A managed IT service provider is a type of IT service provider that takes responsibility for providing a set of business technology services to its customers. This can be done either proactively or when the MSP (not the customer) determines that the services are needed. A managed IT service is an IT task provided by an outside contractor and delivered to a customer. It is usually done by an IT professional who specializes in providing IT services to small and medium-sized businesses.
These experts can complete essential IT tasks for a fraction of the cost of having an in-house, dedicated IT team. Remote monitoring and management of servers, desktops, and mobile devices is a common type of managed IT service. The MSP assumes responsibility for providing the services to its customers and proactively makes strategic IT decisions and communicates them to customers. This makes it easier to budget internally and track expenses, as well as offer greater service offerings and attract more customers. Managed IT services allow organizations to outsource IT tasks to a vendor as contracted or subscription services. It can also be marketed as a platform as a service (PaaS) offering or partnered with software as a service (SaaS) providers, such as Salesforce in the CRM field and ServiceNow in the service management market.
Contrary to what you might think, managed IT services don't necessarily make in-house IT professionals obsolete. Managed IT services allow customers to run their businesses more smoothly and efficiently than would otherwise be possible. Organizations can take advantage of managed IT to reduce internal IT workload or fill gaps left by existing IT functions and skills. More and more organizations are opting for a managed IT services model instead of outsourcing specific IT activities to reduce their IT risks and be prepared for the future in terms of technological disruptions. Channel partners that traditionally relied on an hourly billing rate face a difficult transition when they begin offering managed IT services for a fixed fee that is billed monthly. In an effective managed services relationship, the customer benefits from predictable pricing and the ability to focus on core business concerns rather than on IT management tasks.
