Managed IT services provide IT solutions for a company or organization. The services to be provided may include applications, network services, storage space, security, or the monitoring of IT infrastructures.
Managed IT services are services that are provided by a managed services provider (MSP) on behalf of a company. The company transfers recurring IT services to the provider in order to work more efficiently and economically itself. The scope, type and quality of the services to be provided are precisely defined in advance and agreed between the company and provider with the help of service level agreements.
Thanks to managed IT services, companies can concentrate more on their core business and do not have to devote resources to providing IT services themselves. Compared with outsourcing, managed services are differentiated by the fact that only subareas and not complete IT responsibilities and infrastructures are outsourced to a service provider. Managed services are generally billed on a time basis, for example monthly.
While outsourcing involves the outsourcing of complete IT tasks or areas and often involves personnel or complete IT departments, managed services involve the transfer of specific individual subareas and IT services. These services are precisely defined in advance and are to be provided on a recurring basis on the basis of service level agreements. The client retains control over the overall IT structure and IT processes.
Managed IT services examples
The IT service provider takes responsibility for providing the services and manages the services on behalf of the customer. As a rule, the provider’s services can be accessed and retrieved via a private or public network. A Managed Service Provider provides a defined set of services to its customers.
Managed IT services examples are managed collaboration services, managed Wi-Fi, managed security as a service and patch management, as well as technical assistance and other additional services. Many MSPs offer their services remotely over the Internet, rather than through customer visits, which are time-consuming and often expensive.
Managed services cover a wide range of IT services.
A list of typical managed IT services examples may include:
- Storage services (provision and maintenance of storage space, backup services)
- Applications (provision of server applications)
- Infrastructure services
- Network services (transmission bandwidth, connectivity)
- Security services (antivirus, antispam and firewalling)
- Monitoring services (network and server monitoring)
- Disaster recovery
- Desktop services (virtual desktops)
- User support
- Authentication services
- Database services
Managed IT services provider company
Evaluating the right managed IT services provider company for corporate IT is often not an easy undertaking. If the future IT partner is to assume responsibility for providing defined, recurring IT services, finding the right service provider is a challenging task. With a set of simple selection criteria, companies can systematically assess and evaluate the range of IT service providers in the area of managed IT Services.
The managed IT services provider company must provide valuable services to companies for their wide IT infrastructure and dispose of appropriate characteristics and offerings. In particular, it must also be able to keep pace with the evolution of a company. Managed services are scalable and can therefore be adapted to the respective size of the company, from the local small business to global large corporations.
Managed services offer an opportunity, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, to save more money by outsourcing their IT needs than by building an in-house IT support department. With the help of their experience, companies can quickly and easily build the right infrastructure for efficient, reliable and highly automated services – from concept to billing.
Managed IT services pricing
Depending on the service provided, there are different managed IT services pricing models and price structures. The most common billing model used by managed services providers is time-based billing for services. However, models such as price per application, desktop or network connection are also possible.
No fixed price can be defined for a managed service due to the various design options. Instead, a monthly price can be made up of different modules. In addition to the size of the company, which plays an important role in managed IT services pricing, the consumption data is an important component. Consumption data here means, for example, CPU and RAM of the booked virtual machine, which are billed on the basis of actual consumption.
The real individualization of the services takes place via additional factors, which can vary from managed IT services provider company to managed IT services provider company. For each factor, there are usually different expansion levels to choose from.
Managed IT services benefits
When a company outsources services to an MSP, there are numerous managed IT services benefits. Companies reduce their economic and technical risks and gain free resources to take care of their actual core business.
The costs for the various IT services become transparent and easy to calculate thanks to the precisely defined rate models. By agreeing service level agreements, the quality and provision of services are guaranteed and measurable. Since managed services providers have a great deal of know-how as IT service providers, companies receive modern, high-performance services with the latest technology.
Another managed IT services benefits is that by adding further services from their provider, companies can expand their IT services flexibly and without making their own investments. If services are no longer required, they can be easily terminated in compliance with the agreed contract terms.
Most important managed IT services benefits
Cost control
When companies know what to expect at the end of the month, forecasts become more realistic and accurate. It helps avoid overloads that would require new hardware or software licenses.
More time for business growth
While the managed services provider will take care of IT maintenance, upgrades and planning, companies can focus on the strategic direction and management of the business.
Reduce labor costs
With Recruitment Process Outsourcing outsourcing, companies can benefit from a large pool of external professionals while keeping key staff on the job.
More efficiency
Scheduling of system upgrades is handed over to experts and the positive side-effects of new software, hardware and infrastructure reaches companies faster. External experts help keeping up with larger companies.
Compliance and security
With hacking and Denial of Service attacks on the rise, there is increasing pressure on businesses of all sizes to maintain data compliance. Managed IT services guarantee the latest security, software and devices.
