Why Managed Service Providers Will Transform the Tech Industry — And How to Scale Without the Overhead

The future of IT is flexible, secure, and always on, and managed service providers sit at the center of that shift. MSPs give teams 24/7 coverage, stronger security, and elastic capacity without the hiring risk that comes with building everything in house. Flagler’s 2025 acquisition of Allied Help Desk strengthens this model with U.S. based agents who answer, resolve, and escalate around the clock.

What an MSP covers today

An effective MSP should own the day-to-day operations that keep your business running while your internal team focuses on work that drives revenue. Typical scope includes:

• Service desk and end user support with clear tiers and escalation paths

• Proactive endpoint and server management, patching cadence, OS, and firmware updates

• Monitoring and alerting with playbooks for common incidents

• Backup and recovery with defined RPO and RTO, and tested restores

• Identity and device management, onboarding and offboarding, and least privilege

• Cloud operations, cost control, configuration hardening, and rightsizing

• Security operations in partnership with an MSSP, for example, EDR, vulnerability management, and incident handling

Co-managed IT versus fully outsourced

Both models work, the right pick depends on goals, coverage gaps, and budget.

Co-managed IT: Internal IT retains strategy and key systems, the MSP provides after-hours coverage, surge capacity, tool management, or specialty skills. Best when teams need depth on select workflows without adding headcount.

Fully outsourced IT: The MSP is the primary IT team, accountable for outcomes and SLAs. Best when speed to value, 24/7 coverage, and predictable cost outweigh the need to hire and manage a full team.

Roles and handoffs, at a glance

Function	Co-managed IT	Fully outsourced
Ticket intake and triage	MSP handles after-hours and overflow, internal IT handles business hours	MSP handles all
Patching and updates	Shared calendar, change approvals by internal IT	MSP plans and executes
User lifecycle	Internal IT requests, MSP fulfills	MSP owns end-to-end
Security events	MSP investigates and escalates, internal IT approves remediations	MSP investigates, remediates, and reports
Quarterly planning	Joint roadmap	MSP leads, executive review

If you are an MSP that needs to scale support under your brand, Flagler can operate as an extension of your team with a white label service desk.

The SLAs that actually matter

SLA language should be clear, measurable, and mapped to business impact. Use these example targets as a starting point, then finalize with your account team.

Priority	Example first response	Example time to resolution	Examples
P1, critical outage	15 minutes	4 hours	Core app down, widespread connectivity loss
P2, high	30 minutes	8 business hours	Degraded performance, limited group impact
P3, standard	1 business hour	2 business days	Individual tickets, routine requests

Also define change windows, maintenance notice lead times, and monthly reporting that includes ticket volume, median first response, time to resolution, reopen rate, and CSAT.

What 24/7, 365 looks like in practice

Round-the-clock coverage should be more than an on-call phone.

• Follow the sun staffing or define after-hours shifts

• Handoff notes are embedded in the ticket as it moves between shifts

• Live dashboards for queues, SLAs at risk, and breaches

• Playbooks for common incidents, for example, MFA lockouts, VPN failures, print spooler errors

Security and compliance, built in

Security cannot be bolted on later. Pair managed services with security operations and compliance support, including risk assessments, ongoing monitoring, audit prep, and staff training.

Pricing, ROI, and total cost

MSP pricing varies by seat count, coverage window, tool stack, security depth, and response targets. When comparing in house versus MSP, include:

• Recruiting, onboarding, and retention risk

• After hours coverage cost

• Tooling licenses, management, and integration work

• Compliance and audit readiness time

• Time to value for projects versus run state support

A simple evaluation scorecard works well: coverage fit, security maturity, SLA strength, references, and the clarity of monthly reporting.

FAQs

What is included in a managed services agreement? Typical scope covers service desk, device and server management, patching, backups, monitoring, identity, and security operations. For details see: https://www.flagler.io/managed-services

How does co-managed IT split responsibilities with internal teams? Internal IT keeps strategy and approvals, the MSP handles tickets, maintenance, and after-hours support with defined handoffs.

Do you provide 24/7 support with U.S.-based agents? Yes. The Allied Help Desk acquisition expands 24/7 support with U.S.-based agents. See the press page: https://www.flagler.io/press and the announcement: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flagler-technologies-acquires-allied-help-desk-services-302346614.html

What SLA targets can we expect for P1, P2, and P3 tickets? Targets are set by contract. Use the example table above as a starting point, then finalize with your account team.

What pricing models do you offer, and what drives cost? Per user or per device, with add-ons for 24/7 coverage, security depth, and response targets. Seat count, tools, and security requirements drive cost.

How are security incidents escalated and reported? Through documented runbooks with timelines for investigation, containment, and stakeholder updates. See the security overview: https://www.flagler.io/security