The MSP collects operational information from the SMB's IT environment, offering to the customer detailed historical trending and vertical benchmarking reports. The MSP also provides dynamic application upgrades and system maintenance through remote connectivity. The SMB's management information is sensitive, and the MSP must treat it accordingly. Authentication procedures validate the identity of the MSP before any information is exchanged, and the information is encrypted to protect it in transit. The MSP uses the most effective correlation engines, expert analysis and other tools to quickly pinpoint potential problems and generate the specific recommended actions for the SMB to take.
Continual monitoring provides the feedback that verifies the effectiveness of the actions.
The MSP enables the SMB with a host of enhanced reporting capabilities designed to provide the SMB with a wealth of information about its IT operations, problems and service levels. The SMB uses these reports to assess compliance, for planning to accommodate future growth, and to optimize its internal operations. The SMB simply provides the MSP with access to its operational data using a highly secured connection through its firewall. The MSP provides the SMB staff with detailed recommendations pertaining to their IT environment so the SMB is saved the expense and effort of finding experienced, highly trained staff to handle operations. A few years ago, if I had sat down to write my opinion about what's going on with the Web, my task would have been simple.