What Law Firms Can Expect From Managed IT Services (Questions/Answers)

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March 13, 2019

Legal & Law Firm Managed IT Services In Baltimore & Washington DC

Using a Managed Services Provider (MSP) is the best way to handle your day-to-day IT infrastructure requirements for a lower cost and with greater efficiency. You can save time and money by contracting with the right Managed IT Service Company. Even if you have your own IT staff, an MSP can augment their work and partner with them when you need a few extra hands.

Your MSP will take care of all of your technology needs for an easy-to-budget for a fixed monthly fee. And they can customize your services according to your unique requirements.

The managed services provider assumes all responsibility for your firm’s IT systems and operations—either in part or entirety depending on the services you choose.

With IT professionals who have a breadth of knowledge and experience, an MSP can address just about any type of problem you’re having. Plus, they offer a wide range of services that can benefit your practice including:

  • Help Desk Services
  • IT Consulting
  • Cloud services
  • Cybersecurity Services
  • Virtualization
  • Email/Spam protection
  • Business phone systems
  • Backup & Disaster Recovery services
  • IT Audits
  • Virtual CIO services
  • Compliance Assessments
  • IT Security
  • Much more

Using a Managed Service Provider also solves the problem of attracting and retaining the top-tier IT talent necessary to build, deploy and maintain your technology infrastructure. It also means that you can turn capital expenditures into operational ones, without risking investments for hardware and software that will be obsolete in a few years.

And, when you turn over your day-to-day IT infrastructure requirements to a service provider, you and your staff will have the peace of mind that you need to focus on building your legal practice.

15 Questions To Ask Your Law Firm’s Managed IT Services Provider

Deciding on a Managed Service Provider is a big decision, with significant implications for your law firm’s operations. So it’s essential that you ask the right questions and choose wisely.

In addition to the obvious broad considerations such as information security protocols and data center certifications, here are 15 questions to ask potential managed IT service providers before making your choice:

  1. How much experience do you have working in the legal industry?
  2. What percentage of your clients are law firms? Can you provide references from them?
  3. Does your Service Level Agreement define the specific deliverables we will receive?
  4. Do your technicians have vendor certifications and take ongoing training?
  5. Will you remotely monitor our network 24-7-365 to keep critical security settings, virus definitions, and security patches up to date?
  6. Do you offer on-site and after-hours support in the event of an emergency?
  7. Will you provide frequent updates, status reports, and follow-up calls and emails?
  8. Will you act as a liaison with our IT third-party vendors (like Internet Service Providers) to ensure we’re receiving the services that we should?
  9. Will you provide Security Awareness Training for our employees?
  10. Will you provide detailed invoices that itemize what we are paying for?
  11. Can you offer strategic guidance on IT selection that aligns with our firm’s goals?
  12. Do you perform periodic test restores of backups to make sure we can access our IT assets in the event of a disaster?
  13. Will you provide written network documentation detailing what software licenses we have, including our critical network passwords and hardware information?
  14. Can you enhance productivity and collaboration efforts within our law firm?
  15. Can you assist with our annual IT budgeting?

Managed IT Services For Baltimore/Washington Law Firms

When your IT infrastructure works as it should, it can significantly increase the productivity of your users, but what about goals specific to your company? Your Managed IT Provider should also serve the role of a consultant for your business development regarding how technology can drive your firm forward. From new solutions to better internal practices, your goals can be reached through the professional management of your technology.

Look for a Managed Service Provider who specializes in IT security solutions for law firms. This gives you an edge over using ordinary run-of-the-mill managed IT services company. They should understand the regulations that practices in Maryland must comply with. When you work with an IT company that specializes in your field, you can expect more thorough solutions, along with services that are customized.

Integris: Law Firm IT Services

By partnering with an expert service provider with a focus in the legal services marketplace, you can spend less time and money on managing your IT infrastructure and leave that up to them. Managed IT Services has emerged as a key business strategy for law firms to contain operational IT costs while also improving the delivery of IT services. It’s emerged as a value proposition for law firms that choose to partner with the right, expert services provider.

Contact Integris to learn what else your law firm should expect from Managed IT Services.

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