Many companies engage a managed service provider (MSP) to support their business by managing their IT environment. Working with an MSP is essential for small and medium businesses (SMBs) with limited technical skills. A reliable MSP can be instrumental in maximizing the IT investment by managing the environment effectively and efficiently.
However, not all MSPs provide their customers with the same range and level of services. Your business must ensure the partner you rely on is actually pulling their weight and providing the services you expect. This article discusses why the services provided may not align with expectations and which services are essential to optimize and protect your IT environment,
What’s in Your Managed Services Contract?
Before looking at the services your MSP should be providing, you must understand that you are bound by the contract you sign with the provider. You must delve into the details when entering into a managed services contract to ensure that you are getting the right blend of services at the agreed-upon cost. You cannot be disappointed with the results if you don’t do your due diligence and choose services wisely before signing the contract.
Services You Should Expect From Your MSP
Organizations should expect the following services from their MSP. It is essential that company decision-makers carefully evaluate the details of the services offered to determine whether they meet business requirements. The depth of the services rendered is as important as the range available from a given MSP. Customers should insist on obtaining the level of services they need to protect and support their business.
Network security and IT architecture
MSPs should ensure the security of the IT environment from external and internal risks. This is accomplished by several related services that should be an essential part of any agreement.
The provider should implement and maintain modern network and web application firewalls (WAFs) to prevent threat actors from accessing the infrastructure. A reliable MSP will work with you to develop rules that make sense and support business operations. They will also run scheduled vulnerability scans to identify and remediate security issues.
Network segmentation is an essential aspect of IT architecture that protects your company by separating critical systems from general user applications and resources. Segmentation increases security by preventing threat actors who compromise a single system from moving laterally through the infrastructure, and is often mandatory when handling regulated health or financial data.
Providers manage remote access to the environment, including VPNs to prevent unauthorized users from reaching corporate assets. Some MSPs may offer dedicated remote access solutions, such as Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), that provide businesses with a streamlined way to support a remote workforce.
Endpoint management
Inferior patch management exposes your infrastructure to threat actors exploiting known vulnerabilities. The MSP’s technical teams should provide patch management across all devices. The patches should include security and feature updates for device operating systems and third-party software.
Your providers should support a dynamic device inventory so you are always aware of what is on your network. Teams should enforce configuration standards to ensure all devices run approved software and are protected with features such as disk encryption and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
The provider should offer an advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution that goes beyond legacy antivirus tools. Modern EDR platforms leverage threat intelligence and behavioral analysis to identify and respond to anomalous events that may pose security risks.
Identity and access management
Companies should expect their MSP to provide robust identity and access management (IAM) to protect their IT environment against sophisticated attacks. The following specific services are essential for securing your valuable systems and data assets.
- Comprehensive MFA should be deployed across all critical applications, VPN, admin accounts, and mail systems to reduce the damage from compromised credentials.
- The provider should manage privileged access effectively to ensure that admin and other elevated rights are granted only for specific business purposes. Access review should be conducted regularly to eliminate privilege creep.
- MSPs should manage user provisioning with standardized configurations and offboarding processes as soon as employees leave to enhance security.
Backup and recovery management
Many SMBs engage an MSP to manage their backup and recovery, expecting that data is safe and recoverable under any circumstances. Unfortunately, some customers discover this is not the case when an emergency strikes and their data is unavailable. Decision-makers should insist on the following features and services to ensure these data protection expectations are met.
- Data backups should be stored offline and be immutable to protect against ransomware and other malware variants with solutions such as a Cloud Backup-as-a-Service (CBaaS)
- The backups must include all critical systems and be reviewed regularly to address environmental changes.
- The provider should offer disaster recovery services that align with your company’s Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) for business-critical systems.
Monitoring and detection
Providers must offer monitoring and detection services across the infrastructure, including networks and endpoints. Teams typically monitor 24/7 using automated tools to identify suspicious behavior, such as attempts at privilege escalation, logins at unusual or off-hours times, and large-scale file modifications or downloads. Customers and providers should develop clear escalation procedures to address anomalous incidents.
The monitoring telemetry should be logged and stored centrally to support analysis and effective Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). Teams can conduct forensic reviews of this data to uncover patterns that may indicate insider threats and unauthorized lateral movement across the environment.
Benefits of VAST Managed Services
Our managed services are tailored to your business needs and cover all aspects of your IT environment. We want to be a valuable partner that supports your company’s objectives with efficient technology solutions. Our experts have deep experience managing on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures so our customers can focus on core business activities.
VAST’s strategic partnerships with industry leaders enable us to deliver the most effective and efficient solutions to our customers. Contact us to learn how we can provide the services you expect and your business deserves.
