To put it simply, managed services is the process of outsourcing IT management. It is a tactical technique to improve the IT operations of a company. The person who offers this kind of service is referred to as the service provider, while the person who hires that provider is usually called a client or a customer. The customer aims to reduce his IT workload by throwing it to the provider. However, the customer is still responsible on everything that happens inside the operations. The performance and functionality of the service provider is still his accountability, and he cannot just leave every process to the service provider’s hands alone.
The usual reason a customer hires a managed service provider is to replace a huge number of his IT employees. This is because a service provider is an advantageous solution for a customer, who needs many employees, that wants to reduce employee related expenses. Another good thing about a service provider is that it bills a customer with a onetime transition fee and a monthly fixed rate. Because of that, the customer who received the service can predict the IT related support costs that he must pay. To sum it up, service providers can reduce the expenses of a customer and can let the customer budget his expenses.
A service provider ensures efficient operations. To do that, a service provider normally uses a Vendor Management System (VMS) application. A Vendor Management System is an application that provides a customer with information about the service provider’s performance. With that application, the customer will be able to measure the effectiveness of a service provider, and see if the provider will pass his standards and requirements. The use of VMS has proven useful by the private sectors and it helps service providers to attract the government sector to decide on getting the services of MSPs (Managed Services Providers).
Managed services have become usual in high-level companies, and it can adapt to fit medium to small sized companies. For a company to reduce costs and to operate efficiently, hiring a service provider is necessary. Having the mistake of not hiring one can cause a company to face IT outages that will negatively affect its business. If the company does not want to outsource its IT unit completely, it has the choice to make a service provider act as an extension of its IT department. An MSP is a very flexible and on the spot solution to IT related needs of a company.
