime is an impactful issue for any industry, but for a manufacturing firm that relies on strict deadlines, just-in-time inventory, and long production lines, downtime can be catastrophic. Interrupting one aspect of the process stops production up and down the line. MSPs have the capability to address this issue as they have vast professional expertise in troubleshooting all types of problems to minimize risk and downtime.
- Regulatory Compliance and Quality Control: Staying compliant and within the regulatory requirements takes a lot of effort for those in the manufacturing industry. As digital manufacturing grows in acceptance, these issues are becoming ever more prevalent. MSPs can be of great assistance in this area, as they concentrate on compliance in automation in regards to measuring, analyzing, auditing, capturing, storing, and transmitting client-sensitive data.
Managed service companies can operate as the official IT department of their clients – or in conjunction with an on-site team. By providing the expertise, technology, and security support that manufacturers need, MSPs come alongside these companies in their success.
Alliance IT is a managed services provider based in Sarasota, Florida.
