Managed IT refers to the practice of outsourcing the responsibility for maintaining and managing an organization’s information technology (IT) systems and infrastructure to a third-party provider. In a managed IT services model, the provider takes on the proactive monitoring, maintenance, and support of the company’s IT resources, typically on a subscription basis.

What is an MSP?

Managed IT service providers (MSPs) offer a range of services designed to meet the specific IT needs of businesses. These services can include:

1. Network and infrastructure management: This involves managing the organization’s network infrastructure, including routers, switches, firewalls, and servers. MSPs ensure that the network is secure, reliable, and optimized for performance.
2. Data backup and recovery: MSPs implement backup solutions to protect critical data from loss or damage. They also develop disaster recovery plans to minimize downtime and ensure business continuity in the event of a system failure or data breach.
3. Security services: MSPs provide security measures to protect the organization’s IT systems and data from cyber threats. This includes implementing firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, antivirus software, and conducting regular security audits.
4. Help desk and technical support: Managed IT services often include a help desk or support center where end-users can seek assistance with IT-related issues. MSPs provide troubleshooting, problem resolution, and remote support to ensure smooth operations.
5. Software and application management: MSPs handle the installation, configuration, and maintenance of software applications used within the organization. They ensure that software is up to date, patched for security vulnerabilities, and compatible with other systems.
6. IT consulting and strategic planning: Managed IT providers can offer expertise and guidance in IT strategy and planning. They work closely with the organization to align technology with business objectives and recommend solutions to improve efficiency and productivity.

The primary benefits of managed IT services include reduced IT costs, access to specialized expertise, improved system performance and reliability, enhanced security, and the ability to focus on core business activities without the burden of IT management. It allows organizations to leverage external resources and stay up to date with the rapidly evolving technology landscape.

There are several compelling reasons why organizations should choose to use Managed Service Providers (MSPs) for their IT needs:

1. Cost savings: Outsourcing IT services to an MSP can result in significant cost savings compared to maintaining an in-house IT department. MSPs typically offer their services on a subscription or fixed-fee basis, which allows businesses to budget more effectively without unexpected expenses related to IT support, infrastructure upgrades, or hiring and training IT staff.
2. Access to specialized expertise: MSPs are staffed with professionals who possess a wide range of technical expertise and certifications. By partnering with an MSP, organizations gain access to a team of professionals with specialized skills and knowledge across various IT domains. This expertise may not be readily available or cost-effective to develop in-house.
3. Proactive monitoring and maintenance: MSPs take a proactive approach to managing IT systems. They use advanced monitoring tools and proactive maintenance strategies to monitor IT systems, detect vulnerabilities, and address them promptly, before they become critical. This proactive monitoring and maintenance help improve system performance, minimize downtime, and enhance overall operational efficiency.
4. Focus on core business activities: By outsourcing IT management to an MSP, organizations can free up their internal resources to focus on core business activities. IT-related tasks, such as system maintenance, troubleshooting, and upgrades, are handled by the MSP, allowing employees to concentrate on strategic initiatives and core competencies.
5. Scalability and flexibility: MSPs provide flexible solutions that can scale to meet the changing needs of an organization. As a business grows or experiences fluctuations in IT demands, MSPs can easily adjust their services to accommodate the changing requirements. This scalability ensures that IT resources are aligned with business needs without incurring unnecessary costs or delays.
6. Enhanced security and compliance: MSPs place a strong emphasis on cybersecurity and can implement robust security measures to protect sensitive data and IT systems. They stay up to date with the latest security threats and industry best practices, ensuring that organizations have a solid defense against cyberattacks. MSPs can also assist with regulatory compliance by implementing the necessary controls and processes.
7. Access to advanced technologies: MSPs have access to the latest technologies and tools in the IT industry. By partnering with an MSP, organizations can leverage these technologies without the upfront costs associated with purchasing and implementing them internally. MSPs can also advise on technology trends and recommend solutions that align with the organization’s goals and objectives.

Using an MSP allows businesses to leverage external expertise, improve operational efficiency, enhance security, and reduce costs. It enables businesses to access a wide range of IT services and solutions without the need for extensive internal resources or expertise.

TechCare Remote Managed IT Services

LBMC Technology Solutions offers TechCare Remote Managed IT Services. This services model provides technology services and monitoring for your servers, PCs, and network from a remote location. So whether you’re needing managed IT services in Franklin, TN or even up in Alaska, we can help.

This ensures that any potential issues are identified immediately, reducing or eliminating any potential interruption to your business. TechCare is more than just a break-fix solution; it is an ongoing managed security and managed IT service. It offers many different types of service offerings.

LBMC Technology Solutions is adept at providing TechCare Remote Managed IT Services, catering to the needs of companies operating in distributed work environments or those seeking to leverage the benefits of remote IT management. With our expertise and advanced tools, we can seamlessly manage and monitor IT systems and infrastructure remotely, ensuring smooth operations and minimizing disruptions. Our TechCare Remote Managed IT Services cover a wide array of critical areas, including proactive monitoring of networks, servers, and endpoints, timely software updates and patches, comprehensive cybersecurity measures, and remote troubleshooting and support.

Our team of skilled professionals can remotely address IT issues, provide assistance to end-users, and implement efficient solutions promptly. This remote approach allows companies to access top-tier IT support without the need for an on-site presence, reducing costs and maximizing efficiency. We leverage secure and reliable remote access technologies to ensure data confidentiality and integrity while facilitating seamless communication between our experts and client teams.

By partnering with us for TechCare Remote Managed IT Services, companies can focus on their core business operations while benefiting from a robust and agile IT infrastructure that supports their remote workforce effectively. Our TechCare Remote Managed IT Services include:

Benefits of TechCare Remote Managed IT Services

• Service Desk and Support

  • Service Desk. LBMC Remote Managed IT Services has a comprehensive integrated service desk and troubleshooting system. It provides IT support personnel with the tools they need to resolve issues quickly. Users and support personnel can interact in real-time. They can report, diagnose and resolve issues. In many cases they don’t have to physically visit the desktop. LBMC provides 24/7 monitoring and management of your systems.
  • Onsite Services. For onsite services during normal hours, each plan includes onsite visits. Furthermore, travel time is included within a 20-mile radius of our office locations. For destinations outside this limit, standard hourly rates will apply for travel time.
  • Remote Control. Remote Control Software provides easy, fast and secure Remote Desktop Management of your entire computing infrastructure from anywhere. Each end user also has the capability of optionally blocking remote control access to their computer systems if so desired. Remote Desktop Management features maximum security using encryption for all sessions.

• Network and Systems Management

  • 24/7 Remote monitoring and alerting (Standard). Set appropriate monitoring thresholds and be alerted to developing problems promptly. This will enable us to resolve any issues before they can seriously impact services. Connection and basic web monitoring is covered. Effective remote monitoring can reduce response time to service interruption by notification directly to the LBMC Network Operations Center.
  • Disk Space Monitoring. When systems have low disk space available it impacts the system performance dramatically. Our platform will monitor the available space on all of the drives under management. It will alert the NOC prior to downtime is experienced.
  • Email System Management. LBMC will provide support for the management of the Client email solution (i.e. Exchange, Office 365, Gmail, etc.), whether it is hosted on premise or in the cloud. Email migrations will be estimated as a separate project.
  • Firewall Management. Firewall is a critical component. The ongoing maintenance of the firewall systems to protect your data from outsiders is included in our plan. VPN monitoring and management is covered. As long as the Client’s firewall appliance is covered by a vendor support plan, LBMC will cover firewall software/firmware upgrades. LBMC will also cover security bundle management.
  • ISP Assistance and Coordination. LBMC may act as a liaison for you when dealing with issues involving your Internet Service Provider(s) when problems arise.
  • SQL Maintenance. Configuration and monitoring of the Client’s SQL Server maintenance is covered under this plan. Software Development and DBA services fall outside of this plan.
  • Switch Management. For companies that have managed switches, or plan to move to managed switches, management of these devices is covered. This must be under the PC or Server plan as well. SNMP or IP is used for the management of these devices.

• Security and Compliance

  • Active Directory Administration. Active Directory administration focuses on tasks that are performed routinely. Examples include: creating computer accounts, joining computers to a domain, managing domain controllers, and organizing organizational units. LBMC will manage the addition and removal of user accounts. This will be done through the use of the Employee Action Form in a submitted case by Client.
  • Automated patching and updating. Enables our information technology administrators to deploy the latest Microsoft product updates to supported Microsoft Windows operating systems. We fully manage the distribution of updates that are released through Microsoft as we deem necessary.
  • Backup solutions & services. Cloud backup and data recovery are critical elements for any customer. Managing your backup include management of existing software that drive on-site backups.
  • Network Policy Enforcement. The ability to enforce network policies is an important foundation for a secure computing environment. The LBMC Integrated IT Software Suite provides policy management and enforcement for files, network access and applications.
  • Security. For Windows systems we manage against the baseline security best practices. For network security devices (i.e. firewalls) we maintain the policies for each device and facilitate VPN connections where appropriate.
  • Software Deployment. Software Deployment provides the flexibility and reliability needed to deploy some applications and updates automatically. From a simple executable to complete application suites, our platform handles the automated deployment in many cases.

• Reporting

  • Asset Management – software audits, hardware specifications and inventory. Provide detail inventories for software and computer equipment under maintenance. Client is responsible for software licensing compliance. We will assist with maintaining your detail records for each computer we have under management.
  • Custom Reports. We can provide reports on the health of your system; any alerts received and will discuss remediation with you as needed. The ability to accumulate, track and analyze data over time is invaluable for tactical and strategic planning.

Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure provides anywhere, anytime access to your data on any device. Solutions, security, and disaster recovery are cost-effective, efficient, available, and scalable for any size business.

Cloud infrastructure has grown in popularity. To meet the specific needs of different users, several models and deployment strategies have emerged. Each type of cloud service and deployment method provides you with various levels of control, flexibility, and management. Understanding the different types (Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service), as well as what deployment strategies you can use, can help you decide what set of services is right for your needs.

LBMC Technology Solutions is uniquely positioned to assist organizations. They can help determine how best to use cloud software and services to save time and money. This will allow organizations to “stretch” resources and focus on their growth.

Benefits of Cloud Infrastructure

• Gain a global footprint in hours, not months – Building a data center footprint to support the global operations of your business isn’t just expensive – it’s also very time-consuming. With cloud computing, you can access a reliable, high-performance global IT infrastructure with just a few clicks.
• Focus on your core business activities instead of IT infrastructure – Focus on projects that differentiate your business, not the infrastructure. Cloud computing lets you focus on your own customers, rather than on the heavy lifting of racking, stacking and powering servers.
• Achieve enterprise-class IT performance without upfront costs – Cloud infrastructure offers value by enabling elastic consumption that scales with your needs and pay-as-you-go pricing models. Some providers do not require minimum commitments or long-term contracts.

VisionFlex Hosting Options & Components

-VisionFlex Hosting Platforms

• Amazon Web Services – By default we host all new VisionFlex deployments at AWS.
• Microsoft Azure – Legacy VisionFlex deployments were built in Azure. We still support these in Azure. If a client prefers Azure, we can support new deployments in Azure.

-Standard Components of a VisionFlex Deployment

• Servers – Active Directory, Database and Remote Desktop (option for VDI)
• Applications/Licenses – GP & Modules, MS SQL SAL, MS Office, RDS SAL, Endpoint Protection, Splunk/Monitoring, Kaseya Agent/Monitoring and Duo MFA

-MS Office can be licensed using the client’s M365 suite or through SPLA

-SQL can be licensed runtime through the Dynamics Price List or we can license through SPLA.

-Services

Network Engineering

1. Daily – Monitoring, patching, backups, tenant management, security management and infrastructure support.

2. Quarterly – Routine maintenance testing the systems against best practices and LBMC standards. Test restores.

GP Team – Varies based upon contract, but 1 major upgrade per year and 1 tax update per year are common.

VisionFlex – Dedicated vs. Shared

Dedicated vs. Shared

• Dedicated – The tenant is dedicated to one client and is built to only support that client.

–Choose this option if the client needs a dedicated IPSEC tunnel, access to the desktop of the DB server, administrative access to all servers, wants to join their local AD, requires a custom/advanced configuration or is highly security conscious.

• Shared – The tenant contains components that are shared by all clients in that tenant. This offers a reduced cost but does include some restrictions.

–Shared Components: DB server/licensing, tenant, Active Directory and some software licensing and support services.

–Dedicated Components: RDS server.

–Choose this option if the client is highly cost conscious, is fine sharing components with other tenants, does not mind having a separate login and does not require permanent IPSEC VPN connectivity.

Firewall Management

What is a firewall? At the root, a firewall is your first line of defense in network security and monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic. This is the core component in your business security.

Whether you are a large corporation or a small business, the barrage of attacks and malicious software against your systems and users is constant. For this reason, it is critical that you have a strong firewall solution that includes the latest threat protection using the best types of network security.

LBMC Technology Solutions partners with industry leaders to offer clients best-in-class firewall products. We use a wide variety of network security services, ranging from standard intrusion prevention systems (IPS), URL filtering, Gateway AV, application control, and anti-spam services for combating advanced threats such as file sandboxing, data loss prevention, ransomware protection and more to increase your endpoint security.

Benefits of Firewall Management

• Firewall configuration to meet industry security best practices
• Threat monitoring
• Threat and user activity reporting
• Next Generation Firewall – Firewall software updates to protect against the latest threats

Mobile Device Management

Mobile devices are a way of life for most businesses. Keeping these mobile devices secure is a huge challenge for many organizations. Developing a mobile application strategy that fits the needs of your business while helping your team stay productive and secure is important in any business strategy.

LBMC Technology Solutions is proud to offer Mobile Device Management through Microsoft Intune. Mobile device ecosystems can be very diverse, and Intune can securely manage iOS, Windows, Android and MacOS devices from a solitary, unified mobile solution. Provide your users what they need to do their best work wherever they are, on whichever device they choose.

Benefits of Mobile Device Management

• Cloud Security – Achieve higher IT efficiencies with cloud based protection – no more on-premise servers
• Protect your sensitive data regardless of device enrollment
• Support mobile devices of any kind
• Variety of management scenarios available

Multi-factor Authentication

The old days of having a good, strong password are gone. And, let’s face it – most people never really had a good password; and if they did, it was taped to their monitor allowing anyone access to network. That is where multi-factor authentication (MFA) comes in. It combines something you know (i.e. your password) with something you have (i.e. code from your mobile phone) to deliver a much more secure authentication method.

Since everyone now carries a mobile phone with them, you no longer require expensive token cards or key fobs to implement MFA. A company can send a temporary code to your mobile phone via text or call to complete the authentication process. Even if someone knows your password, they will not have the code, which only lasts for seconds. LBMC Technology Solutions can assist your business with securing your authentication process with an MFA solution.

Benefits of Multi-Factor Authentication

• Secure Networks
• Token cards and key fobs no longer required

Antivirus & Anti-Malware

The threat of viruses, malware and other cyber terrorism acts have sadly become a part of our daily lives. Computer viruses were once simple and limited…now we are faced with advanced malware threats, phishing scams, key loggers, ransomware and more. These virtual threats will attack you through every electronic method possible; infected bogus package delivery messages, the infamous rich Nigerian prince, an email attachment that attempts to encrypt every file in your organization, accidentally visiting an infected website – the perils are virtually everywhere.

Your organization needs a vigilant protection system. LBMC Technology Solutions provides a layered approach to addressing this ever-present threat. Our antivirus and anti-malware solutions are configured to provide highest levels of protection, while having minimal impact on system performances.

Benefits of Antivirus and Anti-malware

• Safeguard against hackers, viruses, malware and leaks
• Peace of mind knowing your technology infrastructure is secure
• Robust protection and around-the-clock monitoring
• Scalable services to meet your organizations budget and evolving risk profile

Intrusion Prevention

Just as we protect our homes and personal belongings from intrusion, the same diligence must be made for our organizations’ computer networks. Intrusion prevention is the preemptive measure taken to identify potential threats and respond to them immediately.

At LBMC Technology Solutions, we take a two-part approach to Intrusion Prevention: managed intrusion prevention, and managed intrusion protection.

We first identify hostile activity in real time and take immediate action to block and thwart undesirable network traffic; combine this with our 24/7 monitoring to immediately detect and report unauthorized access attempts and suspicious activities. Each intrusion detection and intrusion prevention alert includes a thorough analysis and specific steps to take to eliminate the threat.

Benefits of Intrusion Prevention

• Safeguard against hackers, viruses, malware and leaks
• Peace of mind knowing your technology infrastructure and computer systems are secure
• Robust protection and around-the-clock monitoring
• Scalable services to meet your organizations budget and evolving risk profile

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