How to Determine What Your Business Needs: MSP or IT Consultant
Understanding the Differences
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) provides IT services, which are proactive, cover long-term tech support consistently 24/7 and are ongoing across multiple functions and platforms.
An IT Consultant has a more targeted approach on a specific challenge or problem with a businesses technological system. A consultant helps with a well-defined issue or project. Below is a Comparison Chart to further explain the differences between hiring a MSP vs. an IT Consultant.
FEATURES
Primary Focus
Engagement
Services
Goal
Cost
Perfect For
IT operations/support is ongoing
Long-term, monthly subscription
Network monitoring, cybersecurity, backup, help-desk support, maintenance of all systems
Ensure smooth daily operations, minimize down time, support business goals
Monthly fee for Unlimited Services
Need continual IT support
IT CONSULTANT
Strategic IT planning/advisory
Short-term, project-based
Needs assessment, SWOT analysis, digital transformation, cloud integration, compliance audits
Define the right IT systems, strategies and projects to support business needs
Hourly, per project or time and materials
Need expert advice on update or change
The most notable distinctions can be better identified when you think in terms of
“continuous operations” with an MSP vs. the “consultant gap” with IT Advisor.
MSP Continuous Operations Examples
Continuous management: An operations team monitors every workstation and server daily with patching, cybersecurity, encryption and performance, which is automated and continuous 24/7.
Security operations: A MSP is a threat detection warrior 24/7. Containment begins immediately if a threat is detected and all necessary steps to remediate and recover begin automatically.
Identity lifecycle management: Every managed identity including cloud backup are operational workflows that operate 24/7.
Vendor consolidation: Having an MSP allows you to work with one team of IT experts to manage, monitor, maintain, secure, backup, recover and unify all systems 24/7. For example, if your systems go-down on a Friday night at 9 p.m., an MSP will provide support and implement resolution immediately.
IT Consultant Gaps and Cost
The structural limitation of IT Consulting is the continuity of execution.
Unreal convergence and Configuration drift: IT Consultants usually specialize in a specific area. One may be hired to do networking, another for security and then someone for cloud migration. The disconnects begin when each consultant optimizes their domain in isolation, and these “advisors” are not aware of the other consultants’ recommendations.
Consider this scenario: A few months after IT architecture was installed by a consultant, another specialist adds a firewall rule to fix an urgent issue, then someone opens a port to add a new application, and this is where gaps form.
There is no continuity in structure, management of the system or unauthorized changes or security or baseline enforcement. So, if something happens, you have to wait until another consultant is available, to try to figure out what each consultant has done and assess the root of the problem before moving forward with a solution. If a consultant is charging an hourly rate, this could become a costly mess.
Security decay: First understand that IT security is an operation, which should be monitored 24/7. So, you’ve hired a consultant to set up various levels of security during an engagement. Upon completion, they leave and move onto their next consulting appointment for another company.
This is the time when you should ask, who will be reviewing my EDR alerts 24/7? Who is updating our detection rules? Who is running phishing simulations to keep all staff informed? Who is correlating identity anomalies with endpoint behaviors? If your answer is “nobody” until a consultant returns, the gap and lack of security will broaden by the hour.
Disintegrating Vendor Relationship: A consultant may recommend an IT product to you, but they will not be there to manage, fix, troubleshoot, backup, communicate or secure what they installed or sold you. Vendor interaction will be on your list of things to do. You will have to deal directly with a vendor for licensing, troubleshooting, repair and may talk to a different person or team every time you call. And, varying time zones may be an issue if the company is located outside of the USA, therefore you may not get to talk with a vendor until a ticket is opened and time zones align.
Evaporation of Knowledge: If you hire an IT consultant, their understanding of your technology environment walks out the door with them when the job is complete. So, the next consultant you hire will begin from scratch to learn your technological environment before they can add value.
