Businesses have a growing need for sophisticated IT managed services and systems in their day-to-day operations. It’s rare for a business today not to have a few different digital-based systems that are mission-critical.
Managed IT services make use of these systems easier by outsourcing the configuration, maintenance, and monitoring to third-party specialists. So much so that over three-quarters of businesses are using them. Here’s how the enterprise is using IT managed services, trends, and everything you need to know.
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How do managed IT services work
IT services are increasingly becoming necessary for businesses to operate. Even a small-sized company may interact with and require dozens of different digital and online integrated systems. Using Managed IT Services is the process of hiring dedicated, outside, specialists to deploy, managed, configure, and maintain these systems for your company.
You pay a monthly fee to the Managed Service Provider (MSP) that covers the entire service and maintenance package. The service provider then handles everything related to the service from the hardware hosting to the licensing, support, and monitoring. This replaces but doesn't eliminate, in-house IT staff.
The model
Under previous software or hardware supply models, you would reach out to a vendor, select the product or products that you require, and then be presented with a quote for the licensing. It would then be the job of your in-house IT team to deploy, configure, update, secure, and maintain the systems.
The managed services model changes this up where rather than paying a large one-off licensing cost, you pay the service provider a monthly subscription fee based on the number of seats required that includes both the licensing of the software and its operation and maintenance.
The benefits of managed IT services
Migrating your business to using managed IT services for its software needs may seem daunting, but it comes with a number of many great benefits that make the switch worthwhile. One of the biggest benefits most companies notice straight away is the reduced costs and better forecasting ability.
Taking advantage of the specialists at the MSPs means you don't have to hire expensive in-house staff for the dedicated support and monitoring role. The fixed monthly subscription model of MSPs also allows your business to better predict your expenses. MSPs are also better equipped to implement new technologies faster compared to self-operated models. This has the added advantage of giving you a more secure and reliable infrastructure.
Managed IT services trends
With the growth of managed services and providers, several new trends have begun to develop within the industry, especially in the enterprise sector. The first major trend is the movement to cloud computing services for the provisioning and delivery of these services, allowing managed providers to better deliver their service and monitor for issues.
Another big trend is the increasing utilization of automation in regular business operations, replacing common tasks with automated services through MSPs and the cloud. The final current trend is a shift away from standard uptime-based service agreements for MSPs, and a move towards agreements more focussed on delivering high-quality customer service.
Final thoughts
Managed services are a massive growth industry. Companies want the best possible solutions that allow them to operate their business efficiently and effectively but as the lowest possible cost. Managed services fulfill these criteria in a way that was never before possible. With a managed service provider, your business can have the best of both worlds: modern, efficient, reliable business systems at a lower, more forecastable price point.
