Should an MSP outsourced NOC Services? A Mini-Guide on NOC Outsourcing

Outsourced NOC Services

The pandemic disrupted many businesses but also sowed seeds for many, to grow. Even at a time like this, as an MSP, the one thing you cannot afford to risk is- your clients and their network. With the blow to businesses and teams scattered at remote locations, companies wanting to cut their operational costs is natural. But how can an MSP not only reduce costs but also onboard new clients and improve service quality, simultaneously? It may sound too good to be true but the option that enables this is- Outsourced NOC Services.

If the right Master MSP and the right resources are found, things can be exceptional for you; all you need is a capable, knowledgeable, skilled team.  

 

What do outsourced NOC Service Providers do? 

Similar to your in-house NOC Team, their sole purpose is to ensure that all your clients’ systems are patched and in a healthy state. Unpatched systems can often act as potential vulnerabilities by acting as an open backdoor to cyber attackers. No loopholes and open backdoors mean- minimal or no potential vulnerabilities. The outsourced NOC team should also ensure that all managed AntiViruses are enabled & updated and all Backups are systematic and in order.

Outsourcing NOC Services: a good option or not? 

Often MSPs can face this question. For some, there’s constant juggling between hiring an in-house resource and outsourcing. But is outsourcing the right option for you? Below are some scenarios which would address your dilemma and provide more clarity. 

You should outsource NOC Services if you: 

• Have fewer clients and want to increase your clientele, without a massive increase in operational costs 
• Want to improve the quality of your service without a massive increase in operational costs 
• Find hiring and training a skilled resource to be time-consuming and stressful 

• Need access to all the services a pool of talented engineers can provide 
• Need a team to look after your clients’ network 24×7 

How do I outsource NOC to the right company? What factors should I consider?

If you’ve narrowed in on “Outsourcing”, the following question in your mind would be “How do I find the right company to outsource to?”. That’s a valid question. You must have shortlisted a few companies, now how to finalize one? 

• Check how many clients the company has successfully served? 
• Contact them or check their website to see if they have enough skilled resources. 
• Size of the company- is the Master MSP serving other clients of your size or are they serving too many or too few. It is very important to find an outsourcing partner that understands the problems, challenges and has appropriate solutions for a company of your size.  
• Cost comparisons- Finding a Master MSP that serves other clients like you, means that they’ll most probably fit-in in your budget 
• Usually, Master MSPs tend to be vendor-agnostic, check if they can indeed work on the platform that you function on
• Lastly, a major inhibition for many is- Trust. How can you trust a company that is located miles away from you, as outsourcing involves the transfer of confidential data and information? Well, look for certifications that prove how serious Information Security is to the company. For instance, a relevant ISO certification can help prove the authenticity and is a highly regarded testament.

  For more general factors that you should consider, you can read this article by business.com

What you should expect from your prospective NOC partner? 

• Do they just monitor or do they monitor, troubleshoot and remediate as well? 
• Do they support legacy systems as well as the latest technologies (depending on your need)? 
• A clear, well-defined SLA (Service Level Agreement) 
• AV and Backup Management
• 24x7x365 support services- ensuring up-time and efficiency
• An experienced, trained team that has the right technologies and processes in place to serve a myriad variety of clients. 
• Seamless coordination between people, technologies, processes enabling quicker response times and prompt actions 
• Detailed documentation 
• They should look after Vendor Liaison when needed 

 

What you shouldn’t expect from an outsourced NOC Team? 

Similar to your in-house NOC Team, an outsourced NOC Team would also not remediate security threats. 

But the 24×7 Monitoring and proactiveness of the team can help them notify you of unusual activities if any. Once the team raises an issue, the authorized security team can look into it. 

 

Advantages of outsourcing NOC Services

• Your team can focus on business expansion rather than technicalities and troubleshooting routine tasks. Focusing on more revenue-generating tasks can lead to a faster growth 
• Finding, hiring and training can be avoided
• Cost Advantages- you can easily compare the costs you would incur when hiring an in-house resource as opposed to getting an equally skilled outsourced resource
• You’ll need fewer physical devices 
• Fewer downtimes 
• Prompt response to outages, when they do occur
• Round the clock support 

 

If you are looking for a NOC Partner, look no further. Master MSPs like Infrassist work as your white-labelled NOC Service Providers enabling you to leverage technologies that will help you serve your clients better. Our NOC team provides 24×7 cost-effective, proactive solutions that help MSP serve their clients in an agile & effective manner.

Infrassist has been ISO 27001:2013 Certified for the second consecutive year which highlights that we have all the systems and processes in place to ensure information security of not only us but our clients as well.

To know more about us, our story, our Certifications and read some testimonials, you can click here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is remote NOC?

Remote NOC is the remote management of your client’s IT Network and to check if they are in a healthy state or not. It ensures that all your clients’ systems are patched, backups are updated or not, and ensures network security too. Unpatched systems can often act as potential vulnerabilities by acting as an open backdoor to cyber attackers. No loopholes and open backdoors mean- minimal or no potential vulnerabilities.

What is an outsourced NOC?

When you outsource your IT Network (to MSPs) or your clients’ IT Network to a third-party (to Master MSPs), it is an outsourced Network Operations Center (NOC). Which simply means, you are not monitoring, managing or fixing your IT Network but some third party is.

What does a NOC engineer do?

A NOC Engineer performs three major tasks: Monitoring, Alerting, Troubleshooting and/or fixing alerts.

What do they monitor?

They monitor devices like Laptops, PCs, Tablets and Servers, Workstations etc.

Which types of organizations should keep a NOC in-house?

Well, you may feel important to have an in-house NOC, highly depending on your circumstances but the setup, infrastructure, hiring NOC Engineers who have the right skillset can be challenging. Whereas outsourcing can help you cut costs on Infrastructure and help you minus the hiring stress (if you outsource to the right partner or a partner that fits your needs.)