Managed services

Definitions

A managed IT services provider is a third-party service provider that proactively monitors & manages a customer's server/network/system infrastructure, cybersecurity and end-user systems against a clearly defined Service Level Agreement (SLA). Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), nonprofits and government agencies hire MSPs to perform a defined set of day-to-day management services so they can focus on improving their services without worrying about extended system downtimes or service interruptions. These services may include network and infrastructure management, security and monitoring.

Most MSPs bill an upfront setup or transition fee and an ongoing flat or near-fixed monthly fee, which benefits clients by providing them with predictable IT support costs. Sometimes, MSPs act as facilitators who manage and procure staffing services on behalf of the client. In such context, they use an online application called vendor management system (VMS) for transparency and efficiency. A managed service provider is also useful in creating disaster recovery plans, similar to a corporation's.

History and evolution

The evolution of MSP started in the 1990s with the emergence of application service providers (ASPs) who helped pave the way for remote support for IT infrastructure. From the initial focus of remote monitoring and management of servers and networks, the scope of an MSP's services expanded to include mobile device management, managed security, remote firewall administration and security-as-a-service, and managed print services.

The first books on the topic of managed services - Service Agreements for SMB Consultants: A Quick-Start Guide to Managed Services and The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice - were published in 2006 by Palachuk and Simpson, respectively. Since then, the managed services business model has gained ground among enterprise-level companies. As the value-added reseller (VAR) community evolved to a higher level of services, it adapted the managed service model and tailored it to SMB companies.

Evolutions

As the IT infrastructure components of many SMB and large corporations are migrating to the cloud, with MSPs (managed services providers) increasingly facing the challenge of cloud computing, a number of MSPs are providing in-house cloud services or acting as brokers with cloud services providers. A recent survey claims that a lack of knowledge and expertise in cloud computing rather than client's reluctance, appears to be the main obstacle to this transition.

Types

The most common managed services revolve around IT: connectivity and bandwidth, network monitoring, security, virtualization, and disaster recovery.

References

References

1. "What is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?".
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3. (2015). "Top ten criteria for selecting a managed services provider". IBM Global Technology Services.
4. "Cloud Data Backup & IT Disaster Recovery Solutions".
5. Palachuk, Karl. (July 2011). "Service Agreements for SMB Consultants". Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc..
6. Simpson, Erick. (15 August 2006). "The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice". Intelligent Enterprise.
7. "Technology-as-a-Service Playbook". Technology Services Industry Association.
8. Spencer Smith. (February 2016). "Managed services companies rethink their portfolios". [[TechTarget]].
9. David Linthicum. (19 May 2015). "The case for managed service providers in your cloud strategy". [[InfoWorld]].
10. (October 2014). "Making the Transition from VAR to MSP". [[CA Technologies]].
11. John Moore. (May 2015). "Cloud-based service revenue lags among MSPs". [[TechTarget]].
12. "2023 State of Cloud {{!}} Pluralsight".
13. Chloe Green. (7 March 2016). "How to use managed services to overcome the top 6 app security hurdles". Information Age.
14. Sarah Kuranda. (4 June 2014). "Top Five Functions Outsourced To Managed Services". [[CRN Magazine]].
15. (2015). "Supply Chain Managed Services". [[Deloitte]].
16. Adam Robinson. (22 September 2014). "What are Managed Transportation Services? The Old Model vs. The New Model". CERASIS.