Mihai Iancu (Rezolv IT) on MSP/IT outsourcing in Romania – services and challenges
Mihai Iancu, CEO Rezolv IT, offered, in an interview for AdHugger, details about what it means to be a MSP/IT infrastructure outsourcing provider, which are the main barriers the business faces on the local market and who are actually the clients that aim for those services.
- How does the MSP/ IT Infrastructure Outsourcing in Romania? What are the main barriers you face in business?
A managed service provider (MSP) is a company that, on-site or remotely, manages a customer’s IT infrastructure and/or end-user systems, typically on a proactive basis and under a subscription model. Today, the terms “IT Outsourcing services” and “Managed Service Provider” are sometimes used as synonyms when the provider’s service is supported by a service level agreement (SLA) and is delivered over the internet or on-site IT services.
RezolvIT is one of the main MSPs in Romania and has as a core business the IT Support for companies. As an MSP part we offer all the range of outsourced IT services possible, starting with the IT ServiceDesk for the companies’ employees, the support services for the IT infrastructure, the backup and data security services, cloud presence and monitoring of all the processes.
- What are the main barriers you face in business?
The main barrier is the fact that the managers or owners of small and medium companies find it difficult to upgrade from having one or more employees to working with a specialized company. They lack the understanding of the importance of that action. Moreover, they are used to working in this manner and most of them present a resistance to the possible change of the way in which they understand their IT needs. And that even the services are in a continuous change and improving.
If for a while now for most of the managers it become natural to outsource services such as accounting and legal, due to the evident difference of costs and efficiency, the IT services are still considered as rather a better in-house source.
- What companies are more likely to outsource their IT services? Why do you think so?
Outsourcing the IT represents a necessary and very important service for any company, as we cannot talk anymore about companies that can function without it. Especially during the “social distancing” period, it has become critical for the employees to be able to work in a safe environment, from home, using the company’s resources. And that happens even if we refer to hardware or software support for the employees or going a little further and looking at the maintenance of the business critical applications such as ERP, CRM, invoicing, email, website or document sharing.
- How secure is to have the IT services handled remote? What are the main protocols you use for that?
When it comes to working with a company that offers IT services, one of the biggest advantages is the fact that they are offering you an auditing of your IT systems. At the beginning of the collaboration with a client, RezolvIT always does an IT audit and makes recommendations regarding the security of the system. Any connections made to the company are performed through a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which either leverages SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) to encrypt communications from the remote t machine; depending on various requirements. This both safeguards the end user along with the corporate environment to ensure no pesky adversaries are snooping in-between.
There is a wide range of advantages presented by the handling of the services remotely, from speed, availability, efficiency, knowledge sharing, as well as reduced costs, business flexibility, remaining more focused, higher productivity, etc.
As your business evolves, so does the technology it requires. But it can become difficult to stay ahead of the curve on every new piece of software, product, app or upgrade for your business.
Moreover, one will not have to worry about hackers or the threats of a virus at any time. All your files and documents will be safely stored thus ensuring minimal chances of loss of your data. Besides this, your data need not be stored as hardware rather software whereby only you can access them when need arises.
- Do you handle both software and hardware maintenance? Can a company contract you for both handling and admin-*ing its network, but also handle the wiring, the upgrade for parts and the set up of a VOIP-phone network?
Yes, RezolvIT can be your company’s best partner in finding the right solutions for everything that is IT related.
- What are the services you offer and what is the price range?
In per-device pricing, the MSP charges the customer a flat fee for each device under management. In all-inclusive pricing, also referred to as the all-you-can-eat model, the MSP charges a flat fee for all the IT infrastructure support and management services the MSP plans to offer.
To be more precise, we offer services such as: work from home, outsourced IT, productivity IT, security, web development, infrastructure, data center.
- Are there foreign based companies that offer the same services you do on the Romanian market? What is the main differentiation between you and them?
On the Romanian market are present several international companies that are targeting especially the big companies, with global presence.
The main differentiation between RezolvIT and other companies is the flexibility and adaptability we offer. We are always offering quality services at a cost that is proportional with the needs of the small and medium companies. We understand better the business needs of the companies that activate on the Romanian market and we can adapt our procedures and processes for their specific activities, in order to help them grow their business and offer stability and care free.
- How do you see the market of outsourced IT services and MSP developing in Romania in the next few years? Why?
According to evozon.com, the IT sector represented 6.2% of its GDP in 2017 or USD 12.6 billion, up from 5.5% in 2016. Since 2000 the IT sector has grown by 15-20% per year. There is no income tax for people working in the IT sector, a measure which helps its continuous growth and makes Romania an attractive location for software development. Romania is also well known for its Internet infrastructure and quality, it ranked 5th in the world in 2018 with an average download speed of 38.6 Mb.
Good English skills, a mature level of technical acumen and the ability to work independently and a time zone that can sustain a daily working relationship are among the reasons why many companies choose to use software companies in Romania or open development centers. As an outsourcing destination, it’s no longer a place to go just for lowering costs, but to create good software products at a more affordable rate, while maintaining the level of quality and technical innovation.
Therefore, the IT outsourcing market in Romania is in a continuous growth and it will continue to be this way. I estimate even a quite accelerated rhythm. IT’s evolution is also set by the companies growing needs and even by their customization desires. If 10 years ago it was a huge need of hardware and software support, now the companies require more and more cybersecurity, remote work, cloud services, licenses’ management and business management systems (ERP, CRM).
- What would be the main 3 reasons for a company to choose to outsource its IT maintenance and repair operations?
- Focus on your Core Business
Business executives find that the best thing for their company is to focus their time and resources on what they do best and leave the technical cybersecurity maintenance to a specialized service provider.
By handing over the responsibility to a reputable MSP, you’ll free up time and resources that are better spent delivering value to your clients and business
- Cost Effective
It’s no secret that economies of scale vastly reduce the costs of production. In effect, companies find that by outsourcing their security needs, they are able to attain a comprehensive suite of security services at the price of what it would cost to hire even a single technician.
As IT departments grow larger and more sophisticated, executives are looking to tap into managed solutions as a way to bring costs down while simultaneously increasing their service quality. But the truth is that MSPs are not simply far cheaper than in-house IT talent, they are also far more skilled. Which brings us to our next point.
- Superior IT Services
MSPs are able to maintain the highest levels of preparedness by continuously investing in their teams, equipment, and knowledge. Accordingly, an MSP is able to grow their highly-specialised expertise and capabilities in a way that is simply impossible for an in-house team to rival.
For example, RezolvIT maintains cutting-edge technologies that have been tested across many organizations in diverse industries handling a variety of challenges. Furthermore, services continue to evolve, and now include fast incident response, endpoint protection, managed backup services, logging, monitoring and configuration management, continuous monitoring of servers and servicesto name just a few.
And now, for a fraction of the cost, any company can leverage this expertise for their own needs.