When executed effectively, a managed service (MS) is equivalent to acquiring the ability of an IT department with the experience of experienced professionals to deliver focused application operations to your company's business application users. Managed service models have evolved over time and experienced providers have refined their delivery. Most recently, I provided a managed service to a large energy company, which found that the service was impeccable and significantly improved the satisfaction of end users and IT support staff around the world. While traditionally “managed services” referred to the management of IT systems already in place, some managed system providers (MSPs) also offer design and implementation services, which act more like a one-stop shop for the needs of IT services.
Effective managed services relationships provide customers with predictable pricing and the freedom to focus on key business problems rather than on IT administration tasks. Based on my experience working with both small and large client companies, I usually suggest how a managed service can help address these challenges. There are many different types of managed IT service offerings, but the idea behind them all is to transfer the burden of IT maintenance from the customer to the service provider. Under a service level agreement (SLA), the MSP is responsible for the operation of the managed service or equipment.
Service providers can also market managed platform as a service (PaaS) offerings or partner with software as a service (SaaS) providers such as Salesforce in the area of CRM and ServiceNow in the service management market. While it's easy for a single person to overlook certain aspects of their IT security and oversight, a managed services company is specifically structured to monitor all aspects of its robust systems, monitor for potential or imminent threats or failures, and mitigate potential risks as soon as possible, often before the risk becomes a real problem. Throughout my career, I have worked with many clients who use managed services in a variety of ways. Outsourcing the administration of these systems through “managed services”, also known as managed IT services, means that you receive more comprehensive oversight and support 24 hours a day without the cost of an internal contract with comparable dedication. Managed services help improve operations and reduce expenses by transferring general management and oversight tasks from an internal team to a better-equipped external team.
Each managed service provider offers a different range of services, so it's important to carefully review your contract to make sure you understand what's expected of your managed services expert. For example, a remote administration and monitoring service may be billed on a per-device model, and the provider charges a fixed cost per each device you manage.
