With hundreds of IT outsourcing firms (also called managed IT service providers) to choose from, it can be difficult to narrow down your options and choose the right one for your business. To help you with your search, this guide covers the factors to consider for differentiating between providers, along with the top 10 IT outsourcing companies—starting with an in-depth look into our solution, Ntiva.
For nearly 20 years, Ntiva has been helping companies in many different industries to:
When choosing a managed service provider (MSP), the first thing to consider is what services you’ll need both now and in the future. For example, your top priority right now might be having a 24/7 IT help desk available to your employees, but in the future, you may also be interested in migrating to the cloud.
While this may sound obvious, many companies only focus on their existing or immediate needs. In the long run, it’s helpful to plan for future needs because it’s typically quite costly and time-consuming to switch IT providers.
Once you know what services you need now and may require in the future, you’ll need to find an MSP with expertise in all of those areas. (Many companies are concerned that by planning for the future they’ll be paying for services they don’t need in the short term; we address this concern in the fourth factor to consider below.)
This is a good starting point, but chances are you’ll still have a long list of potential MSPs because many of these firms’ service offerings overlap. To differentiate between the services each one offers and to get a feel for what it may be like to work with the company, we recommend evaluating each MSP according to the following categories: responsiveness, transparency, expertise, and scalability.
One of the most important factors to consider is whether you’ll have the support you need when you need it. This is also one of the areas where MSPs differ the most.
For example, many MSPs have non-technical representatives responding to help desk inquiries. Because these reps don’t have in-depth IT expertise, they often can’t help you troubleshoot your issue right away. Instead, they ask you a few simple questions, (e.g., What device is causing the issue? How many people does the issue affect?) and create a ticket for you. Then, a technician calls you back when they’re available—sometimes hours, days, or even weeks later, depending on their determined level of urgency.
On the other hand, some IT providers (like Ntiva) have IT technicians answering their help lines so that you can start solving problems immediately.
To get a feel for how responsive an MSP will be, here are some questions to ask:
Even if you want your IT support company to handle all aspects of your IT, it’s still important for you to have full insight into what hired IT outsourcing firms are doing and how they’re doing it.
For instance, let’s say you’ve handed off your entire IT help desk to an MSP. If you don’t have access to individual tickets or detailed reports on the tickets they’re addressing, you won’t have any insight into what devices are causing the most issues or which departments are calling in the most often. This could leave you in a situation where a particular device is causing more downtime and money than it’s worth or a department is less efficient than it could be because it’s using glitchy software.
Without full transparency in their IT support, many companies end up spending more money on IT solutions than they need to. Plus, it can be difficult to build trust between you and your MSP without a commitment to full transparency.
To gauge how transparent an IT company will be, here are some good questions to ask:
Once you’ve narrowed down your list to IT outsourcing firms that advertise the services you need, it’s important to determine whether or not they have the expertise to truly deliver those services. Looking at specific certifications and case studies is a good place to start. However, one area that is often overlooked is the tools used for a particular job.
For example, many IT companies advertise support for Apple products but only use Microsoft tools. Sometimes using Microsoft tools on Apple products will work, but more often than not, the incompatibility causes friction—which is why it’s important to confirm what tools are supported.
Here are a few questions to ask when evaluating the expertise of an MSP:
Many companies that partner with small to midsize MSPs because of local support or cheaper prices often find themselves in a situation where they no longer receive the level of support they need. This typically happens for a couple of reasons:
Plus, if the MSP isn’t clear about its pricing upfront, you may find yourself in a situation where IT costs are adding up and it’s difficult to budget for future growth.
Whether you’re looking to switch MSPs because of a lack of support, cost, or another reason altogether, switching IT service providers isn’t typically a smooth process. It can take a huge amount of time and effort to onboard with a new MSP. That’s why we recommend choosing an MSP that not only scales with you as your company grows but also helps you drive that growth by offering top-notch training and support.
On the other hand, you don’t want to pay for services that you aren’t using early on but may need in the future. Again, we suggest looking for simple, clear pricing structures with a few options to accommodate different needs. You’ll want to look for an MSP with a thorough onboarding process that helps you get set up to take full advantage of all the services you’re paying for.
Here are some questions to consider when evaluating if an IT provider will be able to support your company long-term:
Next, we’ll discuss in-depth how Ntiva measures up in each of these categories and cover the top IT services our customers take advantage of. Then, we’ll briefly cover nine alternative IT outsourcing firms.
We’ve worked with hundreds of companies in many industries (including manufacturing, government contracting, nonprofit, healthcare, and more) for nearly 20 years—and most clients have been with us for longer than 10 years.
We take on as much (or as little) of any IT task that you need help with. If you choose to completely hand over a task to our team, you’ll have full insight into any aspect of the process at any time. We also provide you with a project manager who will meet with you on a regular basis to update you on our progress and answer any questions you may have.
Before beginning any services, we provide an intensive onboarding experience to provide you with a smooth transition, ensuring you get the most out of our services. Plus, you won’t be charged during the onboarding period.
Here’s an overview of a few of the IT tasks you can outsource to our team:
Over the years, we repeatedly hear from our clients that fast response times are one of the most important aspects of quality IT support. That’s why we designed our 24/7 help desk around getting you solutions right away on your first call. Here’s how we do it:
Plus, you’ll have full access to our entire help desk platform—including our reporting tool. (This is particularly helpful in co-managed situations because all tickets can be managed from one place.)
Most IT issues can be resolved remotely, however, we also provide onsite support across the U.S. Our main offices are located in New York City, NY; Ronkonkoma, NY; Chicago, IL; Washington, D.C.; Bethesda, MD; McLean, VA; and Colorado Springs, CO. However, we also partner with many other MSPs to provide you with local on-site support. With our strategic locations and partnerships, our technicians can arrive on-site within the same day—and often within the hour.
An independent school in Maryland experienced an emergency outage of its servers. Ntiva arrived on-site and got it up and running quickly.
PMMI struggled to maintain a secure environment with both Apple and Microsoft products. Ntiva helped it increase security and productivity.
For certain processes, it can be difficult to find a perfect pre-built solution. Sometimes an off-the-shelf option will work with a custom integration. Either way, it can be costly and time-consuming to handle custom software development in-house. That’s why many companies outsource this task to an IT company.
Whether you need to automate existing processes, build new functionalities, or build a more seamless integration between certain software programs, Ntiva can help. From project planning and design to procurement and ongoing maintenance, we can help you build sustainable solutions. We use a consultative and collaborative approach where we listen attentively to your needs and ideas and fill in the gaps as needed.
Even if you’re in the middle of a project and aren’t seeing the progress or ROI that you anticipated, we can evaluate your project and offer recommendations for the best way to proceed.
Our team has expertise with:
A landscaping company was losing business because of inefficient processes. Ntiva helped it create a custom application to use out in the field which helped increase revenue.
A nonprofit organization spent hours manually conducting audits of its inventory. Ntiva helped it build a custom application to automate the flow, which not only saved time but also reduced human error.
Ntiva offers a full suite of advanced cybersecurity solutions. We balance cutting-edge and tried-and-true solutions for security that you can rely on.
For example, many MSPs offer simple definition-based antivirus software to protect you from malware. This antivirus software takes definitions of known types of attacks and stops that type of traffic while letting everything else through. While this will stop some cyberattacks, it won’t stop all of them. Cybercriminals are constantly designing new forms of attacks in order to get around definition-based antivirus software.
At Ntiva, we replace antivirus software with endpoint detection and response (EDR). Rather than rely on pre-programmed definitions, EDR leverages machine learning and AI to identify suspicious activity. If a potential attack is identified, our security operations team (SOC) is immediately notified. They evaluate the activity to determine if it’s a true threat and take action as necessary.
Not only does EDR identify more types of attacks than antivirus software, but it also helps reduce the amount of false alerts you see. EDR even works when your devices are outside the office firewall.
Other cybersecurity services Ntiva offers include:
Finally, we can help you meet and maintain compliance regulations such as CMMC, HIPAA, NIST, and more.
Ankura Consulting was worried that it wasn’t meeting industry regulations for privacy and security. Ntiva helped it assess its current situation, identify gaps, and create a roadmap to compliance.
Kimball Construction wanted to close deals with the DoD but needed to be CMMC compliant first. Ntiva helped it reach the appropriate level of compliance.
Many companies that work directly with cloud service providers (instead of an MSP) end up needing multiple cloud service providers to cover all of the cloud solutions necessary for their operations (e.g., cloud security, data backup, virtual servers, and more.)
On the other hand, Ntiva lets you manage all of your cloud solutions from one place. Plus, we can help you choose the best solution for your needs (that will increase productivity and cut IT costs), migrate to your new solution, and handle day-to-day maintenance for you.
Many cloud solutions use bandwidth pricing (meaning you’re charged based on how much you use within a given timeframe), which can quickly add up and make it difficult to plan for the future. Ntiva’s cloud services are priced at a flat-rate fee which makes it really easy to plan your budget and scale as needed.
Destra Capital needed to migrate to the cloud and was on a tight schedule. Plus, it needed to ensure it was meeting security requirements from the SEC and FINRA. Ntiva helped it find the right cloud solution, migrate over, and implement the necessary security measures.
Another task that our clients typically hand off to us is ongoing IT network monitoring and maintenance.
We begin with a detailed inventory of your entire IT infrastructure (including devices, software licenses, and warranties.) This helps us keep track of when software licenses will be renewed or when it’s time to replace outdated hardware.
We also monitor your IT network around the clock for signs of issues like network failures, system overloads, and more. This helps us identify potential problems before they happen (e.g., a big system upgrade is scheduled for the same time as a company-wide video call) and take the necessary steps to avoid disruption for your employees. It also allows us to schedule software updates at a time when it’s most convenient for your team.
Finally, you’ll have full access to all documentation, which is helpful for understanding what’s in use and what’s not, what your IT budget is being spent on, and planning for future expenses (such as replacing outdated desktops.)
Streetsense’s IT team was struggling to keep up with all of their day-to-day IT needs—let alone plan for future business needs. They outsourced all day-to-day monitoring, maintenance, and support to Ntiva and leaned on Ntiva’s vCISO services so they could focus on strategic planning.
Ntiva makes leading experts available to you on an as-needed basis at a fraction of the cost of hiring IT professionals in-house. Our team works alongside your company leaders to find the most efficient and cost-effective solutions for any IT challenges you have.
Ntiva IT consulting services come in many forms including:
Accenture helps companies (including some Fortune 500 companies) with digital transformation in 49 countries and more than 200 cities. It serves many industries including natural resources, retail, travel, public service, and more.
Some of the specialized services Accenture provides include:
IBM designs and builds technology solutions for companies in the financial services, consumer goods, retail, telecommunications, government, and energy industries.
IBM is a vast company with numerous tech services, including:
Infosys is based in India but serves companies in over 50 countries. It specializes in providing digital services and consulting.
Infosys services fall under four main categories: digital core capabilities, digital operating models, empowering talent transformations, and navigating new possibilities. Some of the services Infosys provides include:
Innowise Group is a global software development company based out of Poland that partners with companies to provide Fintech, IT staff augmentation, and data analytics. Some of the digital services Innowise Group offers include:
HCLTech is a software services company based out of India with an emphasis on computer programming and consulting. It serves many industries from captive business services to telecom.
HCLTech’s services include the following:
Cognizant is an IT services and software outsourcing company based in Canada (which could make it a good option for American companies looking for nearshore support). Some of the services Cognizant provides include:
Hyperlink InfoSystem is an AI, mobile app, web, and Blockchain development company with locations in the U.S. and India. It provides software solutions and makes software developers available for hire following Agile methodology.
Additional services offered by Hyperlink InfoSystem include:
Dataprise is an IT process outsourcing firm that specializes in healthcare, banking, financial services, legal, media, nonprofit, private equity, and government IT solutions.
Dataprise services include:
StratusPointIT is an end-to-end technology service provider for small businesses, midsize businesses, and some startups. It specializes in offering 24/7 support.
Some of the services StratusPointIT offers include:
Hundreds of IT outsourcing firms exist and all of them offer slight variations of the same services. Even if you feel your organization’s IT needs are especially unique, there’s a managed IT service provider that has the tools and expertise to optimize your tech infrastructure.
Whether you’re looking to outsource just some or all of your information technology obligations, Ntiva can help. We’ve worked with companies in many different industries and regions to grow their businesses with technology and meet compliance requirements. Book a consultation to learn more.