What IT Functions Can Be Included In Managed Services?

IT Functions Included In Managed Services

You may have heard (i.e. have been marketed to) about managed services, but do you know specifically what they include? It’s not just about remote support or having a helpdesk to call. Managed services can give you absolutely everything you need when it comes to IT.

As the modern model of IT support, managed services continue to grow in popularity.

Why?

Because they give businesses the opportunity to outsource each and every IT need that they may have.

With that kind of comprehensive service, it allows those businesses to focus their resources on their actual work, rather than on their own technology. Doesn’t that sound like a good deal to you?

Maybe – perhaps you're still unsure about what managed services specifically include. After all, the term itself seems a little general.

Then let’s dive in…

What Are The 9 Main IT Functions Delivered Through Managed Services?

1. Support Services
   These are the traditional Help Desk features, such as a helpline, ticketed support, or even an online support portal. Support services get offered in tiered models, typically provided in blocks of hours or unlimited time frames. Layered models regularly get offered in bundled, On-Demand or On-Site, support packages.
2. Business Intelligence & Data Analytics
   Business intelligence is the collection and analysis of data collected such as department productivity, overall growth, sales trends, and customer behavior.Applications of this data can range from something as simple as Spreadsheets for the organization, and storage of data to Online Analytical Processing or Reporting and Querying software. Each has a specific use and offers various benefits to your small business.Reporting and querying software extracts, sorts, summarizes, and presents selected data. This data could range from sale reports of specific items to a measurement of the efficiency of marketing plans.In a nutshell, Business Intelligence will help you manage your business more effectively. Still, many small businesses don't take advantage of the tools that they have available to them. Small business owners know that they should be analyzing their data but often fail to do so.
3. Cloud Infrastructure
   Moving to the cloud is as necessary as it is challenging.With an IT company’s assistance, your team can harness the strategic advantages offered by the cloud -- efficiency, agility, and scalability -- without taking on any risks that come with a poorly planned and executed migration.Your IT company can manage cloud infrastructure by standardizing interactions between cloud environments. It also allows greater control over specific services to outsource while achieving interoperable cloud infrastructure management between consumers and service providers.
4. Communications
   Traditional phone systems are a thing of past. Landlines are expensive, rigid and inconvenient, which is why many businesses opt to modernize their services by merging them into a unified system. Modern communications solutions use cloud technology to make calls instead of a traditional phone line, granting you greater connectivity, more features, and reduced costs.This service covers the merging of data, voice, and video on the same IP Network. Along with that comes a managed contact center. The center will combine two sections into one. On one side there are the traditional call center features. On the opposite side, is the intelligent IP call routing, integrating email, phone, web, IM, and fax.
5. Networks & Infrastructure
   Often the least thought of aspect of an IT infrastructure, the network is just as vital as any other part – why? Because it’s everything. Both literally and otherwise, the network ties everything together, and by definition, includes all aspects of the environment.It doesn't matter how new and expensive your desktop computers are if they're not connected to anything. Especially given the prevalence of cloud computing in today's business world. Whereas at one point, locally-stored data on desktop computers that weren't connected to a network were "good enough", these days it's more likely than not that you're storing data in the cloud. That means a functional network is a must.Networks and Infrastructure management includes IP Virtual Private Networks widely used for secure, high performance, cost-effective networking. When handled it eliminates the cost of maintaining a data center via a Service Level Agreement (SLA), as Wide Area Network (WAN) and Local Area Network (LAN) services do.
6. Printing Services
   As nice as it would be to go totally paperless, it’s a reality of the world we live in that sometimes you need a hard copy. Unfortunately, printers continue to uphold their reputation as chronically faulty and difficult to configure. That’s why it’s so convenient to have your IT company handle it.Print services, as a part of managed services, assess your equipment to determine what needs reconfiguring or total replacement. The equipment may include faxes, photocopiers, printers, scanners, and any multi-function product/printer/peripheral (MFP) devices. The managed service provider will oversee and service equipment, and provides parts and supplies.
7. Security Services
   Perhaps more than any other IT service that you could have managed, security is likely the most valuable. Unlike printers or communications, security requires ongoing monitoring and maintenance, all of which can best be delivered as a managed function.Managed Security Services are network security services that get outsourced to a service provider. The “defense-in-depth” functions include 24/7 monitoring and management of firewalls and intrusion detection systems. Your IT company will also responds to emergencies, performs security assessments and security audits, oversees patch management and upgrades.
8. Software As A Service
   Software as a Service (SaaS) is an alternative to traditional software purchase and installation. Instead of buying and deploying the software on premises as usual, with SaaS, you rent the licenses and the software is hosted and delivered from an offsite location.IT companies resell this service and assist with the integration of cloud and on-premises apps. SaaS helps organizations with analytics, implementation issues which include hardware, hosting services and software, for a predetermined and contractual time frame.
9. Mobile Device Management
   It's no surprise that mobile devices are continuing to become a central and necessary part of the business world. What might be surprising is how unprepared some businesses are for the process.That’s why IT companies offer Mobile Device Management services, to assist organizations in allowing employees to use mobile devices for work, without creating security vulnerabilities or efficiency lags.

Like this article? Read the following blogs to learn more:

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