It Managed Services: Providing A Cheaper Option
Why do companies use IT managed services? Basically
, these services are cheaper than other options. A company can have its IT systems managed by a team of experts who perform the required services on a daily basis.
Consider a typical small- to medium-sized business scenario:
A company has a couple of dozen desktops and laptops, along with printers and smart phones. To provide first-class IT services, the company will need:
A help desk for all IT issues that provides a single point of contact
24/7 monitoring
Vendor management
On-site hardware support
System administration
Change management
Reporting
New technology research
Service Level Agreements
Software and application support
Data backup
Printer administration
Network management
Server management
Desktop support
Remote access
and probably much more.
The options available to this company include:
Use an existing employee with computer skills to help with IT issues. This strategy is like putting a band-aid on a major wound. Although the intentions may be good, an existing employee probably doesnt have the depth of expertise and experience necessary to accomplish many of the above requirements. He or she may have to spend all day, for example, getting a printer fixed while the other major IT initiatives remain untouched.
Hire IT professionals. To deliver all necessary services, a company will need to determine how many people they will need to hire. What skills will each employee need to have? What kind of backup will be needed for holidays, vacations, sick days and other times that will take current staff away from their responsibilities?
In addition, a small IT department professional will need to have ample training in desktop, server and network support. When businesses add up the salaries and employment costs for IT experts, the costs can be staggering. And, theyre still unlikely to have full coverage for all required
IT managed services.
Hire technical services as needed. Given it doesnt have adequate internal IT resources, a company may decide to only solicit outside help when something needs to be fixed. If a printer breaks down, a business can pay by the hour for outside technical help from a local company to fix it.
Unfortunately, this scenario doesnt encourage the root causes of issues to be resolved. A reactive approach like this will not help IT operations support the companys overall goals. In fact, a company risks having its IT initiatives significantly degraded over time. And, how will a company budget for these expenditures?
Use an IT managed services provider. This approach provides the proper and necessary IT management oversight. And, this service delivery model is typically priced at a fixed monthly cost; so, annual IT budgets can be easily developed. In addition, calculations will prove this approach to be cheaper than the previous three options.
A company will get all the required IT services covered for less than the other approaches. Many business managers may wonder how these managed services can provide so much more than the other options while costing less. The following capabilities will provide an answer to this question:
In essence, IT managed services providers become the IT department for multiple companies. They can leverage the right tools, processes and experience to a point of efficiency that lowers costs.
IT managed services companies fix issues the moment they surface, often before the customer is aware. With 24/7 monitoring, service providers are alerted to an issue so it can be resolved quickly and before it negatively impacts the business.
IT managed services can resolve issues remotely. Technical experts wont need to come on-site at a companys facility. Instead, they can connect to a problem device and fix the issue.
IT managed services companies offer Service Level Agreements, or SLAs, to guarantee certain levels of service. These SLAs protect both the provider and the customer. If the services provider fails to meet an established service level, they will be penalized per the terms of the SLA.
IT managed services providers can help companies develop IT strategies. Formal processes will provide useful information for improving operations and accomplishing goals.
Transitioning to an IT managed services model will provide major benefits for companies of all sizes, especially the small- to medium-sized companies. Businesses will not have to make huge investments in IT staffing and try to locate expensive and hard-to-find experts. Instead, companies will get a full menu of services to meet all IT operational requirements at a fixed, economical, monthly price.
by: Chuck Vermillion
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