07 Oct What is a Managed IT Service
The rise in the number of companies attempting to both digitally transform their operations while simultaneously reducing expenditure has led to a surge in the managed IT services industry. Two-thirds of businesses now have already partnered with at least one managed service provider to handle their IT infrastructure – a strategy which is quickly becoming the norm.
The reason is fairly simple. A dedicated managed IT service provider is able to take on the responsibility for the day-to-day running of systems and leave their customer free to focus on innovation.
What is a Managed IT Service?
Managed IT services allow businesses to delegate their IT operations to an expert third-party organization that specializes in handling these responsibilities. These third-party organizations, known as Managed IT Service Providers (MSPs). The managed service provider takes on the 360-degree responsibility of the entire IT operations of the organisation, including 24X7 monitoring, IT support on demand as well as problem resolution. One important differentiating feature of managed IT services compared to traditional IT services is that the managed service provider assumes the responsibility of providing the services to its clients and strategic IT decisions are taken by the service provider proactively and are communicated to the clients. So managed IT service providers act as technology consultants to their clients in the field of IT implementation instead of being mere on-demand service providers.
Why you need Managed IT Services?
- Expertise: For smaller businesses in particular, being able to outsource knowledge and expertise can be an enormous help, as well as having experienced technical support available.
- Predictable costs: Rather than incurring large expenses for an IT issue and for an in- house IT (salaries, raises, benefits, office supplies, training, and taxes), businesses can instead account for potential problems within a predictable monthly fee.
- Maintenance and upgrades: Organisations no longer have to worry whether software is up-to-date, as all this is taken care of by the provider. They can also get access to newer technologies which they may not have been able to afford by themselves
- Time savings: Outsourcing management of services like security and cloud reduces the amount of time that in-house departments have to spend on it.
Conclusion
Managed services are recommended for meeting the needs of most modern, growing organizations. 72% of SMB decision makers say that technology solutions can help them significantly improve business outcomes and/or run the business better.
However, that’s not to say that in-house IT departments should be completely replaced. Combining the knowledge of in-house IT with the expertise of outsourced MSPs creates a symbiotic relationship that ends up benefitting the business.
Of course, companies need to focus on choosing the right MSP to partner with. They need to understand the overall direction of the company, as well as their immediate needs, to meet their technology goals.