[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If your business needs a network solution, chances are you’ll be scouring the web and asking around for the best managed service providers. While we’re confident you’ll find Hyper at the top of the list, we also know our competitors better than anybody, so we know we can give you the details you need to compare. 

Since we pride ourselves on being straight shooters and trusted advisors, we’ve compiled a list of the best MSPs in the area so you can get the right info, weigh your options, and make the smartest decision for your company. 

Use an admin for the small stuff.

Let’s start with when not to use managed services at all. We get that some people just want to turn over all the tech to someone else, but it’s just not practical to pay an MSP to manage your coffee maker. The desktop management, printers, and so on can be handled by an in-house administrator with the most basic of training. Frankly, if you’re paying an MSP for this type of service, you’re paying too much. 

Your neighbor’s friend’s brother doesn’t make the cut.

Besides your office IT team, there’s another segment of service providers you won’t find on the list of best MSPs. These include the 100 or so small, maybe home-office-based outfits who “do IT.” For the purpose of this discussion, we’re going to need to rule those guys out. They may take care of your immediate needs, but throw a few more clients—or one big one—at them, and it’ll become apparent that they don’t scale well, and neither does their customer service. 

What to look for in an MSP

With the non-contenders out of the way, we can see who’s really in the running for the top spots, and why. 

A true MSP will handle everything above the desktop: UCaaS (unified communications, like phones, contact center, and conferencing), WiFi, switching, routing, and security policy, for starters. They also handle carrier connections and relationships, like AT&T, Cox, or Centurylink, and cloud applications like Oracle, company databases, storage, data centers, Office365, and so on. Plus, a responsive 24-hour group will monitor it all.  

These high-level consultants help you create a technology road map for your business, implement the plan, and keep it running smoothly. They are always watching, monitoring, patching, and troubleshooting problems to ensure your business keeps humming along without disruption. 

Basically, you know you have a good MSP if you aren’t aware of a network problem until you get an email letting you know it’s been resolved. [/vc_column_text][vc_cta h2=”” txt_align=”center” add_button=”top” btn_title=”Learn about Hyper Networks managed service solutions.” btn_align=”center” btn_button_block=”true” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fhypernetworks.com%2Fmanaged-services%2F|||”][/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Here are the top 5 MSPs, ranked.

Blackbox If cost is no object, go with the people who can do anything. Blackbox boasts nearly ubiquitous coverage and smart engineers who tend to focus on the bigger enterprise customers and are likely to place personnel on-site. They have the ability to enlist leading-edge technologies before anyone else and execute them impressively. 

Blackbox has spun off whole divisions creating and white-labeling products in addition to their managed services. The only thing to watch out for is that they could be a little distracted as the MegaCorp to your Wall-E.

CDW CDW got into the managed services game about ten years ago and has been growing steadily based on the strength of their buying power and breadth of products. They have strong relationships with technology vendors like Cisco and Palo Alto, and equally formidable capabilities with telecom and network carriers like CenturyLink, AT&T, and Rackspace. 

Though CDW isn’t particularly nimble, you can be sure the price for service is going to be about as low as it can be since they can negotiate discounted rates with the big guns. 

Technologent These guys are not exactly local, but not exactly global (like their website would have you believe). That said, they do have significant local staff numbers out of their Las Vegas, Pilot Road location and are kind of a blend between the really big guys and the smaller guys. Likewise, their offerings are through a mix of vendors. However, their selected partners are going to be their only recommendations, unlike CDW and Blackbox, which offer literally hundreds of options.  

With their in-house network operations center (that’ll soon use the latest AI tools) and their aggressive pricing strategy, Technologent is one to consider, especially if you’re looking to roll out your fully “as a service” environment.

Network Security Associates (NSA) Robert Davis (owner) and his attention to detail might be reason enough to buy managed services from NSA. That tenet permeates NSA culture and it shows in their customers’ loyalty.  One of the few MSPs with a service-provider gaming license, NSA is built for the kind of clients we see in Nevada. They also provide flat-rate support services regardless of the issue and treat each customer like their most important client.  

NetEffect NetEffect tends to focus on two main partners, Microsoft and NetApp, and do those very well. They have a 24-hour locally-staffed network operation center with a Service Level Agreement that includes a “time to resolution” metric. Perhaps one of the best indicators of their capability is the fact that they can count the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce among their clients.

Choosing the best MSP is up to you. 

In the end, only you can decide which MSP is best for your business, based on criteria only you can identify. Take a look at your needs, do some research, and make sure you’re taking the long view on what’s going to be important for your business network in the future.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]