MANAGED SERVICES cloud
increasingly realise they can obtain acceptable, accessible price points for their IT. Enhanced internet connectivity standards mean it’s now much easier for MSPs to monitor companies’ sites and get the most out of their systems through real-time monitoring. As a result, enterprises are now increasingly reliant on service providers as their in-house IT departments often don’t have the time to constantly monitor their systems and networks.
A logical starting point on the path towards utilising Managed Services is to cover off three key fundamentals: Quality of Service: Keeping costs down is clearly a key driver, almost to an obsessive extent, for most businesses’ IT requirements. Managed Services provides this and enables companies to keep head count down, but it’s also vital to remember that the real benefit of Managed Services is providing a high quality service to customers.
Fixed Pricing: Provides customers with predictable, stable costs, giving them the peace of mind that they won’t receive any unwelcome, unexpected spikes.
Automation: Automation has enabled demonstrable cost reductions for companies by decreasing the number of systems in use. This provides businesses with greater efficiencies and simplifies the IT management process.
Once these fundamentals are established the enterprise must then develop a clear strategy that enables a seamless transition to Managed Services. It’s vital to consider how long this transition will take, be absolutely sure of the proposition being offered, at what price and to define how the sales process will be led. Below is a guide to show the steps to consider when implementing Managed Services.
Manage complexities Enterprises of all sizes inevitably now have a number of applications, platforms and technologies from various vendors which can become a tricky business to manage – especially as the complexity typically grows over months and years. Businesses need an expert eye to watch over their IT infrastructure and ensure it runs smoothly, so the first box to tick is to establish a methodology that proactively monitors, analyses and manages the environment.
Get your house in order A close second for most IT managers is the need to deliver operational
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efficiency and reduce costs, but to achieve this goal they must know where their IT assets are, whether they are performing at maximum capacity and availability, how they are being managed and whether any problems that arise are being dealt with as quickly as possible, within business SLAs.
Get a lay of the land With businesses increasingly looking to subsume Managed Services, it will come as no surprise to learn that there is an overwhelming choice of Managed Service Providers in the marketplace. The pressure is therefore on the IT manager to sieve through these potential providers to ensure they partner with an organisation they can trust with critical areas of their business.
MSPs must not only be highly knowledgeable in technology, the latest developments, trends and shifts in the industry, they must also be experts on their customers’ business. It is vital for enterprises to determine that a Managed Services partner is able to understand the unique cultural, market, business, service and technical challenges that affect their business, aligning strategies to meet future goals and objectives to ultimately add real value to their organisation. Audit your assets MSPs must obtain a clear picture of their
customers’ future; where their business is going and how technology can support that vision, at the lowest possible price point. It is therefore important to ensure the chosen Managed Services provider undertakes a complete audit and assessment of the enterprise’s environment to gain a true understanding of their IT infrastructure, their business environment and a panoramic view of any challenges they face. This will then shape the decision to recommend the most appropriate solution and service contract to support the business in their next stage of growth.
Adopting a more consultative approach to IT allows enterprises to openly and methodically discuss their requirements and explore options they were not previously aware of. They can also secure additional resources that they would not have had the budget for, enabling them to support business growth.
The process of migration is often a painful experience, often leaving businesses with more problems than solutions if the increase in resource requirements, effort and overheads are not managed correctly. Transforming IT policies, processes and systems with Managed Services is fast becoming a necessity rather than a nice-to- have option for businesses of all shapes and sizes. IT departments are freed up to focus their efforts on more valuable tasks that have a direct impact to the business, safe in the knowledge that their IT infrastructure is being managed effectively.
It is also important to note that fully outsourcing businesses’ entire IT systems is rarely the answer. What is usually preferable is a more agile, efficient and proactive IT process that enables companies to transfer cost-heavy tasks to a trusted expert. In the case of our healthcare IT manager, their focus should be on patient care rather than the management of IT. As advances in technology expand at an exponential rate – with mobile computing and devices driving an overhaul in IT policies and Big Data opening up new worlds of business intelligence – Managed Services has never been so relevant and important.
It is now seen as a necessary requirement for IT managers to deliver a successful business strategy, to ensure systems are fully secure and compliant and are managed effectively. As a result, Managed Services provide flexible options for supporting IT growth, reducing costs and delivering genuine operational efficiency, to secure competitive advantage.
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