The issues surrounding managed services all stem from a service providers ability to handle mission critical business-class services.  Above and beyond maintaining the flow of voice and data, MSPs must have the technical knowledge and staff to handle a variety of issues:

Security:  First and foremost.....For any business to have their network, access and applications provided from an outside facility it must be a secure environment.  Service providers need to manage all aspects of security including firewalls, intrusion detection and virus detection.  

Backup & Recovery:  Being the single source for a businesses data (databases, applications, authentication, intranet content, extranet content....etc.) requires that a managed services provider properly backup all content and have a solid data recovery plan.  Beyond data recovery, a true MSP, would also be the sole provider of connectivity services (internet, telephone..etc.) and must offer a redundant network that includes both multiple backbone connections and replacement parts and products in the event of any hardware failure.


.....more to come