Differentiators – IVDesk Verses Managed Service Providers

As we continue to add new clients to IVDesk we get asked many times to compare our hosted IT service with a Managed Service Provider (MSP).  At initial glance, it looks somewhat similar but under the covers… it’s another thing all together!

Things we have in common
1. We both take responsibility for a customer’s IT infrastructure.  MSPs will setup, monitor, update, and manage a client’s local Servers, PCs, and Network.  At IVDesk, we’re responsible for those things as well, although on our equipment.
2. MSPs can provide Helpdesk services to a client.  Many times it’s a single point of contact on-site, if it’s everyone, there’s additional fees.  At IVDesk, anyone in the company can call us, anytime, from any computer.
3. MSPs may off the Microsoft Office Suite on a per month basis (SPLA Licensing).  At IVDesk, all those are included in the monthly per user fee.
4. With an MSP, if a local server “breaks”, they dispatch someone to work on it and fix it.  Until then, the customer is down.  At IVDesk, we have dramatic redundancy so that there are not single points of failure.  Hardware can “break” but there’s always a redundant piece of equipment so downtime is minimal in an emergency.

Thanks we don’t have in common (those Differentiators!)
1. No Capital Costs – Never buy another server with IVDesk. You only pay a monthly fee per user for the number of users that month.  You grow it goes up, you shrink it goes down.  No big dollar outlays for equipment
2. PCs last dramatically longer – Since all  your applications run inside IVDesk, the PC that’s needed doesn’t need to be as powerful.  Not at all.  We have customers who even use refurbished Windows Terminals (WinTerms) to get IVDesk session.  They’re about $30 a piece.  Typically, a PC can last 6 years or so and using the $200 refurbished PCs are great too.
3. Disaster Recovery – With IVDesk, all your applications, data, backups, email, everything, is off-site and protected in a large data center.  Very secure, very redundant, very strong.  You have a local disaster where you can’t get into your facility, your employees can work from any Internet connection anywhere.  With MSPs, you have to come up with and pay for other solutions that always include dramatic downtime.  Not good for your business.
4. Dramatic Redundancy Built-in – Within the IVDesk environment we have replicated servers, disk, email servers, application servers, network, etc.  There are always problems with hardware at some point but with the dramatic redundancy, the customer never suffers.
5. Staff Expertise and Redundancy – Our Helpdesk never goes to lunch, doesn’t go on vacation, and is cross trained so that each client gets the support they need.  No waiting, no “we’ll get back to you”, we’re always there. 
6. Scalability – With IVDesk you can add a new location quickly and get new users up and running with a phone call.  Your new application needs new servers, we provide them.  You start scanning your documents, we’ve got room for them.  All without capital costs to you.

So when our prospects/future customers compare IVDesk with Managed Service Providers, we focus on what the differentiators are.  What makes IVDesk a better solution, how are we different, and why do we have so many long term clients.  We’ve been providing the IVDesk cloud computing solution for over 8 years now and continue to see customers dramatically impacted by getting out of the IT business and back to their business.

Give us a call today to get a peek at what we can do for you!

Bill Sorenson
www.IVDesk.com
bsorenson@ivdesk.com
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612-605-5461