Solution Decision Information Flow for Better Business Decisions

When thinking about leveraging a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for your business, it is best to answer some simple questions first:

Is human judgment required? If the answer is no, then automate the function as much as possible. This will free up internal resources, which will then make them more effective.

Is tribal knowledge required? If the answer is no, then managed services can be leveraged to improve the business. This will free up internal resources to focus more on the business, rather than the tasks.

What is tribal knowledge?

Tribal knowledge is the inherent knowledge that the business possesses, which in turn makes working there unique. Examples of this include line of business software, actual business processes, business rules, development, and/or design.

What are Managed Services?

Managed services is what you need managed, but requires little-to-no tribal knowledge to perform. Examples of this include patch management, backups, daily care and feeding of infrastructure components, system monitoring, virus management, performance, alerts, and/or alarms.

Real-World Example

A real-world example of how a Solution Decision Information Flow can help is when you have decided to invest in high availability for your main business systems. The likely setup of that type of environment is a one-time project, and with an outside firm to assist in the setup. Typically, outside firms are used when you need a particular skill set to be utilized once.

The next business issue is: who will manage it once it is live? You can do it internally, but it will require focus from an internal team with limited knowledge. Knowledge can be gained via training and knowledge transfer but at a cost of both money and time.

A managed service company that specializes in High Availability has both the depth and the width to manage the environment. This ensures that the business goals of your Restore Point Objective (RPO) and your Restore Time Objective (RTO) is maintained. This will also lessen the burden on your internal teams.

They will be able to focus more on the areas of the business which require tribal knowledge, rather than being distracted by trying to understand the inner-workings of the high-availability environment. For many companies, this frees up time for the developers and the technical teams. Your business can focus on the business itself, and also be confident that your high-availability investment is actualized as an investment.

Following the information flow above, successful businesses have been able to leverage their Managed Services Providers. Managed Services Providers that also follow this information flow can set proper boundaries within their teams, all while providing a higher level of service to their customers. When everyone is focused on their raison d’etre, profit margins are maximized and distractions are minimized.

If you need support managing your IT, then reach out to Mid-Range to discuss your needs.