Businesses Turning to Managed Services to Deliver Professional IT

by Andy L. Marketer

What are Managed IT services?

Managed IT services does not have a universally accepted definition as offerings within this service can be diverse. However, a suitable description would be:

"Managed IT services pertains to the use of an independent, professional and skilled IT team to monitor, support and implement business critical IT systems for operational efficiency for a monthly fee."

Of course, managed IT services is an umbrella term which encompasses many aspects underneath it. Succinctly speaking, it allows professionals to manage your IT systems for increased business effectiveness, particularly for businesses who are dependent upon IT.

Managed IT Services: A Growing Trend

The global managed IT services market reached £117.52 billion in 2017, a near £5 billion increase from 2016 (£112.59 billion). This is not predicted to stop either, with an anticipated Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.5%. This should see the market expand to an estimated £193.69 billion by 2021 highlighting the growing trend of businesses adopting managed services for their IT.

What is Driving this Growth?

As businesses are becoming more integrated, the dependence upon their digital assets increase therefore, have a greater need to instil best practices and to review their security.

The level of digitisation in business has transformed rapidly and is no longer a question of embracing IT within your business model. In fact, it is now whether you are exploiting a hybrid business model, one which integrates IT and business together. This model is fastly becoming the new standard in modern age business. Failing to keep up for almost any business is dangerous for your competitiveness.

With this in mind, organisations are now looking for professionals to take over the burden of their IT, to make it run optimally and prevent setbacks. With greater integration comes the need for more skills (and work). Internal IT staff may help to keep business IT systems running however, may not be able to cope with the various challenges presented, especially when the business grows.

This accentuates the need for a team of IT professionals who boast a varying range of skills which work together, producing far superior results than an internal employee or small team.

Types of Managed Services

As discussed earlier, there are a number of parameters which are included under managed IT services. Most notably, as a service it is usually split under 2 core offerings:

Fully Managed Services: This is where a managed IT service provider takes full control of a businesses systems. Full ownership of all business related IT is catered for, providing infrastructure monitoring, implementation, adjustments and reporting. This is typical within smaller organisations who either have no IT team or just a small number of internal staff.

Supplemental Managed Services: This is where a managed IT service provider manages a certain aspect of an organisations IT. The corresponding business would generally have their own IT team but would look for a managed IT service provider to come in as an extended team. This is perceived as necessary as a managed service provider can offer more thorough knowledge and skill sets within a specific area. Businesses who choose these services are usually larger organisations with big projects in place who prefer to engage with external experts for peace of mind.

For more information on the subject or if you are unsure on whether outsourcing your IT is for you, most managed service providers offer free consultations to help you choose. A premium service provider would offer fully tailored managed IT services to fit around your business needs and goals however, would command a higher price for their services.